Organization

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Organization

Research co-operation in the field of Operations Management between the parties involved in Beta started in 1993. Formally, Beta was founded by the signing of a co-operation agreement between the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e) and Universiteit Twente (UT) on December 18th, 1995 and was approved as a TU/e research school by the decision of the Executive Board of this university on May 6th, 1996. In December 1997, the Executive Boards of the TU/e and UT signed a modification to the co-operation agreement. A revised co-operation agreement was signed by both Executive Boards in November 2002. 
 
Beta is an inter-university research school as defined in Article 9.23 of the Higher Education and Scientific Research Act, participants are:
• The Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences at TU/e (TU/e-IE&IS).
• The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at TU/e (TU/e-MCS).
• The Centre for Telematics and Information Technology at UT (UT-CTIT).
The principal partner is the Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences at TU/e. As of 2012 also the Department of Mechanical Engineering at TU/e joins Beta.
 
Responsibility for research management and organizational control resides with Beta itself. The Beta Executive Board and the Scientific Director carry out management and organizational tasks.
 
The Beta Supervisory Board
The Beta Supervisory Board has the final responsibility for long-term education and research strategy. It acts as a supervisory and advisory body for the Scientific Director and the Executive Board. Furthermore, it acts as the intermediary body between the institute and the boards of the constituent partners. It convenes at least twice a year. Until the end of 2005, the Board consisted of five members. Three members of the Board were nominated by the principal partner (TU/e-IE&IS) on the basis of proposals from the constituent partners and carried by the boards of the participating universities. The Board nominated the other two members. In order to preserve the objectivity of assessment and evaluation the latter two are external members.

Members of the Beta Supervisory Board (as of 1 April 2013):
 

  
The Beta Executive Board
The Beta Executive Board manages the school. The Board is responsible for long-term education and research planning, the annual budget and resource planning, the annual research evaluation report and the framework of working procedures. Each year, the budget and the research evaluation report are sent to the constituent partners of Beta. The Beta Executive Board decides on the participation of researchers from the constituent partners in Beta. Furthermore the Board assists the Scientific Director in his tasks. Based on proposals from the constituent partners, the principal department nominates the members. The Scientific Director is the chairman of the Beta Executive Board.

The Beta Executive Board specifically focuses on relevant scientific developments in the area of Operations Management and advises the Scientific Director on the creation and control of the research and the education program. In addition, the Executive Board is responsible for quality control and progress monitoring by researchers and for the research and education programs. The Education Officer, who reports to the Executive Board, is responsible for the daily co-ordination of developing, teaching, and evaluating courses.

Members of the Beta Executive Board (as of 1 September 2012):

prof.dr.ir. O.J. Boxma  (TU/e-MCS)
Prof.dr. R.J. Boucherie (UT-CTIT)

Dr.ir. E.W. Hans (UT-CTIT, Beta Education Officer)
Prof.dr.ir. G.J. van Houtum  (TU/e-IE&IS, Scientific Director)
Dr.ir. A.J.M.M. Weijters (TU/e-IE&IS)
 

The Scientific Director
The Scientific Director is appointed by the board of the principal department, based on a recommendation of the Beta Supervisory Board and in agreement with the boards of the other partners and with the Supervisory Board. The person recommended is selected from the members of the research school. The appointment requires the approval of the governing body of the university where the candidate is employed. The appointment is for a period of at most six years. The governing bodies of the other universities participating in Beta are informed about this decision. 
 
The Scientific Director is responsible for the daily management of the school. He prepares the decisions for the board and, on their behalf, ensures that the board’s decisions are carried out. The Scientific Director also has the following specific responsibilities:
• To ensure that the development of knowledge and experience in the scientific disciplines within Beta is of top quality.
• To develop a program for the research conducted within Beta.
• To ensure that the education of PhD students is of top quality.
The Scientific Director is accountable to the Beta Supervisory Board for the proper planning and execution of the research activities agreed upon.

As of July 2008, prof.dr.ir. G.J. van Houtum is the Scientific Director.