I am Marije van Braak, co-chair of the ‘Becoming Adults in a Changing World’ community and assistant professor at the department of Language and Education, faculty of Humanities. I’m passionate about two things: education (whether it is teaching, researching education, chatting about teaching, or musing about educational improvements) and language (how we use language in interaction to achieve things). In my research, that translates into a focus on analysis of interaction in any type of educational setting. In my teaching, I love to consider creative ways of engaging students in all kinds of disciplinary and interdisciplinary thinking – as well as in general questions about finding their way through life. I hope for the community to become a vibrant community of researchers, youth, and all types of non-academic partners who collaborate purposefully to contribute to youth’s transition into adult life, with all the contemporary challenges that come with it. Read more

My name is Jaap Denissen, I am also a co-chair of this community. I work as full professor of developmental psychology at the Faculty of Social Science. My research has explored predictors of how adolescents and young adults establish satisfying peer and romantic relationships, create a mature identity, and achieve other developmental tasks. One cluster of variables that I particularly focus on is personality, i.e. characteristic individual differences in affect, behavior, and cognition. My research already connects different sub-disciplines within psychology (developmental psychology, social psychology, and personality psychology).

Therefore, I am very eager to connect with additional disciplines that are represented at Utrecht University, such as economics, geoscience, and life science. In close connection with other researchers, but also with societal stakeholders and youth themselves, we can really make a difference in uncovering and facilitating how young people become adults in a changing world. Read more

I am a postdoctoral researcher with a particular focus on how policies and systems, including formal and nonformal education systems, influence youth identity and purpose. Many factors, including our assumptions about the role of youth in society, what we value as good and successful, and issues of (in)justice come together in policies, systems, and practices that shape the environment in which young people are undertaking the work of defining themselves and their place in society. Examining these assumptions, systems, and practices, is important if we are to create the best conditions for each generation of youth. My aspiration for the Becoming Adults community is that we can help bridge boundaries so that researchers of different fields, practitioners, professionals and crucially, youth themselves, can collaborate increasingly closely in the generation and application of knowledge in addressing pressing social issues. Read more

My name is Rebecca Jacobse and I have been involved with the Becoming Adults in a Changing World community since september 2022. It keeps surprising me how open, visionary and caring this community is. We believe that together we can create a space for different constituencies to grow. My own background is in Social Psychology, as I am following the Masters programme Social, Health and Organisational Psychology with a special focus on Training & Coaching and Social Change in organisations. Besides that, I enjoy connecting with people and organizing events. This all comes together in my role in the ToekomstDenkTank where I am involved with the members and creating relationships between the ToekomstDenkTank and researchers.

I study Communication and Information Sciences, with my focus being optimisation of communication in organisations. Working with Becoming Adults in a Changing World means being able to give young people a voice in important issues, and I find it truly rewarding to see the enthusiasm of the youth in the ToekomstDenkTank when they are given the opportunity to voice their opinions.

My name is Giorgia Di Giacomo, I am enrolled in the Master Youth Studies and I am doing my internship with the Becoming Adults in a Changing World community. My internship has allowed me to appreciate the value of involving youth in research, and to investigate the transition period to adulthood in more depth.

I am Marith Hekkert, intern at the community Becoming Adults in a Changing World. I study Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology and wanted to put everything I learned into practice. I found a place for this at this enthusiastic and passionate community. I am interested in youth and find it interesting to examine the challenges and problems young people face today. What I like about this community is that we are committed to creating a bridge between young people, researchers and societal organisations. To me, this seems like the best way to discover what it is like for young people to become adults in a changing world.