Advisory group

Mirjam van Praag is a professor of entrepreneurship and leadership at VU Amsterdam and chair of the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (AWTI). She previously served as chair of the Executive Board of VU Amsterdam (early 2018–September 2023). Van Praag conducts empirical research, often of an experimental nature, into (corporate) entrepreneurship and leadership. She is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and holds supervisory positions at organisations including De Balie, Biotech Booster, the Anne Frank Foundation and Accenture BV. Previously, Mirjam was a member of the SER, a board member at De Nederlandsche Bank and at APG, and a professor at Copenhagen Business School. In various roles, Van Praag has worked to increase the impact of science on society, including through entrepreneurship.

Bas van Bavel is a university professor at Utrecht University and chair of the SSH-council, the representative body for the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) sectors, Economics & Business Administration, Law and Humanities in the Netherlands.

Trained as a historian, he was appointed faculty professor at the Faculty of Humanities in 2014 and later university professor at Utrecht University, with a teaching remit focusing on Economic and Social Transitions. His interest lies in the question of how societies develop in the long term and in explaining the striking differences in their developmental trajectories. From 2007 to 2024, he was scientific director of one of Utrecht University’s multidisciplinary priority areas: Institutions for Open Societies. In recent years, he has taken great pleasure in serving as chair of the SSH-council.

André Postema is Chair of the Executive Board of Zuyd University of Applied Sciences (UAS) and a member of the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (AWTI). He is also active in economic governance and the Limburg labour market region. Postema studied history and economics and previously worked for the National Investment Bank, Ernst & Young and Capgemini. Since 2005, he has held directorships in the education sector, including at Maastricht University and Limburg Secondary Education. During the COVID-19 crisis, he served as chairman of the board of the Martini Hospital in Groningen.

Jet Bussemaker is a professor of Policy, Science and Societal Impact, with a particular focus on healthcare, at Leiden University Medical Centre and Leiden University. Her research focuses on the interplay between policy and healthcare and on how scientific knowledge can contribute to better policy, including for vulnerable groups and equal opportunities. She is also closely involved in transition programmes relating to equal opportunities in The Hague South-West.

Bussemaker is chair of the Council for Public Health and Society, an independent advisory body to the government and parliament. She is also, amongst other roles, chair of the Supervisory Board of Amsterdam UMC and the Amsterdam University of the Arts, a member of the Advisory Board of NWO, a non-executive director at the Concertgebouw and vice-chair of Fonds 21.

From 2012 to 2017, she served as Minister for Education, Culture and Science, and from 2007 to 2010 as State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport. Prior to that, she was a member of the House of Representatives for the PvdA for almost ten years. She obtained her PhD in 1993 from the University of Amsterdam with a thesis on individualisation and the welfare state.

José van Dijck is a university professor of media and digital society at Utrecht University. Her research focuses on social media and the impact of media technologies and tech companies on digital culture. In 2021, she won the prestigious Spinoza Prize from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). From 2015 to 2018, she was President of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). She has been awarded honorary doctorates from Lund University (Sweden, 2019), the University of Oslo (Norway, 2024) and Hasselt University (Belgium, 2026). Her books, The Culture of Connectivity. A Critical History of Social Media (2013) and The Platform Society. Public Values in a Connective World (2018, with Thomas Poell and Martijn de Waal), have been translated into Italian, Spanish and Chinese.

Van Dijck has previously served as a member of the Lux et Libertas Foundation (NRC Handelsblad), the Supervisory Board of the VPRO and the NEMO Science Museum. She is currently, amongst other roles, chair of the De Groene Amsterdammer Foundation and a member of the Supervisory Board of the Rijksmuseum.

Peter Werkhoven is a professor at Utrecht University and a member of the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (AWTI). He is also a member of the NWO KIC programme committee, a board member of the Berenschot Beheer Foundation and a member of the KNMI’s Social Advisory Council.

Peter studied Physics at Utrecht University and obtained his PhD there in 1990 in psychophysics. He subsequently held a position at New York University and was Professor of Computer Science at the University of Amsterdam and, since 2006, at Utrecht University. From 1994 to 2025, he worked at TNO, where he held various roles, ranging from researcher to member of the executive Board.

He also writes passionately about the workings of bicycles and cyclists on Iets over de fiets.

Yoeri Albrecht is Algemeen en Artistiek Directeur van De Balie. Hij geeft leiding aan de redactie en is eindverantwoordelijk voor de dagelijkse programmering. Albrecht ziet De Balie als een kunstinstituut voor oordeelsvorming. Leidend principe in zijn werk is de gedachte dat een open, pluriforme, democratische en rechtsstatelijke samenleving de beste samenleving is. Onder zijn leiding groeide De Balie uit tot een internationaal toonaangevend interdisciplinair podium op het snijpunt van politiek, kunst en theater. Ook initieerde hij onder meer het tweejaarlijkse festival Forum on European Culture over democratie in Europa.

Daarnaast is Albrecht oprichter van de European Press Prize en voorzitter van het bestuur van mediabedrijf Veronica. Hij is regelmatig toezichthouder bij culturele en journalistieke instellingen, waaronder het Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Eerder gaf hij les aan de Universiteit van Oxford, was hij redacteur van Vrij Nederland en hoofdredacteur van mensenrechtenblad Wordt Vervolgd. Hij publiceerde meerdere titels over Europa en maakte televisie en radio, werkte aan documentaires en tentoonstellingen.