[Announcement] Academic director Janne E. Nijman: “This is a good time to step down, the Asser Institute is well-positioned for the future.”

At the end of this academic year, Janne E. Nijman will step down as chairperson of the executive board and academic director of the T.M.C. Asser Institute. Under her leadership, Nijman successfully repositioned the Asser Institute as an internationally recognised research institute for international and European law, where excellent fundamental research goes hand in hand with the ambition to impact practice- and policy-oriented discussions. The Institute also intensified collaboration with the Amsterdam Law School, leading to the conclusion of a new cooperation agreement with the University of Amsterdam that sets the course for 2020-2030. Nijman leaves the Institute well-positioned for a successful future.  

Nijman looks back on her years at the Asser Institute with great pleasure: “The Asser Institute is a truly unique place as a research institute for international and European law right at the heart of the City of Peace and Justice. I am very grateful for having been trusted with the leadership of the Institute at a crucial moment and for having been able to work with excellent and committed colleagues, as well as with many national and international partners. Together we have worked hard to transform the Institute into the inspiring and dynamic research institute it is today: a proud member of the UvA family. It has been an exciting seven and a half years. When I started in 2015, I was resolved to stay seven to eight years, in line with standards of good governance. That said, I will dearly miss the Institute and all with whom I collaborated so well throughout the years. At the same time I look forward to being able to invest more time directly into research and teaching upon my return to the Amsterdam Law School.”

Liesbeth Lijnzaad, chairperson of the supervisory board of the Asser Institute, has praised Janne’s leadership throughout her term of office: “On behalf of the supervisory board of the Asser Institute, we’d like to thank Janne for her hard work, that has elevated the Institute to the level of reputation and academic excellence it enjoys today. We greatly appreciate her many achievements, and in particular her zeal in ensuring that Asser’s research has focussed on contemporary problems, addressing these in often innovative ways. She has further developed the standard of legal research in the Institute and must be commended for this.”

Also on behalf of the staff of the Institute, managing director Gert Grift would like to thank Janne Nijman for her leadership and to wish her well in her future endeavours: “Janne Nijman has been a highly valued member of our Board; she has always kept a sharp eye on the academic repositioning as well as on the Institute’s societal role. With wisdom, unlimited energy and enthusiasm, Janne has guided all members of the Asser Institute community to individually contribute to our Institute’s mission.”

After a research leave which she will spend, in part, in Cambridge (UK), Nijman will resume her academic research as professor of History and Theory of International Law at the University of Amsterdam, and spend more time in her role as professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies in Geneva. In line with her ever-present interest in making a positive social impact she will continue to serve in a number of non-executive board functions in the public sector.

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