Hedwig van Rossum is associate professor in the Department of Legal Theory and Legal History. Her work focuses on research, innovation, and leadership in academic legal education. Hedwig studied Criminal Law at Utrecht University and Music Theatre at the Rotterdam Conservatory, after which she specialized in vocal technique. In 2023, she defended her doctoral dissertation at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam on Bildung in academic legal education. Currently, Hedwig serves as Programme Director of the Bachelor's programme in Law and as Faculty Coordinator for Educational Innovation. Previously, she was Programme Coordinator of the Bachelor's programme in Law, project leader of the faculty-wide project Gamification and Game-Based Learning, and chair of the faculty working group Educational Concept for the Bachelor's Programme in Law. Since 2014, she has supervised junior lecturers in obtaining their University Teaching Qualification. Hedwig holds the University Teaching Qualification, Senior Teaching Qualification, Basic Qualification Examination, Senior Qualification Examination and Educational Leadership Programme Certificate.
Research
Hedwig's research focuses on the mission, content, and design of academic legal education. Her work on developing and implementing a contemporary interpretation of the Bildung ideal in legal education addresses issues such as the societal challenges the university currently faces; the overall aims of academic legal education; the knowledge, skills, and dispositions law student require in response to those aims; how academic legal education could be designed to foster these outcomes, and; how educators can best be prepared for this task. More specifically, Hedwig research interests include critical thinking, creative thinking, responsibility, and play and playfulness in academic legal education. Hedwig’s research fits into the Boundaries of Law research programme.
Teaching
Hedwig develops and teaches courses within the Bachelor's programme in Law, particularly in the first and third years of the curriculum. She focuses on the development of didactics, including play and playfulness, assessment design, course innovation, and curriculum (re)development.
As a course coordinator, she has led educational innovation in the courses Encyclopedie der Rechtswetenschap I (2014-present), Pleitoefening (2014-2024) and Inleiding in de Rechtswetenschap (2015-2016, 2019-2020, 2024-2025). For the course Pleitoefening, Hedwig and colleagues from VU Amsterdam, the University of Groningen, and Utrecht University developed an innovative Virtual Reality courtroom and VR-based teaching methods through the projects PleitVRij (2022-2024) and Learning with VR: The Next Level (2022-2024). Both projects received funding through the SURF Open and Online Education Incentive Scheme, supported by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. For third year students of Notarial Law, Hedwig and colleagues developed the specialized course Notarial Conflict Resolution (2023-2024). As an educator, Hedwig is and was involved in the courses Encyclopedie der Rechtswetenschap I, Juridische Vaardigheden, Inleiding in de Rechtswetenschap, Pleitoefening and Bachelorscriptie.
