Wittenborg Staff

The value of data in fighting the spread of COVID-19 has been emphasised by authorities around the world - from promoting mobile applications tracing the contacts of positive cases, to the exchange of data by researchers. But where does this leave an individual's right to privacy? Wittenborg lecturer Stanley Mbelu (LL.M) co-authored a recent paper on the subject with fellow academic Fortune Nwaiwu from the Tomas Bata University in the Czech Republic. It was published on Social Science Research Network.

As an international living abroad, you might not have heard of the term "Multiple Nationality Disorder", but chances are you have felt it. That unease when, after living abroad for a few months or years, you realise you cannot fully integrate back into your own nationality. Wittenborg lecturer and life coach Nátalia Leal recently wrote about the phenomenon on her website and the article was in turn picked up by Expat Republic.

After two years of sharing his expertise in sport business management with students at Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences, lecturer Bas Schreurs is to leave the institution for now in the face of the restructuring of programmes at the institute, changes in educational pedagogies and preparation to achieve new international accreditations, especially the AACSB accreditation. In an interview, Schreurs, who also works as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) manager for premier league football club FC Twente, talked about how his lecturing career was enriched by working with international students at Wittenborg, his optimism about returning at some point and possibly pursuing a PhD exploring the impact of sport on climate change.

With the travel ban having been lifted by the Dutch government on 15th June, a few students and staff of Wittenborg have since left their homelands and returned to the Netherlands. Wittenborg News caught up with a staff member and a student to find out more about their experiences and perspectives of the COVID-19 situation.

Tineke van der Leer is now entering the retirement phase of her professional career after working with Wittenborg for the past 8 years. In her position as the Student Registry Administrator, she has been influential in the student journey of a large number of WUAS students. She will be greatly missed by colleagues and students who have had the good fortune of interacting with her. We caught up with her to talk about her experience working at Wittenborg and what she is looking forward to in this new chapter.

Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences has reopened all its campuses in the Netherlands and is restarting more activities on location. This week, we checked in with lecturer Natalia Leal who teaches Master in Business Management (MBM) modules. She holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Kent and is passionate about empowering others while continuously searching for personal growth.

Rijn Platteel is currently the Managing Director of Change in a real estate company providing affordable housing and community building for young professionals between the ages of 20-35. He shares his valuable insight about housing sector in the Netherlands during the period of COVID-19 and how students can benefit from it.

Bert Meeuwsen is a lecturer as well as advisor to the executive board of Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences. Apart from keeping up with his tasks as a Wittenborg staff member and his private executive coaching, he has also undertaken the task of renovating the new home that he and his wife recently purchased.

Restaurants, terraces, museums and cinemas in the Netherlands were allowed to open again this week after more than two months of closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Public transport is now also running to normal schedules again after services were significantly reduced. A day later, Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences also reopened all its locations in the Netherlands – its two buildings in Apeldoorn and one in Amsterdam are now all accessible again during office hours.

Emmah Nyambura Muchoki is a Wittenborg lecturer from Kenya. She considers herself a loner, so this time staying at home has not been difficult for her. However, she is missing the option that she previously had to go out with friends to restaurants and visiting them at any time.