The Npuls team further expanded

JaapJan Vroom has been working in vocational education and training schools for over 30 years, in many different roles. Starting as a social studies and communication skills teacher, he later became a trainer, team leader and advisor on educational innovation & technology-supported learning, among other things. In ‘Doorpakken op Digitalisering’, JaapJan spearheaded Data-supported Education. In 2022, he won the SURF Education Award.

In recent years, JaapJan has been working on designing and sharing digital educational resources and using educational data in the educational process. The realisation that a successful innovation process by education ultimately requires asking the right questions, even if they are often only latent, is a driving force in his work. Since mid-2023, JaapJan has been working as a policy advisor for MBO Digitaal and a captain of transformation at Npuls.

If you are cycling along the river IJssel in Zwolle, you might run into him along the floodplains, running or walking his dog.

The role of project manager of the Data & AI pilot hub suits Dominique well: “Working together with a group of people to create a clear structure in tackling a complex challenge and working together towards concrete results, that’s where I like to put my energy.” For the past 24 years, Dominique has worked in higher education in various roles. During that time, he also made a little side trip to secondary vocational education. As such, Dominique has worked as a programme, project and change manager, ict manager, coach, director of operations and CIO.

About his role at Npuls, Dominique says: “For me, working at Npuls feels like a great opportunity as well as a great responsibility. With involvement from all institutions and a duration of eight years, there is a playing field in front of us where we can make big differences. And that is simultaneously cool, exciting and also a huge challenge, which I am happy to contribute to.”

With his daughter working as a teacher in primary education after PABO, he enjoys talking to her about their work in and for education and the challenges they both see. Nice to be able to learn from your daughter!

Esther van der Linde started 1 June as project manager of the XR pilot hub. Esther has worked as an advisor in education all her professional life, first at Utrecht University, then for 17 years at the HAN University of Applied Sciences and since 1.5 years at SURF. Themes she has worked on include professional development of teachers, flexible part-time education and educational innovation with it. In the Acceleration Plan for Educational Innovation with ICT, Esther was project manager of the Digital education of practical skills working group for two years, in this capacity she became fascinated by the possibilities of XR for education.

At work, Esther finds energy in creating preconditions that enable technology to improve the quality of education. She is married to a lecturer so education is also a frequent topic at home. In her spare time, she enjoys learning new things, hiking and cycling, and regularly wanders through meadows to protect meadow birds. Esther lives in Elst with husband Frank and 8-year-old daughter Meike.