UTServicesSPThe Team

The Team

General Management

dr. D.J. Fikkers (Derek Jan)
Director of Strategy and Policy

Derek Jan Fikkers is director of Strategy and Policy (S&P) of the UT. Before that, Derek Jan was a partner and associate director at Technopolis Group.

Besides the overall coordination of the S&P department, Derek Jan is actively involved in some of our key projects, including the roll out of the university's new strategy: Shaping 2030. 

Office Management

Our Office Management is the vital backbone of S&P. It consists of Hanke van der Veer, Ger Steenman and Daphne van Bree. Our Office Managers help out where possible. In addition to that, they are involved in various projects. 

  • The Team of Office Management
    G.F. Steenman (Ger)
    Office manager
    H.P. van der Veer (Hanke)
    Office manager


    D. van Bree (Daphne)
    Office manager

Cluster Education Policy

The cluster education supports and catalyzes the development of a vision, strategy and policy on education that is in the interest of the University of Twente and its community. To that end the cluster education acts at the intersection of the university and its environment. The policy advisors participate in external networks like VSNU and 4TU and cooperate with internal stakeholders from faculties and service departments. Since education has multiple facets, the cluster is involved in various topics, such as UT’s educational profile, strategic educational partnerships, student wellbeing, quality assurance, education related law and regulations, connection within secondary education and universities of applied sciences, developments of the study programme landscape, and lifelong learning.

  • The Team of Cluster Education
    dr. F.C. van Urk (Felix)
    Head of Cluster Education
    Head of Cluster Education
    dr.ir. M.M.J. Letteboer (Marloes)
    Senior Policy Advisor

    Marloes Letteboer is Senior advisor at the S&P department of the UT. Marloes has been working at the UT for 10 years; her previous roles were Educational Director Applied Physics and Managing Director MIRA (now TechMed Centre). 

    Marloes is actively involved in several projects, including the strategic collaboration with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the UT vision on Master Education. 

    L.A. Woud - van der Graaf (Lisette)
    Policy Advisor

    Lisette is a Policy Advisor on education at the S&P department of the UT. Lisette has been working at the UT since 2008. In previous roles she worked as a Programme Coordinator Civil Engineering and as an Educational Advisor.

    Lisette is the Secretary of the University Committee on Education (UC-Ow), is as a policy advisor contact person on education for the VSNU and 4TU and is involved in some UT-wide projects. 

    M. Snel (Merijn)
    Policy Advisor

    Merijn is a Policy Advisor on education at the S&P department of the UT. Her major dossiers involve the quality assurance on education and the monitoring of the quality agreements. Within the Cluster Education Merijn actively monitors national and international developments on education and maintains contact with national accreditation organization NVAO. Merijn is also involved in the UT platform for Quality Coordinators [UTpK], and in the national platform for Quality Coordinators [LOK].
    Until March 2020 Merijn worked as an advisor and assessor in higher education. She is experienced in law and regulations regarding accreditation processes and quality assurance on education.

    J. Greven LLB (Jessica)
    Legal adviser Strategy & Policy | Secretary CWI
    drs. C. Rouwenhorst (Chris)
    Policy Advisor Education
    L.E. van der Woning MSc (Laurette)
    Strategic Advisor
    J.J.H. Smit MSc (Julius)
    Strategic advisor
    M. Poldervaart (Marike)
    Strategic Advisor Education Policy
    dr. I. Broekman (Inge)
    Advisor Policy & Analytics

Cluster Research & Knowledge Transfer

At the department of S&P we coordinate the design and monitoring of the UT’s research and impact policies and facilitate their execution. The cluster builds strong relations inside and outside the UT.

We work on various strategic topics, including: monitoring and co-developing national and international research agenda’s and policy instruments, strategic positioning of the UT research portfolio in national and international policy circles, collaboration in the region, implementation of the new Shaping2030 and Research Strategy, PhD and PDEng policies, research integrity and compliance, policies to support the generation of economic and societal impact, research quality management, Open Science, research talents. 
More information about Awards, grants and fellowships

  • The Team of Cluster Research & Knowledge Transfer
    drs. J.M. van Alten (Jasper)
    Policy advisor

    Jasper is Policy Advisor for Research at the S&P department of the UT. His focus areas are the UT Research in domains ‘sustainable environment’ and ‘connected communities’, Strategic Research Infrastructure and Open Science with special attention for Citizen Science.

    Jasper graduated at the UT in Public Administration and Public Policy with the specialization Civil Engineering. He has worked as a project management consultant and fulfilled several roles at KIVI, The Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers. For KIVI he developed various themes to connect technology and society and organized conferences with titles such as 'The Smart Energy Mix', 'Technology Cares', 'Sustainable Mobility’ and ‘Delta Cities'. He has often been to bring people (engineers from all kind of companies, universities and other organizations) together in high level Think Tanks.

    dr. W. Eberhardt (Wiebke)
    Policy advisor for research and knowledge transfer

    Wiebke is a policy advisor working on impact policy and (eu)regional collaborations. She is passionate about collaborating with colleagues and external partners to help the UT utilize her full impact potential and add value to society around her. Wiebke is also secretary of the UCI and Young Academy @ UT.
    Wiebke holds a PhD in marketing and behavioural finance from Maastricht University, has worked as a postdoc researcher and junior research fellow of Netspar on pension communication and as program manager on lifelong learning and at the Center for Actionable Research of the Open University.

    L. te Winkel (Linda)
    Policy advisor


Cluster International Affairs

The cluster International Affairs supports the university with the challenges which come with the transition of becoming a more international organization. We are responsible for formulating the institutional internationalization strategy and facilitate the implementation. A number of core dossiers can be distinguished:

International collaboration: Focusing on the strategic collaboration with international partner universities either bilateral or as part of a consortium (ECIU). This also includes the clustering of institutional knowledge around a number of focus countries and international strategic partnerships in the world.

Internationalization policy: We play an initiating and pro-active role in formulating supporting policy measures like joint educational programmes with foreign institutions, the language policy of the university, financial instruments (waivers, international scholarships), housing policy and the exchange policy regarding students.

  • The Team of Cluster International Affairs
    Senior Stragegic Policy Advisor
    drs. F.J. de Vries (Fred)
    Strategic liaison European Higher Education

    Fred has lead since October 2020 till July 2023 the International Affairs cluster, working with internal and external stakeholders on the internationalisation of the university’s education, research and valorisation. He is with the team working out a broad vision on internationalisation, embracing current valuable practices in the framework of the Shaping2030 strategy.

    He graduated at the UT in 1987 at the brand-new Faculty of Education (Toegepaste Onderwijskunde) walking his professional path at the Open University of the Netherlands, designing, researching and shaping innovations in Higher Education, with focus on adult learners, Technology Enhanced Learning, open and online education. Eventually he moved  from building curricula, to R&D in European networks and policy and strategy for the rector and its network of distance learning universities in Europe. 

    Besides this, he is active as a change agent on designing and implementing innovative education systems in different countries for UN-organisations (UNHCR, UNESCO) and international NGOs.  This includes growing online module based higher education in the Arab world with internationally oriented universities in a network to reach out to marginalized youth and refugees in Africa and the Middle East.

    drs. A.F. Olde Loohuis LLM (Anne)
    Head of cluster International Affairs

    Anne is policy advisor for international affairs at the S&P department. Her focus areas are financial aid instruments such as scholarships and waivers, and international strategic partnerships.

    She started at the UT as programme coordinator for the Master Industrial Design Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering Technology. Before that, she worked for 6 years at International Baccalaureate in the Hague, which sparked her interest in global education and international mindedness.

    S. Walyar MSc (Shabnam)
    Strategic Policy Adviser International Affairs

    Shabnam is policy advisor that works cross clusters in international affairs and education for the S&P department. Within the international affairs cluster, her focus areas are financial aid instruments such as scholarships, tuition fee waivers, and international strategic partnerships. Besides, she coordinates the UT country and ISP coordinators. In cluster education, she focuses on a combination of flexible education and quality assurance inquiries.

    She started at UT as a project leader and admission officer for the Centre For Educational Support. This rekindled her passion for policy on access to education and internationalisation, given her background in public administration and international relations.

    R.T. Wakamiya (Ryan)
    ECIU University & Internationalisation
    C. M'Doe LLM (Charlotte)
    Policy Advisor - International Affairs


ECIU University

ECIU University is a cluster of department of S&P that handles the implementation of the ECIU University project. A three year project with the goal of setting up a virtual university with our 12 European partners. Challenge Based Education, Challenge Based Research and Challenge Based Innovation are at the core of it. The project started in November 2019 and will end in November 2022.  

The ECIU University cluster has several responsibilities and as such serves multiple goals the main ones being:

More information about ECIU University.

  • The Team of ECIU
    Head of the Cluster ECIU
    drs. S. Lotze (Sander)
    Policy Advisor

    Sander is director of the Project ECIU University which is a European initiative and aims to create a European University the coming years. The ECIU University is coordinated by the University of Twente and encompasses challenge based education, research and innovation on the European level. Next to this Sander is co founder and responsible for Summerschool CuriousU

    Before this position Sander has been the manager of International Affairs.

    K. Dircksen MA (Katrin)
    Policy Advisor

    Katrin Dircksen is the Secretary General of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU). Before, she was working in Collaborative Research Center on Symbolic Communication. In her current role, Katrin isin charge of the day-to-day management of the foundation ECIU. She is supporting the ECIU Executive Board, consisting of the Rectors and presidents of the 14 ECIU members and closely collaborating with the ECIU Brussels office. Katrin is responsible for the overall coordination of the ECIU activities,  committees and groups and engaged in a couple of European Projects.

    P.F.T. Doek (Petra)
    ECIU University Office Manager
    E. Tsigki MA (Elena)
    Policy Advisor

    Elena Tsigki is the Project Leader of CuriousU, the festival style summer school organised by the University of Twente (UT). Previously, she has worked for the University College Groningen and as a project coordinator for the Shelter City Groningen project. In her current role, Elena is responsible for the overall organisation and coordination of CuriousU and strive to find new ways to develop short-term and internationalisation programmes and expand UT's existing offering.

    O.E. Wessels LLM (Olga)
    Policy Advisor

Cluster Programme Management, Analytics & Monitoring (PAM)

The Cluster PAM covers a broad field, in content as well as activities. Based on internal and external developments, we initiate policy and manage strategic projects, including advice on how to monitor the results of new policies and projects. The use of Business Intelligence optimises collection of and access to cross domain data, to support validated decision-making on tactical and strategic level. Analysis and better understanding of the data facilitates a more predicting and anticipating attitude within the decision making, based on actual and reliable information. Our activities cover research, education, internationalization and their societal impact. They are carried out in close collaboration with the Faculties, policy advisors of the other S&HiP clusters, other service departments and external partners.

  • The Team of Cluster Programme Management, Analytics & Monitoring
    Head of the Cluster Programme Management, Analytics & Monitoring
    drs. M.J. Winkler (Mariëlle)
    Policy Advisor

    Mariëlle Winkler is head of Programme Management, Analytics & Monitoring of the S&P department of the UT. We initiate, manage, and deliver strategic projects, including advice on how to monitor the results, and collects, analyses and optimizes access to cross domain data in order to support validated decision-making. Prior to her current position, Mariëlle worked on several positions within the UT as (interim) head and program manager. Before she started at the UT, she carried out strategic projects in the field of Biodiversity and Social Corporate Responsibility at consultancy office CREM.

    Besides the coordination of the cluster PAM, Mariëlle is involved in several projects. 

    drs. A. Ametovic (Amir)
    Program Manager

    After working as a public administration advisor and financial policy advisor for almost 14 years, I have been working as a program manager within the department S&P since 2017. In this function I am responsible for several strategic projects within the UT.  

    H.Y. Berteler - Wong (Yasmin)
    Business Analyst

    As a business analyst, Yasmin is a team member of BI-Studio, a team dedicated to directors or staff members with steering information questions. BI-Studio delivers products – like reports, dashboards and visualisations - that contribute to the decision making process. Together with the internal customer she defines the desired information, analyses the available data and ensures that the developers will achieve the desired result.

    Before that she has been the project leader for the Management Information System UT domain education.

    J.H. Bohemen (Jolanda)
    Knowledge Management and Project support staff

    After working in various positions for almost 35 years, I am starting a new challenge as Knowledge Management and Project support staff in the cluster  Programma Management Analytics and Monitoring of the S&P department.

    The main goal of this new position will be to strengthen our digital infrastructure, to support our internal and external digital collaboration and provide knowledge management and other support for projects and to optimize operational management. The step towards a tech savvy organization.

    L. Kalverda MSc (Leontien)
    Program Manager Shaping 2030

    At the UT I am the projectleader of the implementation of our new mission, vision and strategy: Shaping2030

    dr. F.C. van Urk (Felix)
    Senior Programme Manager
    dr. I. Broekman (Inge)
    Advisor Policy & Analytics

    In the cluster Programme Management Analytics and Monitoring Inge is active as an education analyst. As advisor policy and analytics she is involved in several projects at the crossroads of the education and research clusters. She is a bridge builder and passionate about academia.

    Inge focusses on connecting the various central services and improving the faculty-central relationship. Inge is member of the Dutch Bologna Team and has a large international network build up during previous roles in academics as well as in international relations and partnerships. 

    drs. P.P. Hoetink (Patrick)
    Research and research-impact analyst and -advisor

    Patrick analyses and benchmarks the research performance and societal impact of the university. He is involved in global rankings of universities and the research quality-cycle. He advises on measures to further improve quality, impact and reputation.

    ing. R. Klapwijk (Rob)
    Datawarehouse Architect/ ETL Engineer
    W.H.G. Nijhuis (Walter)
    Report Analyst

    Walter works within BI•studio on the development of management reports and steering-dashboards and the collection of the necessary data.

    In his career Walter has acquired a lot of knowledge and experience with the development and use of (management) information systems.

    K. Posch MSc (Kees)
    Teamlead BI-Studio

    Currently working as business analyst for BI-studio. I am available for all inquiries regarding data driven decision making (reports, dashboards, visualisations). My goal is - together with BI-studio - to aid with all fact-based decision-making processes where structured data can be used.

    Keywords:

    PowerBI, CRM, Business Objects, data visualisation, dashboards, kpi, reports, data analysis, data driven

    T. van der Wal - Zoer (Tineke)
    Project Officer
    ir. S.H.A. Ramnath BSc (Suraj)
    BI Analyst/Developer

    BI Studio (part of S&P) leverages software and services to transform data into actionable insights that improve and support data-driven decision making. Other benefits of these software and services include the optimization of the internal business processes, better data quality and increased operational efficiency.

    Suraj is currently a member of BI Studio. His expertise lies in providing data solutions (reports, dashboards, business analytics, applications, visualizations) based on the information needs of the University of Twente.

    His technical interest are data mining & analytics, data warehousing, data modeling, creating dashboards & reporting

    H. van Rijssen - Klaczynski (Hèla)
    Policy Support Officer

    The title of my resume is "Juridical organizational talent". With its content I explain why I am an experienced paralegal with a unique combination in knowledge, expertise and skills in higher Education, from a supporting, executive and project-wise perspective.

    Today this shows in my work for S&P, where I mainly act in projects: coordinating tasks, linking people to themes and most of all make sure that things are done. This I do either to support policy advisors and project-managers, or directly towards the Executive Board.

    In doing this I support my organizational unit in helping (new) UT-policy to land smoothly in the faculties and service-departments of the University of Twente.

    M. Verwers (Monique)
    Project Officer
    H.G. ten Berge RC (Rick)
    PROGRAMME MANAGER
    drs. R.A. Schepers (Rob)
    Business Intelligence Analyst

Support to the University Council

  • Support to the University Council
    G.W.M. Olde Engberink (Irena)
    Registrar University Council
    L. Tijink - Zinad (Laila)
    Supporting Staff
    P.E. ter Brugge (Petra)
    Supporting Staff