Colleagues tell: Read their experience stories

‘In the train on the way home from Saxion I often work on my Secret Ideas List.’

He uses the morning train ride from Arnhem to Enschede to prepare for the day ahead. He is busy researching solutions for the energy transition, has a Secret Ideas List and... at the start of the summer holidays, stashes his laptop and telephone somewhere in the Saxion building. Who is Simon Hageman and why did he choose to work at Saxion? We were curious to find out more...

‘I can work on my own development at Saxion and also on the development of others.’

Linking disciplines, quickly switching tasks: it all suits Lotte Jansen down to the ground. She started as Saxion Corporate Trainee one and a half years ago and recently received the good news that there is a position for her. Who is this multi-tasker who connects research and education? “Sometimes I get asked how I manage to switch between tasks and projects so easily. If it doesn’t drive me mad. But actually, it suits me down to the ground.”

‘I see myself as a guide to my students’

‘I have basically rolled on from student to lecturer!’ Kasper Kamperman took the study that he now lectures in. Soon after graduation he was asked to come and lecture. He already had a broad outlook when he was studying – they could put that to good use. Both his parents worked in education, ‘So it was already in my blood’. Besides Saxion, he also works as a freelancer in creative technology.

‘I didn’t really know what I had got myself into as team leader, but it turned out for the best.’

“How I ended up at Saxion? Well, that’s a good story,” so begins Daniëlle Ouwejan our conversation. She is team leader at the Podiatry study programme, despite the fact she studied educational sciences. “On my leaving day, even after the coffee and cake, I was finally asked if I would consider staying on at Saxion.”

Hendrik Jan left the business world to join Saxion: ‘Students enjoy hearing stories from the field.’

“When I was in China, the first thing I did every morning was check the air quality with my app. To find out whether I needed to put on a face mask before going outside,” says Hendrik Jan Jager. After working in the international business world, Hendrik Jan chose to come and work at Saxion where conscious business is a key theme in education at the School of Finance and International Business. Hendrik Jan started working at the school as a lecturer and is now Manager. How has he experienced his move into education?

‘If you love your discipline, then Saxion is a great place to give something back to students’

Niek van Toor had basically known for some time that he wanted to become a lecturer in Mechanical Engineering. However, he still wanted to get practical experience first, before working at Saxion. “Technology for technology’s sake, doesn’t really suit me. To me it’s all about what technology can mean in our daily lives. And how I can help students with this so they can find their future path. When you come from the professional field then you know what you can mean to an applied university like Saxion. I was ready to take the step into education.”

‘Saxion breaks bubbles, and that is exactly the kind of person I am.’

'I’m a child of the AMA,' says Keklik Yücel. She joined Saxion almost two years ago as Head of the School of Applied Psychology & Human Resource Management ( AMA). It seems like a lot of things fell into place when she chose Saxion. In particular being able to create opportunities for the region and for those who can’t take opportunities for granted. Being able to make progress together. Being able to connect different worlds. Keklik refers to these as bubbles. They form a common thread in her life and in this conversation.

Carien is a Continuous Improvement Coach: ‘Wherever I am at Saxion, I feel at home’

Helen became a nursing lecturer at Saxion: 'I’ve let go of the fixed ideas as to who or what I should be as a lecturer.'

From Media Park to Saxion. Sander: ‘Working in education has opened up a whole new world for me’

Stefan Kok is a nursing lecturer at Saxion: ‘I have always had a passion for technology and helping people with their personal development’

Abeje is professor of Unmanned Robotic Systems at Saxion and wants to make a real impact with his research

Sara is lecturer Urban Studies at Saxion ‘I get a lot of energy from the City Lab’