Laurent Krook

After completing my bachelor’s Psychology and a research master’s Cognitive Neuroscience, I was temporarily able to work as a lecturer in the Psychology department thanks to a maternity leave replacement position. After my employment contract ended, I was hired as a student advisor at the Psychology department, again as a replacement due to maternity leave. My duties included the mapping of technology, used by our faculty in teaching. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I became an e-learning coordinator. Then, a position became available in the Psychology department again, so I am currently employed both there and at the Institute of Education.

This combination of teaching and support brings me into contact with many colleagues and students within and outside the faculty. A regular morning might include consultations with university video coordinators about the video platform Kaltura, followed by an interview with a Master’s student concerning a placement. At the same time, I coordinate a team of fantastic student assistants who carry out various support tasks. In the afternoon, I then conduct preliminary consultations for the faculty Council meeting, work on the AI policy, and answer a lot of emails; so my work is very multifaceted and as a result sometimes a bit chaotic.

The faculty is a beautiful place; I doubt many people are lucky enough to work in such a beautiful garden in the very heart of the city!

From a societal perspective, we face gigantic challenges with the rise of radical right-wing anti-democratic parties and climate change. At the same time, trust in science seems to be declining in the Netherlands, and with the advent of AI and its technological advancements, it is becoming increasingly difficult to trust new information to be true. With my work, I hope to make a small contribution to the approach taken towards these problems, by making the work of colleagues easier, but also by training students in being self-confident, critical participants in society.