Driving onto campus is a challenge. Beneath the fresh snow there is sometimes a layer of ice, which can be treacherously slippery, but I manage to stop without any trouble at the barrier. It opens neatly and I can drive on. In the parking lot near Gemini there is still about six inches of fresh snow, so I hope I parked the car properly within the lines. If not, that must be because of the car next to me, which was already there.

I step into the snow and follow in the footsteps of my predecessor toward MetaForum, so I won’t end up with wet feet. It is 7:10 a.m., and normally you would need a badge to get inside at that time, but the sliding door opens automatically. At 7:15 a.m., for the first time in 2026, I step into my office. I plug in my laptop and grab my coffee mug. Time for coffee!

Full of good intentions, I walk to the coffee machine, scan my badge, and enter my usual choice: a pot of coffee, two cups. It fits perfectly in my mug. The badge icon does not turn green though. No problem. The IT person in me turns the machine off and on again and waits for it to reboot. That takes a few minutes, which gives me the opportunity to wash my mug. I should have done that in 2025.

Unfortunately, even after restarting, there is still no coffee. When I scan my badge, the payment terminal says: ‘USER EXPIRED’. Yes, in capital letters. I may have grown a year older during my time away and now be closer to fifty than to forty, but I certainly do not feel expired—and I sincerely hope that goes for all my colleagues as well.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Boudewijn van Dongen is a professor of Process Analytics at TU/e. The views expressed in this column are his own.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.