Martijn Kleppe, board member for the Research and Discovery portfolio, will be leaving the KB on 1 June. From that date, he will take up the post of Director of Advanced Solutions for Research at SURF, the cooperative association of Dutch education and research institutions in the field of information and communication technology.
Kleppe started at the KB in 2015 as a researcher-in-residence and was then appointed as an advisor on Digital Scholarship & International Cooperation in 2016. This was followed by a meteoric rise within the KB. In 2018, Kleppe was appointed Head of the Research Department, where he introduced the use of public, four-year research agendas. In January 2022, he was appointed to the board for Research & Discovery and as Deputy Director General.
We are all researchers
Wilma van Wezenbeek, Director General of the KB: ‘Martijn Kleppe has been a visionary for the KB in his drive to expand digital research opportunities for academics. He also helped transform the KB from a research library for academics into a national library for everyone. What’s more, Martijn embodies the idea that “we are all researchers” and conveys this to everyone with his infectious enthusiasm. Even though he will be greatly missed at the KB as a fantastic colleague, the KB is a member of the SURF cooperative, so our paths will fortunately continue to cross from time to time. We wish Martijn every success and a lot of enjoyment in his new role.’
Data-intensive research for academics
Martijn Kleppe, outgoing member of the board: ‘For well over 10 years, I have thoroughly enjoyed working on fascinating topics at the KB, and, above all, with many wonderful colleagues and network partners. I’m now looking forward to getting started at the leading ICT organisation for the Dutch education and research sectors, which provides all the facilities needed to enable data-intensive research for academics. As part of this, I will be working with the Snellius supercomputer, research and AI infrastructures, and digital sovereignty. I now look back with immense gratitude on my time at the KB and the contribution I was able to make to this indispensable link in the Dutch knowledge infrastructure.’
