Jiska van dijk, MSC
Assistant professor at the University of Twente
In 2016 I graduated from my master Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety.
Why Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety?
I have always been interested in psychological processes underlying crime and deviant behavior, and safety issues concerning society. Also, the focus on group dynamics and leadership really appealed to me and made me decide to choose this master. What I liked in this master was the combination of theory and practice. A good example in which this combination showed, is the course ‘group dynamics and interventions’, in which Kolb’s cycle of experimental learning was applied. Not only the theory was explained and learned through this cycle, students also had to design their own training and give this to their fellow students.
Victim-offender mediation
In my master thesis I started focusing on restorative justice and examined the effects of an apology given in the context of victim-offender mediation on victims’ psychological well-being. I really enjoyed doing applied research and also expressed this to my supervisor. While finishing my thesis my supervisor proposed to apply for funding for a PhD-project. After finishing my master, I (together with my PhD-supervisors) applied for a research talent grant at NWO. A year later I started my job as a PhD-candidate at the University of Twente and Maastricht University.
In my PhD-research I examined how and why participation in victim-offender mediation (VOM) can lead to a reduced risk of reoffending. Foregoing research shows that offenders who participate in VOM have a lower risk to re-offend, but it was unknown what exactly explained this relationship. In my PhD research I aimed to unravel this black box of VOM. After my PhD I started working as assistant professor at the PCRS department. In this position I hope to contribute to the broader application of mediation and focus on how professionals can be stimulated to apply mediation as a way of conflict resolution.
What I really like about my current job is the versatility in tasks. I have the opportunity to set out my own research lines and do research together with student, in which I function as a supervisor. On the other hand, I get a lot of energy of transmitting my knowledge to students, and help them develop their own scientific skills. I think it is a job, that if you do it correctly, never gets boring.
If you would like to know more about my job as an assistant professor or as a PhD-student you can always contact me by email or via LinkedIn.
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