Impact Event: behind the scenes of academic impact

It has been almost 5 years of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health and a lot has happened since the opening in 2018. We have worked hard together with our network of researchers and partners to create more healthy years for everyone.

On the 15th of September 2022 at the DOT we organized an impact show 'Behind the scenes of academic impact' , where we shared with you what challenges and opportunities we have encountered and how we have turned them into impactful stories.

We explored different perspectives: how to create impact on regional, national, and international level, what is the importance of young, talented researchers in the impact journey, and what is the role of media in it?

During the event, Jochen Mierau shared his impact story and gave his farewell as a scientific director of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health.

Host & Keynotes

Mariëlle Gebben

Keynote title: Participating is having an impact'

Mariëlle Gebben is an independent entrepreneur and artist. In 2004 she completed her study Art and Art Policy at the University of Groningen. She works at the intersection of science, policy and society and recently published the book 'Groningen and the earthquakes' together with Wim Derksen, how knowledge hardly improves policy. Her clients are (semi-)public organizations and knowledge institutions. In 2017 she graduated cum laude from the Photo Academy Amsterdam with her handmade book Rabbit. Since then, she has explored the boundary between imagination and reality in her visual art under the heading 'I bring you The Flux'.

Watch Mariëlle her keynote here!

Jochen Mierau

Keynote title: Universities: Research, Teaching and Impact?!

Jochen Mierau is a professor of public health economics at the University of Groningen (Faculty of Economics & Business) as well as scientific director of Lifelines. He is an affiliated researcher of the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) and an extramural fellow of the Health Econometrics and Data Group of the University of York. His research interest is at the interface between health economics, epidemiology, demography and public health. He focuses on health inequalities between and within socioeconomic groups on an individual as well as neighborhood level. While much of his research focuses on various determinants of health inequalities, he also focuses on the policy levers that may be employed to reduce health inequalities such as better data-infrastructures and more clearly assigned responsibilities. He was co-founder as well as inaugural scientific director of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health and he has set up a variety of multidisciplinary educational programs such as a summer school, a minor, a research master track, and an Executive MBA. He actively participates in various regional, national and European policy dialogues and serves as advisor for a host of government agencies.

Watch Jochen his keynote here!

Johan Woltjer

Keynote title: Making Cases for the Societal Impact from Research

Johan Woltjer is Professor of Urban Development and Planning, and Dean of the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, Netherlands. He was previously at the University of Westminster, United Kingdom, and various other universities including the University of Amsterdam and the University of Twente. Professor Woltjer holds a wide range of international positions including External Examiner, Honorary Professor at the Institute of Technology Bandung, and Editor for CITIES, a globally leading journal in the field of urban studies.

Watch Johan his keynote here!

Furthermore, there were multiple couchtalks and the RUG house poet. Watch them via the buttons below!