For companies

Born and raised in Mönchengladbach, Germany, I grew up with frequent journeys to the Dutch side of the border, sparking an early interest in the Dutch “manier van leven”.

Being a region-enthusiast, I dedicate my research towards digitalisation and sustainability in cross-border relevant topics, aiming to foster prosperity of the region on both sides of the border.

Currently, I am Associate Professor in the research group CBBD. Furthermore, I lecture on topics such as e-marketing, marketing management, entrepreneurship, market analysis and e-commerce in the MBA, MSc in Business and Management and BSc. in Marketing Management. I am also the programme manager of the MSc programme that Fontys runs in cooperation with the University of Plymouth.

Before joining Fontys International Business School, I studied in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, UK and Poland. After my studies, I worked for medium-sized IT companies in insurance, network engineering and RFID technology as well as IT-Consulting sectors in marketing, sales and business development.

The border has something magical, but its (apparent) absence is even more magical, if possible. My studies and working life have always been dominated by cross-border work. My studies European (Business) Studies & International management have laid the foundation for this. During my working life, I worked for large international companies in Sales & Marketing and Human Resources. I have worked a lot with expat and global mobility issues, especially in the border region between the Netherlands and Germany. In addition, I have worked in Germany for several years.

Within the CBBD research group, I am project leader of the High Potentials Crossing Borders Project (INTERREG V) and a PhD Candidate. I am mainly involved in cross-border cooperation between colleges of higher education, governments and companies in the Euregion Rhine-Meuse-North and the consequences for the Euregional labour market. We can make even more use of the opportunities offered by the border, and that is what I am committed to.

As a project employee of the High Potentials Crossing Borders project, I have been asked to contribute to the research group Cross-Border Business Development. I will contribute my Euregional network with the business community in order to intensify the cross-border cooperation between education and enterprises.

As a political scientist, I focus on international relations and my study of Dutch has given me a special focus at a very young age. Intercultural communication has always been both passion and power! Since 2012 I have worked for Fontys, mainly as a language teacher in all three streams. At the end of 2015, I was asked to become a teacher for High Potentials Crossing Borders. Here I mainly took care of the participating students and the applications. Since May 2020, I am also involved in the Euregio project for university cooperation. I will mainly focus on cooperation in designing classrooms, but also on practical matters such as cross-border public transport.

Since April 2019, I have worked for the project Euregional Campus Limburg Niederrhein. Together with the Hochschule Niederrhein, we are working to show young people study and work opportunities in the region AND to look across the border.

As a teacher/supervisor at FIBS and as the person responsible for the Fontys campus in Kempen, I work and live in this Euregional environment and am still often surprised by the undiscovered possibilities (hidden champions, cool start-ups) on our doorstep.

With an international education and a lot of German-Dutch work experience, this is a project in which I recognise myself. At an early age, I crossed the border myself and used the possibilities that were offered to me in an international D-NL environment. I would like to give this experience further to young people in the project.

With a background in food retail marketing and marketing communication consultancy in agribusiness, my passion for food and where it comes from come together. Over the past four years, I have taught consumer behaviour and food retail marketing in the broadest sense of the word. Both at school and in projects with companies, I combined the skills from the work field with theoretical knowledge, the fresh opinion and way of working of students and my own knowledge and experiences. This combination created an instructive environment for all parties involved. 

In my research, I will mainly focus on cross-border consumer flows and their behaviour in food retail on both sides of the border.

Cross-border thinking was a big part of my life: since my birth and childhood living in "abroad" Belgium, I ended up in Germany after my studies in Maastricht. In the meantime, I am working in "my own" country again, as a lecturer at International Business. 

As a member of the knowledge circle for the research group, I want to connect research and education. My interest focuses on the economy in the border region: Who is successful, and what contributes to this success? And what role do governments play in this? A broad field of research, to which I would like to contribute.

As a student, I attended a bilingual German-French school in the administrative district of the former German capital Bonn. Thinking beyond national borders in a European context has always been a guideline for me. Helping companies and employees to identify opportunities in cross-border business activities and to remove obstacles that stand in the way of seizing these opportunities is an exciting and meaningful challenge that we tackle in our Cross-Border Business Development department. As an economist with a PhD, my focus is on quantitative, empirical analyses of economic activities and opportunities in the border region.

On behalf of the International Marketing course, I am attached to the research group and I will be working on the internationalisation scan for the Dutch and German markets. I will also be working on cross-border sustainability issues between the Netherlands and Germany. As a member of the Business Club Maas Rhein, I will pick up and expand my network in the Netherlands and Germany within the framework of the Dutch and German Eugional cooperation.

Like many of my colleagues, I grew up near the border. I still remember well how we were waved through the border or stopped by a customs officer, usually my uncle, to go shopping with the German Mark wallet in my pocket, or to go swimming. 

Within the research group, I will work on two projects. The first is "Mind the digital Gap". The objective of this project is to gain insight into (the difference) in the degree of digitization of SMEs in the German-Dutch border area. Is there a difference in e.g. digital skills or views on digital developments on both sides of the border? And what exactly are these differences. At the moment we focus on the Venlo region and Kreis Viersen. The second project is the "Cross-Border Game Lab" in which we will develop "serious games" with students commissioned by Dutch or German companies. A serious game has another primary goal than just the fun of playing. For example, the main goal is to convey a message, recruit or select, learn or gain insight.

Living and growing up in the border region shaped the course of my life. As I like the Dutch culture, I studied political science, economics and Dutch at Westphalian University of Münster (WWU). In 2004, I completed my PhD degree in political science and economics. Then I studied and worked in different European countries (e.g. Belgium, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands).  

In 2010, I founded my own Innovation and Communication agency “IdeenPaten” (Godfathers of Ideas). We offer all kinds of innovation and communication consultancy. In 2013 I started to work as a Lecturer for Marketing and Innovation Skills at Fontys International Business School (FIBS) in Venlo. Since 2014 I also worked for the Research Cross-Border Business Development (till 2019 Fontys Crossing Borders). I initiated different cross-border projects and did research on the meaning of sustainability culture for companies, fake news and digital skills in a cross-border context.

I grew up in the province of Limburg. Together with my parents I was often “on the road” in the Euregion. Already as a kid, we frequently visited Aachen, Liege, Hasselt, les Ardennes, Düsseldorf, the Kempen, Cologne, Tongeren, the Eiffel, Eupen, Verviers and of course our own province of Limburg.

Being raised multilingual and, as a kid, not aware of the fact that all the cities and regions we visited were situated cross-border in three different countries I was surprised when I learned during the geography lessons at primary school that “my region” was situated in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

In my first two jobs, an SME in electronics and a large manufacturer of ceramics, I travelled a lot, again crossing borders. Marketing, sales, communication and product development were my main tasks. But the Euregion apparently was still in the back of my mind.

For the last 15 years, I have been active in a wide variety of projects in our Euregion. The main topic has always been Cross-Border Cooperation between start-ups, SMEs, research institutes, government organisations, Interreg, etc. At CBBD, I will be working on the projects “Grensranking Venlo” and “ Cross-Border Circular Institute”.

As a born Friezin, I came to live in Venlo four years ago for my studies where I had to deal with the phenomenon of cross-border consumers and the ease with which you just cross the border to visit a restaurant or store. Through my graduation internship, I ended up at the Fontys research group CBBD where I further studied the German border shoppers. From July 2020, I started working for the research group where I contribute to various projects.

Since January 2015 I have been supporting several (INTERREG) projects, including the research group Cross-Border Business Development and High Potentials Crossing Borders, on an administrative and organisational level. I grew up 'on the moor' in Venlo a stone's throw from the German border. We often crossed the border to go shopping or eat. I like the fact that in my current job I often cross the border again and discover new things over and in Germany.