Inken Gast (I.)
Dr. Inken Gast
Inken Gast is an assistant professor working at the department of Educational Research and Development, at the School of Business and Economics at Maastricht University. Her research focusses on teacher professional development, educational innovation, and employee well-being in higher education. She has a passion for positive psychology and combines this with her research on professional development and education.
In 2018, Inken obtained her PhD-degree at the University of Twente, on university teacher professional development in teams during the implementation of a university-wide curriculum innovation. She has a background in Work and Organisation Psychology, and Business Administration (both Masters cum laude).
Inken is also working as a faculty consultant at the School of Business and Economics. She provides workshops and trainings at the faculty, and is a mentor and coach for starting and experienced teachers. She is also the coordinator of the University Teaching Qualification at the faculty. As an expert in problem-based learning (PBL), Inken is providing trainings on PBL for teachers and students. In this capacity, she is also often invited to provide trainings for teachers of other European schools and universities.
Inken is teaching in the award winning Master program “Learning and Development in Organisations”. She is the course coordinator of the "Study Coaching Trajectory", a one-year master course in which she coaches students on the development of employability skills such as teamwork, project management, communication skills and self-management. She is also the coordinator of the bachelor course "Managing Learning and Development at the Workplace" and has been involved in various master and bachelor courses as a tutor.
Inken is a fellow of the GSBE research institute and a member of the GSBE research theme “Learning and Work”. She is also a member of the EARLI Special Interest Groups 14 “Learning and Professional Development” and 4 “Higher Education”. She regularly presents at international conferences around the world. Inken has published one of the most read articles of the Journal of "Review of Educational Research" (No.1 journal in the field of Educational Research) and the "American Educational Research Association (AERA)" in 2017 titled “Team-Based Professional Development Interventions in Higher Education: A Systematic Review”.
Teacher professional development
Workplace learning
Learning in teams
Positive psychology
Problem-Based Learning
Curriculum innovation
2017-present: Assistant Professor at the Department of Educational Research and Development, School of Business and Economics (SBE), Maastricht University
2013-2017: PhD candidate at the Department of Teacher Development (ELAN), Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences (BMS), University of Twente
2012: Master Internship at Accenture, Amsterdam
2011-2012: Master of Science in Business Administration (cum laude), University of Twente
Topic: Individual work engagement and team work engagement: (new) antecedents and consequences
2011: Internship at KPC Groep, 's Hertogenbosch
2010-2012: Master of Science in Work & Organisational Psychology (cum laude), University of Twente
Topic: An analysis of the relationship between transformational leadership, work engagement, self-efficacy and departmental effectiveness
2007-2010: Bachelor of Science in Psychology, University of Twente
Topic: Research on the relationship between goal-orientations, burnout and work engagement among Dutch teachers