Alumni

Niels Stensen Fellowship alumni form an informal network of academics who reach out to each other especially in the first years after their fellowship. Some stay in touch for many years after. We encourage knowledge sharing among alumni and are working on an alumni platform that will facilitate further exchange of expertise and experiences.

Alumni experiences

Prof. Dr. Geert Janssen

"The Niels Stensen Fellowship not only opened doors to an international career, it inspired me to expand my thinking on globalisation and migration."

Fellowship year: 2005
Field of study: History
Host university: University of Oxford, United Kingdom

Current role: Professor of Early Modern History

Dr. Anke Klein

"The fellowship enabled me to work with one of the world’s best researchers in the field of childhood anxiety."

Fellowship year: 2016
Field of study : Behavioural and Social Sciences
Host university: Ruhr University Bochum, Germany

Current role: Associate Professor Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University

Rachel Knevel, MD PhD

"The Niels Stensen Fellowship gave me the opportunity to specialise in bio information and big data."

Fellowship year: 2015
Field of study: Medicine
Host University: Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States

Current role: Associate professor Leiden University Medical Centre and visiting professor of Newcastle University | University Medical Centre, The Netherlands

Dr. Bernard K.H. Pauw

"The research conducted during my Fellowship at the University Hospital in Zurich resulted in articles that are cited until this day."

Fellowship year: 2001
Field of study: Medicine
Host University: University Hospital Zürich, Switzerland

Current role: retired

Dr. Joeri van Leeuwen

"During the Fellowship, I developed new methods for signal analysis. After my return to The Netherlands, we applied these in the building of a new high-tech radio telescope."

Fellowship year: 2005
Field of study : Technology
Host University: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Current role: Senior Astronomer at ASTRON and Affiliated Associate Professor at the University of Amsterdam

Dr. Trude Dijkstra

"The Niels Stensen Fellowship gave me the precious gift of time. Time I used, not only to do in depth research, but, perhaps more importantly, to foster and nurture those unexpected serendipitous thoughts and connections that so often lead to outcomes you weren't even aware you were looking for."

Fellowship year: 2020
Field of study: History
Host university: The Warburg Institute, University of London

Go to our Niels Stensen Fellowship alumni database

Alumni overview

Statistics 2013-2022

Niels Stensen Fellowship alumni come from different Dutch universities and represent a wide range of disciplines.

Niels Stensen Fellowship 1960-2020

The Niels Stensen Fellowship has been around for over 60 years and in this booklet we let a large number of alumni speak about their experiences and adventures during their time as fellows.

Niels Stensen Fellowship 1960-2020 - 60 jaar Fellows vertellen

Conference

Niels Stensen Fellowship organizes annual conferences on the link between science and society. The debate among alumni is inspired by high profile speakers from the Netherlands and abroad.

Past Conferences