Prof Dr Rianne Letschert (R.M.)

Prof. dr. Rianne Letschert (1976) is President of Maastricht University since November 2021. She was Rector Magnificus of Maastricht University from September 2016 till February 2022.

 

She studied International Law at Tilburg University, the University of Amsterdam and the University of Montpellier. From April to August 2010 she was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge (UK), and Research Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge. In 2014, she was Visiting Professor at the University of Barcelona. In 2012, Letschert joined De Jonge Akademie (Young Academy) of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences of which she became chairperson in April 2015.

 

She has authored and edited several book publications and articles in national and international journals. She also served as director of the International Victimology Institute (INTERVICT/Tilburg University), where she established a master's degree in Victimology and Criminal Justice, which quickly attracted many national and international students from different academic disciplines. Working in an interdisciplinary team has greatly influenced her own scientific development.

 

In May 2015, she and her team were awarded a Vidi grant by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research to study the impact of international tribunals on societies and individuals that have been confronted with serious human rights violations and international crimes.

 

She has always dedicated a lot of time to translating scientific knowledge into societal impact. For example, she was an expert consultant on behalf of the victims at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, she gave several public lectures and her extracurricular positions are related to socially relevant themes.

 

One of her main tasks as the administrative co-leader of a national programme ‘Recognition and Rewards’ by the Dutch Association of Universities is to implement the position paper 'Room for Everyone's Talent', not only in Maastricht but in the entire academic sector. Her recent appointment as President of CoARA, the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment, which relates to the reform of research assessment fits perfectly in her ambition to fundamentally reassess the career paths and opportunities of academic staff.

 

In March 2023, she became chair of the Advisory Committee of the National Growth Fund.