The Supervisory Board is delighted with Subramaniam's arrival. ‘I am thrilled with Vinod's arrival at the UvA,’ says Supervisory Board chair Jolande Sap. ‘He brings a wealth of experience and perspectives. He knows the academic world intimately, both as an administrator and as an academic. The UvA is gaining a president with strong administrative experience and a powerful ability to forge connections between people.’ 

The Central Works Council (COR) issued a positive recommendation regarding the appointment. The Central Student Council (CSR) has not given an advice due to concerns over the selection procedure. This does not reflect the CSR's opinion on the candidate.   

Academic career

Subramaniam is currently president of the Executive Board of the University of Twente and previously served as rector magnificus of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. In addition to his administrative experience, Subramaniam has a broad international scientific track record. He is a professor of Biophysics and obtained his PhD in Applied Physics in the United States for his work on laser spectroscopic protein research. His career took him to a number of leading research institutions in Europe before joining the University of Twente in 2004. There, he led the Nanobiophysics department and was scientific director of the MIRA research institute. He later became director of the fundamental physics institute AMOLF. His work is characterised by interdisciplinarity and the connections between fundamental research and societal applications – core values that are also central to the UvA's profile. 

Subramaniam is looking forward to his new role. ‘The UvA is a broad, open and international university with a wide range of disciplines and strong societal engagement. I admire the combination of excellent teaching and research, which is both academically meaningful and socially impactful. Being able to return to Amsterdam in this role makes this appointment especially meaningful. I very much look forward to working together on the future of the UvA.’