“You could really see how much power was concentrated within just a few square kilometres,” says Siema Ramdas, programme manager Value-Based Education and developer of the VU MIXED model at the VU Centre for Teaching & Learning. “That made an impression. What was discussed there directly relates to our lecture halls.”
Global power and a countervoice
While economic agendas were being shaped in Davos, discussions elsewhere in the city focused on inequality, AI, representation and responsibility. “The questions raised there are just as relevant to education,” she says. “Who gets to speak? Which perspectives are included?”
That was the premise of The Shift, an international platform bringing together fifty selected changemakers alongside a broader global community to address pressing societal challenges. Notably, Ramdas was the only participant with a background in education. “That says something in itself. Education is not always seen as a driver of systemic change, even though it can be exactly that.”
Inclusion is not a checklist
Long before Ramdas took the stage in Davos to speak about inclusive education, her motivation took shape during her own time as a student. “In hindsight, I can say that I often felt lost as a student,” she explains. “I switched programmes several times. I never really felt at home anywhere.”
What we now refer to as a ‘sense of belonging’ did not yet have a clear place in the educational debate at the time. “But I know exactly what it feels like when that is missing. When students do not feel safe or seen, it directly affects their learning.”
That experience became a guiding force. Ten years ago, she delivered her first workshop on diversity and inclusion, a theme that has since become a consistent thread throughout her work.
“Okay, but what do I actually need to do?”
“There is broad agreement on the importance of a safe and inclusive learning environment,” says Ramdas. “But what I often saw among lecturers was uncertainty about how to act. They would ask us: “Okay, but what do I actually need to do?”
This led to the development of the VU MIXED model (formerly Mixed Classroom): Multi-perspective Inclusive Exchanges on Equity and Diversity. It offers a practical approach to help lecturers deliberately integrate multiple perspectives into their teaching. “You can only ask students to engage with different perspectives if it feels safe enough for them to express those perspectives. That requires consciously designing the learning environment.”
VU as frontrunner in the Netherlands
According to Ramdas, what is happening at VU is still far from standard practice. “What started as separate diversity trainings has now become part of the foundation of education at VU. The VU MIXED model is embedded in the University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) and is part of the Start to Teach day for lecturers. That means we reach not only those who are already motivated,” she explains. “We also reach colleagues who might not engage with this topic otherwise.”
And that, she argues, is where the real difference lies. “At many institutions, inclusion still depends on individual enthusiasm. But systemic change cannot rely on a few committed individuals. Without faculty- and institution-level support, it remains fragile.”
Requires ongoing attention
“And our work is not finished either,” Ramdas adds. “Sometimes there is friction, and sometimes things really do go wrong. That can be confronting, but it is also part of it if you want to take inclusion seriously. It is not something you introduce once and then tick off. It requires ongoing attention and the willingness to look critically at your own organization.”
The fact that inclusion has become part of the foundation of education at VU shows that it is no longer a standalone initiative, but an ongoing responsibility.
Returning from Davos with a sense of pride
After Davos, Ramdas returned to Amsterdam with one clear thought: “We should be more proud of what we are doing here.” In Davos, she saw how confidently people present themselves and their work. “At VU, we tend to be modest. We focus on doing the work. But what we have built as a university, from A Broader Mind for students to initiatives around teacher professionalization, is genuinely strong.”
