Currently I am the first Leiden Troll Hunter. *coughs* I mean, I am a community manager, and platform expert, Educational Policy and Platform advisor at the LLInC. If you want more background, read below. You can read my LinkedIn profile if you want my resume, and my portfolio is listed here.
Suffice to say that after working during holidays in administration as a student (yes, that type diploma came in handy in more ways than one) my first real job was at the Hoger Onderwijs persburerau as the archivist, also helping with the Keuzegids Hoger Onderwijs.
After two years I switched to working for the Bijzondere Bijstand (social welfare) of the municipality of Leiden, where I introduced a few Taylor inspired automations of administrative work, and learned considerable more empathy for the Leiden populace. I moved on to a better job as a secretary at Home Care, where I climbed the ladder to become a teamleader of no less than 3 home care teams in Leiden North. Coaching and finances were the main drivers of the job. After a brief stint at a nursing home in The Hague (not a huge success), I worked at a small private home care company in Voorschoten for several years, dealing with planning, personnel issues and quality care as part of the management team. I left healthcare for various reasons, including being threatened by burnout and having to make different life choices due to having small children, and especially the extra challenges they had. You can only stretch yourself so far. However, I must say that the squeezing of care by the government did play a large role as well. I am glad I got out when I did and my heart goes out after 2020 to all those care-takers the government treated as disposable.
My best decision ever was to start working at Leiden University in march 2010, starting as a management assistant at Academical Affairs for three days a week, and gradually building out. Working at the Bestuursburo for 5 years has given me a wide view of Leiden Unviersity and its inner workings. Among the proud projects I have supported in the past were various Strategic Conferences, the introduction of iPads at the management level of the Bestuursburo, the quality Instellingsaudit and of course, the start of MOOCs in 2013, which ended with me being offered a full time job as a project coordinator at the Centre for Innovation in 2015, producing online content and running a volunteer programme of over 350 people. I think I might write a blog about the origin story of my life as Leiden troll hunter one day, a special story for a rainy day.
The Centre for Innovation merged together with ICLON HO into the Leiden Learning & Innovation Centre, a central department directly under the Rector Magnificus of Leiden in 2023, a change that was initiated even before the pandemic. The pandemic highlighted the necessity for the digital strategy towards a Blended University though, and this is what LLInC concerns itself with, supporting Leiden University in its Digital University aim with all that it entails. This marked a new stage in my career as I am now putting my expertise in online learning, communities and Prof Ed to good use as an expert on Life Long Learning, offering policy support. I also work with the concept of offering advise on dealing with the future with Future Foresight.
Meanwhile there is another strand in my work that reaches back to my students days. I care a lot about university democracy. In 2020, together with LUGO, I founded the Sustainability Network in Teams, a community of action to collaboratively take small and big steps for a greener university.
Having previously been the chair of the SOZ Dienstraadl, at LLInC I have fought for the establishment of the new Dienstraad. I am currently the chair of the new Dienstraad of LLInC, as well as being an active union member of FNV. I am active in Leidse Academische Gemeenschap as well. I look forward to grow my position in employee participation in the coming years.