Senior and Principal Fellows

The Senior Fellow Programme was developed by Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 with the aim of strengthening educational leadership. Those who successfully complete the programme are nominated for a professorial position with a special teaching remit, and will be named Principal Fellow of the Centre for Academic Teaching and Learning.

The following Senior Fellows are currently taking part in the programme at the Centre for Academic Teaching and Learning:

  • Liesbeth Bijlsma

    Dr. Liesbeth Bijlsma already showed great talent as an informal leader in educational renewal and innovation. With her project 'Scaling-up inquiry-based learning (IBL), she aims to implement IBL in large knowledge-driven curricula to support students in the development of critical thinking skills, which will help then to make evidence-informed (clinical) choices in their later professional roles. The project links well to the strategic goals of Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 and can be useful to other parts of the university, especially to programmes that tie strongly to academic professional roles.

  • Matthieu Brinkhuis

    Dr. Matthieu Brinkhuis is well recognized as an expert in learning analytics and evaluation and has a proven track record in key positions in education at his faculty, such as degree director of the Applied Data Science Master Programme and director of education for Continuing Education within the Graduate School of Natural Science. With his project on Continuing Education (CE) he wants to explore how to create joint programmes with societal partners, moving from CE for professionals, to CE with professionals.

  • Dr. Marije Hennus has a clear vision for enhancing workplace learning within the medical curriculum, aiming to better equip students for the challenges of the future with her plans to optimise workplace-based learning. Beyond her immediate focus on medical education, Marije is actively exploring how these principles can be extended to benefit other fields within the university.

  • Dr. Mari毛lle Jambroes is deeply motivated to educate the next generation of students as future healthcare professionals, preparing them for upcoming challenges in the healthcare sector. Mari毛lle aims to achieve this goal by integrating Community Engaged Learning (CEL) into the curricula of health professions education. Through her work in the Faculty of Medicine, she intends to contribute to the 木瓜福利影视-wide strategy of CEL.

  • Dr. Alexei Karas is Associate Professor of Economics at the 木瓜福利影视 College Roosevelt (UCR). Alexei is highly motivated and passionate about introducing data literacy across the curriculum for students from all fields. Alexei has held several leadership positions, for example as head of department and chair of the curriculum committee at UCR. He is an expert in both Economics and Mathematics and an excellent teacher, as evidenced by the Outstanding Teacher of the Year of the UU award in 2017.

  • Sigrid Merx

    As an Associate Professor and Director of Education Of the School of Media and Culture Studies at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视, Sigrid has consistently displayed innovative leadership in educational transformation. Her career reflects a commitment to fostering interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration. Sigrid鈥檚 proposed Senior Fellow project focuses on training educators in creative methods to enhance collaborative and interdisciplinary learning environments. This initiative aligns seamlessly with the university's strategic goals of promoting personal development and intellectual growth among students.

  • Christianne Smit

    Dr. Christianne Smit has successfully led the implementation of complex educational changes in recent years. Through her active engagement with the university's educational community, she has made valuable contributions, notably in the renewal of the educational model focusing on graduate attributes such as personal leadership, reflection, and adaptive skills. As a Senior Fellow, she is dedicated to fostering a student-centered and transformative learning environment, with a Humanities perspective that emphasizes contextualization and positioning at its core.

  • Sebastiaan Steenman

    Dr. Sebastiaan Steenman already has quite some advanced leadership experience, as a Director of Education, responsible for all Bachelor, Master and Executive masters' programmes of his department and leading several projects on educational innovation, most recently with the implementation of the REBO Skills Academy. His project aims for building a Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 Skills Academy. The Skills Academy aims at developing interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary skills beyond the standard set that is intrinsically linked to a particular degree programme. 

  • Patrick Witte

    Dr. Patrick Witte demonstrates a strong passion for education and a deep commitment to student development. He emphasizes creating meaningful learning experiences tailored to the abilities and needs of today's students while fostering their academic and personal growth. Patrick鈥檚 proposal for the Senior Fellow programme centres on exploring the delicate balance between transdisciplinary learning and disciplinary grounding. His vision seeks to ensure graduates are well-equipped with both a solid disciplinary foundation and the flexibility to address societal challenges collaboratively.

Principal Fellows

To actively involve Senior Fellows in the Centre for Academic Teaching and Learning (CAT) after completing the programme, they can be appointed as Principal Fellow. The appointment is for a period of three years, with the possibility of renewal. A Principal Fellow is an active candidate, takes initiatives or can be approached for a role in committees, SIGs or educational innovation projects of the CAT or Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 in the broadest sense. For example, for the organisation of the OnderwijsFestival, USO assessment committee, jury of teacher awards or the SIGs of the CAT.

After completing the Senior Fellow Programme, the following people have been named Principal Fellow:  

  • Harold Bok

    Prof. dr. Harold Bok (Ph.D., DVM) is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. He focuses on academic research and innovation in the field of veterinary education. His mission is to bridge the gap between educational theory and daily educational practice within and beyond the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视. Since June 2022, Harold has been Vice-Dean of Education at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

  • Niels Bovenschen

    Prof. dr. Niels Bovenschen is in charge of the UMC Utrecht Pathology Research Laboratory and head of the Laboratory of Translational Immunology core facility Proteins. He focuses on multidisciplinary collaboration and facilitates students to work on real-world societally relevant problems in the healthcare domain. In 2021, he was appointed Professor of Biomedical Research-based Education at the Faculty of Medicine.

  • Vincent Crone

    Dr. Vincent Crone is an Associate Professor of Media Studies at the Faculty of Humanities. He has been teaching about the relationship between media, culture and society since 2001.

  • G枚n眉l Dilaver

    Prof. dr. G枚n眉l Dilaver is Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine.

  • Mari毛tte van den Hoven

    Dr. Mari毛tte van den Hoven is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Faculty of Humanities and involved with the Research Institute for Philosophy and Religious Studies.

  • Jeroen Janssen

    Prof. dr. Jeroen Janssen is a professor in the Education department at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, chair of the Education department, and master's coordinator for the Educational Sciences master's programme. His research focuses primarily on learning processes in complex learning environments. 

  • Manon Kluijtmans

    Prof. dr. Manon Kluijtmans is Professor at the 木瓜福利影视 Medical Center Utrecht, where she holds the chair 'Education to Connect Science and Professional Practice'. As part of her chair she holds several positions at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视: a.o. Vice-rector Teaching and Learning and chair of the focus area Higher Education Research.

  • Christel Lutz

    Prof. dr. Christel Lutz is Director of Education at 木瓜福利影视 College Utrecht (UCU).

  • Brianne Mc Gonigle

    Dr. Brianne Mc Gonigle is professor of Global Justice Studies at the School of Law. Her chair emphasises interdisciplinary collaboration and brings together practitioners, researchers and students to address complex global justice issues.

  • Irma Meijerman

    Dr. ir. Irma Meijerman is Associate Professor Pharmaceutical sciences. She has a particular interest in the professional development of teachers in higher education, and educational scholarship. As Principal Fellow (SF) of the Centre for Academic Teaching (CAT) she is involved in projects supporting teachers that want to get engaged in educational scholarship.

  • Karin Rebel

    Prof. dr. Karin Rebel is Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences at the Faculty of Geosciences and is involved with the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development.

  • Frank van Rijnsoever

    Dr Frank van Rijnsoever is an associate professor in the field of innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability. He has a strong ambition to educate leaders of change (LOC) who are very much needed to help solving the big societal challenges.

  • Prof. dr. Annet van Royen-Kerkhof works as a paediatrician-immunologist at the WKZ/UMCU and training coordinator of the medical research master SUMMA.

  • Veronique Schutjens

    Prof. dr. Veronique Schutjens is Professor Human Geography and Spatial Planning at the Faculty of Geosciences.

  • Maarten van der Smagt

    Prof. dr. Maarten van der Smagt is Professor of Psychological Literacy in Higher Education at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences of Utrecht 木瓜福利影视. This chair focuses on scholarly approaches to curriculum design and educational innovation, in order to strengthen the relationship between psychological research, societal application and innovation within higher education. 

  • Bald de Vries

    Prof. mr. dr. Bald de Vries is Associate Professor at the UU School of Law at the Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance. Since December 2023, he is Academic Director of the Centre for Academic Teaching and Learning.

  • Leoniek Wijngaards

    Prof. dr. Leoniek Wijngaards-de Meij is Professor Data use for innovation in Higher Education, and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视.