Why I Joined: Els Braeken

In this series of posts introducing the tour team, let us start with the tour coordinator. So over to you Els...

I grew up in a small Flemish speaking village (called Bree), near the border to the Netherlands. I went to school in Bree and continued my education at the University of Antwerp, studying for a degree in Socio-Educational Care Work.  I have always been fascinated by the fact that though we are neighbour countries and have a shared history, there are still so many cultural differences. 

I am interested in exploring how these cultural differences have had an impact on their Higher Education system.  Also, how do institutions in both countries respond to the challenges coming their way, for example the scale of transformation in the economy and society, the increasing uncertainty and complexity in the world?  How do administrators and managers find their way and navigate through a much more complex system, how do universities deal  with challenges such as globalisation and internationalisation.