Research Digital Transformation Fair to mark Wouter Stol’s farewell as senior lecturer Written on Thursday, May 8, 2025 Today Wouter Stol bade farewell as senior lecturer of Cybersafety. To mark his farewell, a well-attended Digital Transformation Fair had been organised at the Netherlands Police Academy’s main campus.Wouter Stol’s Cybersafety senior lectureship was a shared senior lectureship with NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences and part of the Centre of Knowledge for Digitalisation and Technology of the Police Academy. At the beginning of this year, Jurjen Jansen was installed as a senior lecturer of Human and Organisational Digital Resilience. This is also a senior lectureship that is shared with NHL Stenden. ‘His work has made a permanent mark’ ‘Saying farewell to Wouter Stol means saying farewell to an astute thinker, an engaged colleague and a pioneer at the cutting edge of security and digitalisation. His work has made a permanent mark, on both his discipline and on us’, said Paul Moss, team leader for Knowledge and Research at the Police Academy.Wouter Stol worked as a policeman in Amsterdam from 1981 to 1992. He studied sociology at the University of Amsterdam from 1984 to 1989. From 1990 to 1996, he studied at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where he did doctoral research into street policing and information technology. From the late 1990s onward, he conducted research into digitalisation and law enforcement.The official part of the event began with a debate about the proposition: ‘Not the police but computers are in charge in the street’. This debate focused on the subject of police deployment in a time when digital resources are becoming increasingly important. Do these resources cause police to disconnect from citizens? ‘World, web, Wouter’ Leonard Kok, Director of the Netherlands Police Academy, thanked Wouter for his many years of devoted service to the police. ‘You were far ahead of your time. Then you had time to do your work. Now you have time to enjoy your retirement.’Wouter’s colleagues at the Police Academy compiled a book entitled ‘World, web, Wouter’ to give to him as a goodbye present. In the book, various colleagues reflect upon Wouter’s contributions to science, the police and education. This very summer will see the publication of Politiestraatwerk en informatiegebruik - een longitudinale studie (1991-2023) over gevolgen van digitalisering (“Street policing and information use – a longitudinal study (1991-2023) into the effects of digitalisation”), which Wouter co-authored. Digital Transformation Fair Before the start of the official part of the farewell, those present could visit a Digital Transformation Fair, organised by Casimir Blokland to bring the subject of digital transformation to life. Casimir is a driver of digital transformation within the police force. Police colleagues shared experiences, innovative solutions and digital tools with each other. They also had the opportunity to develop their digital skills by learning more about digital neighbourhood investigations and by experimenting with QR codes, for example. They could also learn how to use social media more effectively.