Our society is a prototype: what will you help rebuild?

Imagine: you are six years old, standing behind your father while he brushes his teeth, and you tap him on the arm: "Turn off the tap, dad. Every little drop counts."

Leonie van der Steen knew from an early age that she wanted to improve the world. She just didn't know how yet. She found her answer at the UT — and she hasn't stopped since.

On 2 October, she takes the stage at the Alumni Talks 2026 at the Amphitheatre Vrijhof.

"Improve the world, start with yourself"

When Leonie heard at secondary school that there weren't enough women in engineering, her decision was quickly made: then that's where I'm going. She chose Civil Engineering at the UT — not because she necessarily wanted to build bridges, but because she was curious about everything that could be done differently.

At Twente, she learned, in her own words, to become "a spider in the web." Someone who knows a little about everything, can talk to anyone, and sees connections that others miss. Alongside her studies, she was active in Audentis, served on the board of the Student Union, and became a partner at PIP Advice, a management consultancy run entirely by Master's students. She lived the UT motto 'More Than A Degree' quite literally.

She graduated in 2005, shortly after the parliamentary inquiry into construction fraud. During the day, she learned in the lecture halls how the construction sector could be fairer and more transparent. In the evenings, she watched on television how things actually worked in practice. The conclusion was inevitable: this needs to change. And: I'm going to do something about it.

But not from the inside. Leonie quickly realised that in the traditional construction industry, you have to keep quiet for twenty years before anyone takes your opinion seriously. So she chose consulting — to push from the outside. Via Boer & Croon, she ended up at Squarewise, a strategic consultancy focused on sustainable innovation. She grew from consultant to partner, and eventually to co-owner of an organisation that deliberately took itself into its own hands through steward ownership. No shareholders pushing for profit. No management deciding over other people's work. A company that belongs to itself.

Building something that isn't yours

That conviction also shapes her life at home. On the regenerative estate De Kleverbergh in the Ooijpolder near Nijmegen, Leonie and eighteen families are building a place where biobased construction, biodiversity and shared ownership are not concepts but daily reality. The land is not hers. The homes won't be either. That is precisely the point.

Through the Gideon movement, she connects around 1,200 radical pioneers working to change the construction sector from within. Not through regulation. Not through subsidies. But by bringing together people who dare to build something new.

Back in Enschede on the 2nd of October

She is still the girl who asked her father to turn off the tap. Only now it's not about one tap — it's about an entire system.

What drives someone who has spent twenty years working on change in a sector that moves so slowly? Where does she find the energy? And: what will you help rebuild?

You'll hear it on 2 October.

Get your tickets now: Alumni Talks 2026, Friday 2 October, 15:00, Amphitheatre Vrijhof.

Listen and read more

• Article in Dutch: Meepraten over de miljoenen van Disc, U-Today 26/06/2002
• Article in English: There was a surplus of men in Enschede, U-Today 30/09/2021
• Podcast in Dutch: Where is it heading and what can I do?, conversation with Leonie van der Steen on work, transition and steward ownership. 28/10/2025