Manfred Aben is a computer scientist. He earned his PhD in 1995 with a dissertation on artificial intelligence and subsequently held various R&D positions at Unilever both domestically and internationally, as well as managerial and supervisory roles at Topsector Agri & Food, the Foundation for the Future of Technology, and the technical committee of VNO-NCW. Currently, Aben is among others a commissioner of Unilever Netherlands Holding.
André Postema is a historian and economist. He began his career in development cooperation, banking, and consultancy, and later became an executive in education and healthcare, including at Martini Hospital and Maastricht University. He is currently chairman of the Executive Board of Zuyd University of Applied Sciences and served eight years in the Dutch Senate for the Labour Party. For the AWTI, he will focus on applied research as a special area of attention.
The council consists of ten experts from the scientific community and business sector. They are members of the AWTI in a personal capacity. The AWTIs advice is strategic and internationally oriented: they address fundamental issues, focus on the long term, and also consider the situation in other countries.
Based on the AWTIs advice, the government and parliament can further improve or adjust their policies in the field of science, technology, and innovation. In this way, the AWTI aims to contribute to strengthening the innovative, scientific, and technological power of people, companies, and knowledge institutions in the Netherlands.
