https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/staff/m-j-p-m-vanveldhoven
What is your role/position in the IDA program?
Course coordinator (MA thesis) & Course teacher (Individual Differences at Work)
How long have you been teaching?
20 Years
What do you like about teaching?
What I like most is the exchange with students, e.g. exchange of existing knowledge, new questions, fascination/curiosity for a topic et cetera. On a more pragmatic level, teaching is also a returning moment to focus my attention on a topic, update my knowledge, integrate new findings, and shape my story about it.
What is the reason you became a researcher?
I’m just curious about things and always ask a lot of questions, questions behind the questions. I tried working in practice for 15 years but got bored of it: too much superficiality and “issues of the day”
What is the most fascinating about human beings to you?
Our species of humans, Homo sapiens, has -from the beginning- distinguished itself by the use of technology, work and organisation. I find it fascinating to see how human beings are shaping and being shaped by these mechanisms, how this brings prosperity, health, well-being and meaning to people, while at the same threatening these outcomes as well for the same people.
Are there times where you doubt researching or university?
Being a researcher/doing research: no doubts whatsoever. University? This can be a wonderful, stimulating environment, but it can also be challenging; it requires some special skills and experience to navigate.
What makes IDA students unique?
My experience with IDA students is that they are bright, very passionate about their topic, opinionated, and creative. Great fun to work with.
If you could change something in the university setting what would you change?
Less bureaucracy and red tape please. Sometimes the number of rules and protocols is just paralysing.
What advice would you give future IDA students?
Try to learn as much as possible at this stage, and be open to new inputs, gather different kinds of experience, and don’t focus too much just yet on your output.
What is a collaborative project that you liked and worked with an IDA student on?
Liked to explore a configurational way of looking as work-related stress and well-being and its antecedents; paper is still work in progress.
How are you experiencing the teacher-student relationship in the IDA program?
Great. Collaboration and interaction is quite automatic, it does not require a lot of effort to get started.
If you are not teaching or doing research, what else do you like doing in your personal time?
I love music, both listening to and making, especially electronic music. Other than this, I like to spend time walking, running, outdoors, with wife, children, grandchildren, traveling.
Is there anything we missed and you would like to share? This can also be something personal e.g. a motto.
Enjoy the silence.
Be First to Comment