Meet the EDLAB team
The EDLAB team collaborates with everyone involved in education at Maastricht University: teachers, researchers, management, supporting staff, and students.
Engagement with the UM teaching and learning community is at the heart of all EDLAB initiatives!
➤ Management and Support
Ellen Bastiaens
EDLAB director
“We all bring our own backgrounds in experience, discipline and interests to the table - which is an added value and absolutely necessary for our role as connectors of the community. Seeing big and small things happen in an organic and natural way, is my fulfilment. The fact that colleagues feel free to take initiative, is rewarding. It is the synergy we have as a team that leads to one plus one being at least three. I hold on to my old motto: ‘I love it when a plan comes together’. Yet without the cigar."
Marie-Lou Mestrini
Office manager and secretary to the EDLAB director and the team
“What I do really like is the location of EDLAB, my workplace in the park, in the green next to the water, it is peaceful and beautiful. I enjoy this every day."
➤ Innovation and Educational Development
Walter Jansen
Senior coordinator education innovation
“To me, education, just like art, acts as a mirror to society.”
Lena Gromotka
Junior coordinator education innovation
“As a recent UM graduate, I was curious to figure out how we can stimulate students to be intrigued by active learning, and how we can foster curiosity in our students. I chose to get involved in educational design and policy making as a student, which led me to find EDLAB. One formative experience for me here was the first year of organising the Education Days. Seeing how many staff members of UM enjoy learning from each other, love to share their knowledge and make an effort in creating a community."
Oscar van den Wijngaard
Senior education developer
“I am happy to see how the UM Education Days have become exactly what we hoped they would be: a gathering of enthusiastic people, eager to share and learn. Those elements, community, learning, making new things, are the underlying sources of motivation for much of what I do.”
Iris Burks
Programme Manager Student Guidance
“I work as the programme manager of UM student guidance, which is a position that links EDLAB and the Student Service Centre. Together with the team, we try to enhance the overall experience for students. I enjoy the future perspective, thinking beyond just the next semester or period. We always look ahead and consider the bigger picture.”
Annechien Deelman
Global Citizenship for Sustainable Development coordinator
“I feel fulfilment when I can make connections between people or build links between topics. I really value and appreciate the room we have here at EDLAB to think and talk. When students work with me on a topic and they bring in such interesting different viewpoints they really keep me on my toes.”
Gaby Lutgens
Education and ICT (EDICT) coordinator
“It makes me happy if I see staff and students feel proud of what they created. Especially when we bring them together with peers whom they can tell about their ideas, objectives and impact they observe. I love to join forces with people who care and are willing to go the extra mile to make things happen and share with those not able to spend time experimenting.”
Akorshi Sengupta
Npuls–UM Alignment Lead
“I have a background in Psychology, Non-violent Communication, and Public Policy, and have worked in educational development, peacebuilding, and consultancy. Growing up in different parts of India and now living in the Netherlands has shaped how I approach education: with curiosity, openness, and an appreciation for different perspectives. At EDLAB, I enjoy working with colleagues to create learning environments where everyone can grow and contribute.”
➤ Education research
Alice Pan
Coordinator Education Research
“I really like seeing what other people come up with. I never know what people are going to do with what I throw at them, and I love seeing what happens. I like seeing who picks up what thread and what they build with – in their own minds and their own understanding. And that, for me, is the most fun because I think: now we are playing! It reminds me of working in an art studio."
Jacqueline Charpentier
PhD student researching the transition from secondary to higher education
“At EDLAB, I gain new perspectives on my own research by sharing my findings and engaging in discussions on a wide range of education-related topics. The more I read and learn, the more curious I become to dive into new topics and perspectives, especially about what is truly helpful for a student."
➤ Professional Development & Training
Donna Carroll
Senior coordinator of professional development for teaching and learning
“Education is never static, it’s always ‘in beta’. There’s always something new to try, another way to enhance student learning and no single approach works for everyone. The challenge of continuous reflection, experimentation and adaptation is what makes this field so dynamic and fulfilling.”
Eveline Persoon
Coordinator professional development
“We aim to support members of teaching staff at UM to strengthen and broaden their teaching and learning competencies. We always look for new topics and learning opportunities: my notebook is always filled with notes, to do lists and thoughts, articles and ideas. It represents the dynamic of the position that I have within EDLAB and the UM.”
Dominique Meyers
Coordinator professional development
“My sources of inspiration are my students and fellow teaching staff, who motivate me to ensure that the quality of the education within the university remains high and innovative.”
Diana Van Elssen
Communications & Event Support Officer
“To me, education is not only about content, but also about the experience around it. When people feel welcome, engaged and at ease, it makes a real difference to how they learn and how much they get out of the learning experience. For me, clear communication and a well-organised setting are key to making that happen.”
➤ Excellence
Fabienne Crombach
Senior coordinator excellence education
“What keeps me engaged in this work is definitely the students. Watching them push their limits, build confidence, and surprise themselves with what they can achieve is what makes this job meaningful. Those little moments when something clicks for them, whether it’s a new skill, a career insight, or just a boost in self-belief, are the reason I keep doing this.”
Anna Ivanova
Coordinator excellence education
“I love how much impact a small moment can have. A quick chat, a thoughtful reflection, or a spontaneous idea during a session can really shift someone’s perspective. Those “small” things often stick with people the longest.”
➤ Communications
Sueli Brodin
EDLAB’s communications advisor
“I am grateful for the opportunity to combine and spend my time on many of my lifelong interests. Growing up, I wanted to become either a teacher or a reporter, so my job at EDLAB feels like a perfect match. There is an element of magic in my work that I really enjoy. I love making the invisible become visible, bringing hidden stories to life, connecting dots and creating new perspectives, or polishing things to make them shine.”
➤ Student colleagues
| Intern | |
| Raul Parau | KE@Work, FSE |
| Student colleagues | |
| Damian Chmielewski | Student colleague, Law |
| Spoorti Ramesh | Student colleague, FPN |
| Mathilda Salmon | Student colleague, UCM |
| Megheti Tashdjian | Research assistant |