Hi everybody, I’m Joris Boonen, and I’m excited to start my new job as a Teacher/Thesis Coordinator for Global Studies.
Until the end of August, I will work for Global Studies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and finish a few projects at Zuyd. From September on, I will work for Global Studies for four days a week.
I will combine this new role with my research on intercultural competence development among students at Zuyd’s ‘Global Minds’ research centre.
After I obtained my PhD in Political Science at KU Leuven in 2016, I’ve worked as a researcher, thesis coordinator and lecturer at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in Maastricht. I was the academic coordinator for the bachelor ‘Oriental Languages & Communication’ and responsible for the curriculum development of their new BA International Communication. I also organised Zuyd’s staff training for thesis supervisors. Next to that, I’ve worked as a lecturer at the MA of Journalism at the Free University of Brussels.
In my spare time, you’ll probably find me running in the woods in and around Zonhoven (Belgium), where I live with my wife and two young children.
The Global Studies team already prepared a fantastic welcome for me here at the UM. I am looking forward to meeting all other colleagues at FASoS as well!