About us

In our globalizing world, it is essential for professionals to develop the ability to understand, empathise and interact with other people. This requires an awareness of and sensitivity to cultural diversity. Such a set of abilities are crucial to face many of today’s global business and societal challenges.

Within the Global Minds @ Work research centre, we develop knowledge and tools, we engage people in lived experiences, to broaden their minds. So that they better understand and appreciate the perspectives and worldviews of others. So that they engage in open, appropriate and effective interactions with people from different backgrounds. So that they can include and apply these perspectives into their business decisions. We help people develop their global competence as a force for change and an equitable society. If you want to learn more about our Global Minds @ Work research centre, please visit our website!

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Team

The Global Mind program is a cooperation between the research center Global Minds @ Work and Etil Research Group. We would like to introduce ourselves to you in the section below.

Ankie Hoefnagels

Professor at research center Global Minds
Zuyd University of Applied Sciences
Ankie took the initiative to develop the Global Mind Monitor, inspired by her PhD dissertation on intercultural competence in the hospitality sector in 2014 (Radboud University). Together with the fellows of the research center Global Minds @ Work at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, she conducts research on global competence in higher education and the professional field. She is also a Research Director at Zuyd’s Hotel Management School.

Joris Boonen

Senior researcher
Zuyd University of Applied Sciences
Joris Boonen is a political scientist (PhD, KU Leuven, 2016) and affiliated as a researcher at Global Minds @ Work research center. He is mainly responsible for the measurements and the data in the Global Minds project. He also conducts research on the effects of different educational interventions (at home and abroad) on the development of students’ global competence. He is a lecturer and thesis coordinator at the interdisciplinary B.Sc. Global Studies (Maastricht University).

Martine Prins

Researcher at research center Global Minds
Zuyd University of Applied Sciences
Martine Prins (MA) is a lecturer at the Maastricht School of European Studies (Zuyd) and one day a week active for the research center Global Minds @ Work. Within the research center Global Minds @ Work she works on the optimal integration of the Global Mind Monitor in different educational settings and does research about the possibilities to adopt the GMM for use in vocational training (MBO). She is also involved in research concerning global competence in a regional cross-border setting (the so-called Euroregions).

Albert Mhangami

PhD Student at research center Global Minds
Zuyd University of Applied Sciences
Albert is a PhD candidate at the Global Minds at Work Research Centre. He is a Zimbabwean scholar who studied Chinese politics, foreign policy and International relations (Tsinghua University, 2021), and European Law (LLB, Maastricht University, 19). Within the research centre Global Minds @ Work, Albert is mainly responsible for the exploration of intercultural competence of students entering higher education, how higher education interventions influence these competencies, and how these interventions and the development of intercultural competence influence professional choices and experiences.

Pieter Dijkstra

Researcher
Etil Research Group
As a researcher at Etil, Pieter is involved in structuring, analysing and reporting data about labour market themes. For the Global Mind Monitor, Pieter is involved in connecting new costumers and technical support for the participants.

Jeroen Meuwissen

Manager Labour market
Etil Research Group
As manager of the unit Labour market within Etil, is Jeroen ultimately responsible for Etil’s research into current developments and trends in the labour market and within education. Internationalisation and globalization are key themes. From this role, he is therefore closely involved in the development of the Global Mind Monitor.