‘We definitely matter’

After fourty years of service at the UT, Leo van der Wegen is retiring next year. The 65 year old mathematician must be looking forward to that. Right? Well, not really. He values his work as lecturer at the BMS faculty to such a degree, that he is staying – if possible - for one or two days per week.

His passion was and is teaching. In all these years, he has always remained a teacher. ‘I’m not much of a researcher,’ he notes wittily. ‘The UT has always fully recognized me as a teacher.’ It is mainly because of mentoring students that he has been a lecturer all his life. ‘It still satisfies me when it clicks in the mind of a student, that they truly understand it.’

Van der Wegen is comfortable with the relaxed and open atmosphere of the faculty, as he describes it. ‘A common denominator? Although we are a large group with many international students, we often seek each other out and listen to each other’s ideas. That perfectly fits my ways.’ It is a pity however, according to Van der Wegen, that BMS is divided over two buildings due to lack of space. ‘To further enhance the feeling of being part of the same group, it would be better to be in one building.’

According to the lecturer, the faculty has a permanent and important place within the UT. ‘We definitely matter. You notice that this recognition and reward is mutual. BMS carries the university’s vision in its completeness.’

Van der Wegen is from Roosendaal. After all these years in Twente, his soft accent has not faded. ‘And when you hear me while I’m on the phone with one of my sisters, it’s flat Brabants,’ he laughs. During such conversations, the high work load is also discussed. ‘When my wife died two years ago, I realized that I had been reviewing graduation reports night after night for many years. Nowadays, I delegate a lot of things that are not directly related to teaching. I should perhaps, no, definitely should have done that more in the past and given more attention to my family. Stay vigilant for that.’