Connecting disciplines, domains, people, and possibilities
I bring experience in practice-based and participatory action research, grounded in a creative mindset. Through co-creation, I guide stakeholders from different domains toward solutions that fit their specific context—bridging theory and practice, intuition and analysis, imagination and implementation.
Inviting neurodiverse students to add to the conversation about diversity & inclusion
2021 · Deventer, The Netherlands
In Inclusive is not Special!, neurodiverse students engaged in dialogue about diversity and inclusion, learning to shape and express their own perspectives. Each student developed a personal theme, creating media and actions to raise awareness beyond the classroom.
As project lead, I collaborated with teachers and neurodiverse high-school students to design a learning process that combined reflection, creativity, and social engagement. The result: a flipped perspective, where a group who are usually spoken about in debates on inclusion share their takes on the issue.
Tackling Low Literacy through Collaboration
Challenge Laaggeletterdheid · Province of Overijssel · 2019–2021
When the Province of Overijssel launched a challenge to raise awareness of low literacy among empoyers in four key industries, most proposals focused on communication campaigns. I took a different route.
Instead of pitching a product, I proposed a participatory action-research approach: a process that would connect existing initiatives—libraries, learning centres, employers, and social partners—into a shared programme. Low literacy, after all, isn’t a branding issue but a systemic one.
Through dialogue and design, we reframed the province’s question from “How do we tell the story?” to “How do we strengthen what already works?” That shift laid the groundwork for a collaborative, evidence-informed strategy now visible in the province’s ongoing “Basisvaardigheden” programmes.
This project reflects my broader philosophy as a boundary-crosser: building bridges between communication, research, and policy to create lasting social impact—beyond campaigns, toward capacity.
Participatory Action Research
Currently, I am deepening this transdisciplinary approach through the Master Learning and Innovation at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, refining my capacity to design learning and research and change processes that are truly impactful.
I am conducting research at Saxion’s Academy of Creative Technology on how education and research can be more meaningfully intertwined. By interviewing a broad range of stakeholders, I explore how learning communities can serve as shared spaces where teachers, researchers, and students collaborate in ways that create mutual benefit—and tap into the intrinsic motivation that drives genuine innovation.
When I encounter boundaries between disciplines and domains, I see possibility—moving fluently across domains, balancing content and process, and embracing a perpetual beta mindset: always learning, adapting, and reshaping practice as contexts evolve.
