About

One of the core activities for a Director of Education is strategic thinking and scenario development of educational policies, programmes and organisation. In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world, the future seems unpredictable, even unimaginable. But it would be naive to let that paralyse us.

My interest in this rapidly changing world and its impact on engineering education was piqued in 2013. Over 20 years of industrial experience in space engineering and 15 years of academic experience in teaching and educational management, an open mind and change agility have convinced me: Higher engineering education is not keeping up with the rapid technological, societal and economic changes.

“People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do”

Which does not mean higher engineering education has remained static. I am involved in many bodies at faculty and institutional level, at the level of the four technical universities in the Netherlands (4TU), the Educational Leadership Course (Erasmus University Rottterdam, TU Delft and University Leiden) and internationally in the Global CDIO Initiative, the CESAER Task Force S&T Education for the 21st Century, the Airbus Global University Partner Programme (AGUPP) and the Global Engineering Education Exchange (Global E3) university network.

Much of what I hear, see and read is of common interest for everybody who is engaged in developing, producing or enhancing courses or programmes in higher engineering education. It’s my aim to disseminate these stories and visions, leverage it with my opinions and interpretations, and make you part of my world, inspire you, and hear your voice and opinions about the subjects in my blog posts. I write them in a strictly individual capacity, so my posts do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TU Delft. I hope they will catch your reader’s eye.

If view statistics of my blog are not a liar:

  • 1% of my blog followers is affiliated with my TU Delft Faculty of Aerospace Engineering (the expression “No one is a prophet in their own land” also applies to me),
  • 10% is affiliated with TU Delft,
  • 30% lives in the Netherlands,
  • 70% lives outside the Netherlands.