Executive Dean at the Qatar Campus and Vice-President International, Stenden University of Applied Sciences.Robert John Coelen, PhD, Professor of Internationalisation of Higher Education, is Executive Dean at Stenden University Qatar and Vice-President International at Stenden University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. He has worked for about 17 years in the field of international education. He returned to work in Europe after an absence of 30 years, mainly in Australia. He was a researcher and academic for most of that time and finally as Director International at two universities in Queensland. In 2004 he became Vice-President International at Leiden University.Robert is a member of Club33, a global think tank on internationalisation, a member of the International Ranking Experts Group, which produced the Berlin Principles on Ranking in Higher Education. He was a member of the Executive Steering Committee and the Editorial Committee of the European Association of International Education. He was a member of Advisory Boards on the EU Network of European Promotors and Transnational Education Projects within the context of the Erasmus Mundus Global Promotion. He was the founding President of Euroscholars, a Foundation of 12 leading research intensive universities in Europe that promotes opportunities for undergraduate research in study abroad.
Robert is a regular speaker at international and national conferences on issues related to internationalisation of higher education, in particular ranking, international positioning, and service to international students. He was also the organiser of the Leiden University Global Ranking Symposium Series. Robert is committed to the ideals of an internationalised higher education as the result of first-hand experience as an international student, followed by observing the development of his international students in undergraduate programs, as well as his international PhD students. Specialties: international positioning, institutional strategy, ranking, international marketing, intercultural competence development
