Frederique Demeijer is an Assistant Professor of Transformative Learning for Inter- and Transdisciplinary Education at the Athena Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her research and teaching are centred around complex societal issues such as (religious) belonging, institutional racism, and community engagement. She investigates how to cultivate transdisciplinary competencies in students, educators, and societal stakeholders, with the aim of fostering inclusive dialogue and embracing diverse perspectives.
Her current research explores themes such as transformative learning, embodied learning, Social Presencing Theater, and community-engaged learning (including community service learning). She is particularly interested in how perspective transformation can be supported through inter- and transdisciplinary educational practices.
Frederique teaches in the iCSL1 and iCSL2 courses (Interdisciplinary Community Service Learning), which guide students in defining and addressing societal challenges in multi-stakeholder contexts. She is also involved in the Broader Mind Course at the VU.
She holds a BSc in Cultural Anthropology (University of Amsterdam and University of Cape Town), an MSc in Culture, Organization and Management (VU), and a PhD in Anthropology/Oral History/Religious Studies (VU, 2020). Her doctoral research examined how members of six different social generations experienced the role of religious communities in their lives.
