European Studies - English - 3 years - Full-time

I’m passionate about teaching French in our really intensive language programme and I’m also a member of Futur France, which is organising activities for students who want to explore French culture and society in depth. Another part of my job that I really love is guiding students as a professional career supervisor and as a work placement supervisor. I’m looking forward to meeting you at European Studies.

I’m a lecturer at European Studies with a specialisation in entrepreneurial processes and innovation management. I’m a big fan of designing start-up solutions that will tackle global and local societal challenges. I completed my PhD in 2018 from the University of Essex entitled ‘Exploring the Crux of Social Entrepreneurship - The pursuit of blended value creation.’ Before joining European Studies, I have worked in the field of entrepreneurship and development consulting for Dutch aid organisations in South East Asia and East Africa.

Dr. Agota Szabo ​is a passionate and highly-motivated academic and business professional who believes in the power of good leadership and transparent governance systems. She spends most of her academic work understanding how top management teams make decisions, design their organizational governance systems and implement good governance practices to their organizations. As a lecturer, her goal is to educate the next generation of students to become ethical leaders of their organizations and to introduce change for a more transparent governance system. In 2019, she was invited as a visiting scholar to the George Washington University, in Washington D.C. Agota holds a Ph.D degree in Organizational governance from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and a Global Business and Stakeholder Management degree from Erasmus University.

After finishing High School, I wanted to live abroad for a year and I went to Spain. I loved the country, the people and their language and culture so much that I started studying Spanish at the University of Amsterdam, and now, some years later, I transmit my love for the Spanish language and culture to students who choose Spanish at European Studies. Apart from teaching Spanish I co-ordinate the supervision of ES and, of course, I also supervise students myself. I like to motivate students, to help them discover their talents and think about their future career. You might also see me with a camera, because one of my passions is making pictures, and I also do this here at school.

Maarten van Munster is a lecturer in International Human Rights Law and European Union Law at the European Studies programme. He also teaches an elective module on developing countries in the same programme. He holds an LL. M. degree in Constitutional and Administrative Law from VU University Amsterdam. His research focuses on a current transitional justice process in Angola. The research project focuses on the interaction between international (intergovernmental and non-governmental) and local actors within this process. It seeks to enhance the understanding of the way in which contemporary governance structures are organized and changing and how these changes affect the general public. It also aims to provide insight for (future) professionals working in the field of peacebuilding, transitional justice specifically and governance and international relations more generally. Maarten has been working for THUAS for fourteen years during which he has taken up different roles, such as team leader, researcher and developer of a University-wide minor on development cooperation. He has also given guest lectures in Brazil and Angola on human rights topics.

My name is Claudia Bùlnes and I teach Spanish at European Studies. I come from Spain and have been living in The Netherlands for some time. I enjoy helping my students to communicate in Spanish, which you will be able to do straight away once you start learning the language. In addition, I particularly enjoy sharing Spanish culture with my students and guiding them in discovering different aspects of the Spanish speaking world. Besides being a Spanish teacher, I also work in a university-wide team called Global Citizenship and Internationalisation as another passion of mine besides teaching Spanish is to make sure that our students have a truly international experience while they study at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. 

I hope to see you in class if you study Spanish at European Studies!

In the last semester of your study, you do a work placement. As the placement coordinator for European Studies, I need to ensure that you make the right choice and are well prepared for this challenging experience. I think the placement is the most important step towards becoming a European professional. We offer placements in medium-sized and multinational firms operating on the European market, national and international governments and non-profit organizations. The choice is yours! The other part of my job is being a lecturer in Business Management. I love to teach topics like international marketing, export management, strategy and even research skills. My slogan is “teaching is fun, so show it”. I also enjoy helping students individually with their papers and projects. I’m patient and willing to explain the same thing over and over again (as long as you take the effort to come well prepared).

Paul Shotton PhD is Principal Lecturer in European Public Policy within the European Studies Programme at THUAS. Prior to working at THUAS Paul worked in Brussels as a Public Affairs Practitioner (lobbyist) for a number of blue chip companies. Paul lectures in European Public Policy with notable courses simulating EU decision-making and lobbying campaign design. Paul’s research focuses on the Professionalisation of Public Affairs with the objective of promoting the definition of a body of knowledge for public affairs practitioners, developing courses and trainings for the profession as well as measuring impact and performance in public affairs.

I have always loved teaching and coaching students. I have worked in higher education as a French teacher for more than 30 years now, and I am extremely happy that since 2008 I’ve been able to do this at European Studies. In my opinion, there are no study programmes at universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands that offer a better language programme. I do a lot of other things besides teaching French: I am a study career supervisor, I coordinate the higher years of ES and I am the alumni officer for European Studies, which means that I stay in touch with our graduates. This allows me to see the variety of careers that European Studies alumni pursue and their success stories really make me feel proud of the programme.

My favourite part of working in an international and interdisciplinary environment is the diversity. I get to do a lot of different things at once, across different disciplines, just like our students. In my case, I get to teaches courses about culture, media and politics, research and professional communications skills. Every day is different and thanks to the diversity of our staff and students, everyone is different and brings something unique to everything we do. I’m curious to see what you’ll bring to the party.