Drs R.J.M. Speijcken

Renée works as  an educator, facilitator, researcher, lecturer, policy adviser, internationally certified somatic embodied leadership coach and polarity therapist at Maastricht University (MGSoG/UNU-MErit/SBE).

Renée teaches Public Policy Evaluation & Analysis at the University College Maastricht (UCM); supervises, advises and mentors students in their bachelor and master thesis and curriculum choices (UCM & MGSoG), in internships & projects with employers.

She has more than 15 years of extensive international experience in consulting as well as developing, executing & lecturing educational and training programs in the area of policy analysis & international development in cooperation with international development agencies and other academic institutions around the world (tailor made, face to face & blended learning modalities). She specialized in governance & accountability aspects and the evaluation of (international, regional, local) public service delivery projects, public policies and development aid projects and programs.

From this experience her interest was awakened to work with groups, teams and authentic and embodied leadership, now 10 years ago. To work in this area Renée trained at world's leading institute for Embodied Leadership Programs in California USA, Strozzi Institute, of which she now is an associate, next to several additional training programs. 

Over the last 7 years, Renée's focus shifted to working more in the areas of team dynamics & team building, embodied authentic leadership, embodied resilience and personal & organizational development.  She trains, designs and facilitates programs, trainings and workshops for academic staff, support staff and students, as well as for professionals and organisations outside Maastricht University.

A few examples within the UM are: training all coaches for the excellence program Premium for the last 6 years in basic coaching competencies & team dynamics.  Training Mentors of diverse excellence programs in team dynamics. Training UB staff team in team dynamics. Trainings in strengthening resilience for student organisations. A program in personal leadership & resilience in the academic skills of first years bachelors of University College Maastricht. A Team dynamics program for all first year bachelors for DKE. A complemetary training for the DKE project tutors of bachelor and master programs. Group dynamics training for all first year Master in Public Policy (MPP) students, and a complementary training for all MPP tutors, among many others.