‘The UvH is a breeding ground for innovative research’

“As a professor of humanistic chaplaincy studies, I am also chair of the chair group of the same name, which consists of 23 lecturers and researchers. I am also chair of the national knowledge hub on Meaning and Spiritual Care, for which the UvH is the coordinating institution. In this hub, we collaborate with other universities, universities of applied sciences and practical organisations. Furthermore, together with other chair group chairs, I am a member of the management team.

I have known the UvH since 1995, when I started here as a PhD student. After obtaining my PhD, I worked as a lecturer and senior lecturer at various universities and colleges in the Netherlands and England. When a new professor was sought here, I applied and was successful.

I really enjoy working at a small university. Here, you know all your colleagues and many of the students, which means that the lines of communication are short and you can quickly get started on new projects. That’s very nice. But the main reason I came back to the UvH was the challenge. Here, I can further develop the profession of spiritual care based on the mission of humanistics and with new research methods. I see the UvH as a breeding ground for innovative research.

At the UvH, we have a strong international network in the various branches of humanistics. The collaborations are for both education and research. For example, we participate in the European network for research in the field of spiritual care, in which we also exchange good practice examples with each other.”