In this keynote, Kristin explores how creativity, entrepreneurship, openness and resilience form the foundation of sustainable educational innovation. These qualities are not optional extras, but essential drivers that help organizations deal with complexity, uncertainty and tension.
Drawing on her research into innovative capacity and professional capital, Kristin shows how these elements can be intentionally cultivated to create broader ownership, stronger collective shoulders, and deeper impact on learning. She translates theory into concrete principles for strengthening change from within the organization and for turning ambitious ideas into everyday classroom practices that expand what learning can be, and who it works for.
Keynote VU Education Day 2026: prof. dr. Kristin Vanlommel
About the speaker
Prof. Dr. Kristin Vanlommel is associate professor at the University of Antwerp (Belgium) and programme director of the Master Primary Education. Her research focuses on creating the conditions that enable educators to take informed, collective ownership of change processes and decision-making. Kristin's research agenda spans topics such as evidence-informed policy and practice, professional capital, and educational change. She has published widely on these themes in international journals and book chapters and contributes actively to international research communities. She serves in various leadership roles, including for example her past role as Director of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI), and her current role as network coordinator of the Evidence-Informed Change Network at ICSEI.