Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
The ambition of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is clear: to contribute to a better world through outstanding education and ground-breaking research. We strive to be a university where personal development and commitment to society play a leading role. A university where people from different disciplines and backgrounds collaborate to achieve innovations and to generate new knowledge. Our teaching and research encompass the entire spectrum of academic endeavor – from the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences through to the life sciences and the medical sciences.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is home to more than 31,000 students. We employ over 5,000 individuals. The VU campus is easily accessible and located in the heart of Amsterdam’s Zuidas district, a truly inspiring environment for teaching and research.
Diversity We are an inclusive university community. Diversity is one of our most important values. We believe that engaging in international activities and welcoming students and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds enhances the quality of our education and research. We are always looking for people who can enrich our world with their own unique perspectives and experiences.
The Faculty of Science Working at the Faculty of Science means working together with students, PhD candidates and scientists who are focused on their discipline, yet also have a broad view of the world. We are proud of the collegial working environment within the faculty, which is characterised by an ambitious and pragmatic attitude with commitment to the bigger picture. At the Faculty of Science, scientists and students work on fundamental and complex social issues for a sustainable and healthy future. From forest fires to big data, from obesity to malnutrition, from genetics to pharmaceuticals and from molecules to the moon: our teaching and research cover the full breadth of the natural sciences. Scientific teaching and research is highly experimental, technical, computational and interdisciplinary in nature. This is why we collaborate extensively with leading research institutes and industry. The faculty has over 11,000 students studying across 40 educational programmes and employs over 1,600 staff spread over 10 scientific departments, making us the largest science faculty in the Netherlands.
The Computer Systems section Since the 1970s, the Computer Systems section at Vrije Universiteit has continuously enjoyed a world-class reputation in research. It produced some of the best-known computer systems researchers in the world and is known as the birthplace of CVS and MINIX (which later led to Linux and a few years ago was adopted by Intel for its Management Engine running in every modern x86 processor).
Following this tradition, VUSec, the systems security group, has focused on high-impact research from its inception. For instance, it published a large number of research papers at top venues with results that directly impacted the software of all major browser and operating systems vendors, and the microcode in almost all Intel processors. In addition, it graduated a string of highly talented systems security students—winning the Dennis M. Ritchie Doctoral Dissertation Award, the ACM SIGSAC Doctoral Dissertation Award, and the Roger Needham Ph.D. Award for best Ph.D. in computer systems in Europe no fewer than six times. For more information about VUSec and its research interests, see
https://vusec.net