Professor Henk G. Sol is an internationally distinguished scholar in Information Systems, Business Engineering, Systems Engineering, and Decision Enhancement. His academic career spans more than five decades across the University of Groningen and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, where he has served as professor, founding dean, faculty dean, department chair, and scientific director.
He began his academic career at the University of Groningen in 1974, where he was responsible for the Management Information Systems programme. In 1982, he earned his doctorate cum laude with a dissertation titled Simulation in Information Systems Development. He later joined Delft University of Technology as Professor of Information Systems Design, leading the development of a new master’s programme in Information Systems and directing research in complex information systems.
Professor Sol subsequently served as Founding Dean of Delft’s School of Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis and Management and played a central role in establishing the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management. He also served as Dean of this faculty, Scientific Director of the Delft Institute for Information Technology in Service Engineering, Scientific Director of the Delft Airport Development Centre, and Chairman of Delft TopTech Studies.
From 2004, he served as Dean of the Faculty of Management and Organization at the University of Groningen and later became the Founding Dean of its Faculty of Economics and Business. He held chaired professorships in Business Engineering and ICT at both Groningen and Delft. He is currently Emeritus Professor at the University of Groningen and Delft University of Technology and served as Visiting Professor at Tanzania’s Institute of Finance Management from 2018 to 2022.
Engaged Scholarship and Academic Impact
For more than 45 years, Professor Sol has advanced engaged scholarship in information systems and decision enhancement. His work has helped shape design science research by connecting rigorous theory development with important challenges encountered in practice across both developed and developing countries.
He has supervised 86 doctoral candidates and contributed to the graduation of more than 800 master’s and MBA students. He has published extensively in internationally recognised journals, edited numerous academic books, delivered keynote addresses around the world, and organised influential conferences and workshops, including the CRIS and Dynamic Modelling conference series.
Professor Sol also pioneered doctoral development in Information Systems by initiating the first Dutch, European, and international ICIS Doctoral Consortia. He has subsequently served as a chair or faculty member in numerous doctoral consortia worldwide.
International Leadership and Recognition
Professor Sol is a co-founder and the first Vice-President of the Association for Information Systems and has been recognised as a Fellow of the Association for Information Systems. He is also a co-founder of the Dutch Society for Information Systems and several working groups of the International Federation for Information Processing.
His international service has been recognised through the IFIP Silver Core and IFIP Outstanding Service Award. He also founded the Council of Engineering Systems Universities and the Global Technology Management Consortium.
Professor Sol has chaired international review committees for the MIT Portugal Programme and the University of Minho. He has also served as Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Uganda Technology and Management University.
Editorial and Professional Service
Professor Sol has held senior editorial and advisory positions with leading journals in Information Systems, Decision Support, Management, Simulation, Organisational Science, and Business Engineering. These include Information & Management, Decision Support Systems, Organization Science, Communications of the Association for Information Systems, and Information Systems Research.
Alongside his academic work, he has served as a management consultant to governments and numerous national and international organisations since 1972. He has held supervisory, governance, and advisory roles in more than 35 organisations across technology, aviation, education, public administration, research, business, and civil society.
Education
Professor Sol studied Economics, Mathematics, Econometrics, and Management Sciences at the University of Groningen. He graduated cum laude in 1974 with a master’s thesis titled Simula, Simulation, Simulation Languages. He later pursued postgraduate studies at the universities of Oslo, Stockholm, and Aarhus.
His enduring contribution lies in bringing scholarship, technology, institutional leadership, and practical problem-solving together to improve organisations and societies worldwide.