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 and student 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.

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 UM as well as 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 course "Competence-based coaching", 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 involved in other bachelor and master courses (either as a coordinator, tutor or coach).

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 and publishes in high ranked journals.  For example, 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”.