As of January ’22 I am president of the inter-university committee for primary school teacher training (ICL PO) from the Universities of The Netherlands (UNL, previously VSNU). This committee is a collaboration between the Dutch scientific teacher training programs (RUG, RU, EUR, UvA, ULeiden, UU and VU) aiming at exchanging good practices, improving education and collaboration with the field, and developing new teacher programs. The committee lobbies on collective issues, for example the positioning and formal recognition of academic teachers in primary schools, often together with the committee for secondary school teacher training (ICL VO).
On behalf of the committee I also take place in the National steering group of the covenant between the ministry of Education (OC&W), the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Science (VH) and UNL on flexibilization of teacher education programs (22 million euros, 2020-2023). The VU is partner in most of the covenant projects. In this role I am, together with my colleagues from the ICL VO, responsible for steering and monitoring the broad range of projects aiming at university (including applied sciences) transcending collaboration to improve quality and flexibility of initial teacher training, subsidized trajectories to switch careers and professionalization after initial teacher training. We advise the board of directors on teacher training programs in the Netherlands (consisting of rectors from the participating universities).