The plan had been in place since primary school: attend grammar school, study history, then do “something with teaching” like his father and grandfather before him, Van den Wijngaard told Observant ten years ago. Even after 22 years at UM – first at University College Maastricht (UCM) and later at EDLAB, the Maastricht University Centre for Teaching & Learning – his passion for education is as strong as ever. “Passing on knowledge, playing a role in the learning process – I still find that incredibly rewarding. There’s nothing like seeing the moment it clicks for your students, or even better: that they start to find it interesting.”
Guiding choices
UCM was in its founding year when Van den Wijngaard came to Maastricht in 2003. Rather than a traditional Dutch degree programme, it was an American-style liberal arts college where students could design their own curriculum. “If you’re giving students the freedom to make such important choices, you also need to guide them through the process. What do they find interesting? What are they good at? What skills and knowledge do they need to take certain courses?” And so, academic advising was born.
Van den Wijngaard soon realised that these kinds of conversations would benefit all students, not just those at UCM. “Taking a step back to reflect is part of the learning process. A personal moment between teacher and student, asking ‘How are my studies going? How am I doing as a student?’, also helps students feel like more than just a number.”
Sense of control
Today, most UM students will have a few consultations during their studies, whether one-on-one or in a group setting. “That’s definitely not just down to me, of course; it was a combination of factors. A lot of students feel overwhelmed by the expectations placed on them. Starting a conversation about their studies as an academic advisor, by simply asking what they’re good at, but also what interests them, helps them regain a sense of control. Realising ‘this is my thing’ gives you a lifelong foundation to fall back on, no matter how fast the world changes. It gives you a sense of ownership. The conversation doesn’t always have to focus on mental health [which is getting a lot of attention these days, from a growing number of student psychologists and resilience training to ‘Are you okay?’ stickers on toilet doors].”
And an academic mentor is something entirely different from a student psychologist, explains Van den Wijngaard. “I think it’s a role many lecturers feel more comfortable with: advising as teaching. It plays to their strengths. And because of that, students also feel safe enough to open up and say things like, ‘To be honest, I’m really struggling because my parents are getting divorced.’”
Tangible story
The jury report also praised Van den Wijngaard for his role in improving communication around Problem-Based Learning (PBL). “PBL is this university’s greatest strength, but we realised that when we tried to explain it to people, we often got caught up in technical jargon. That’s not much help to a 17-year-old choosing a degree. We wanted to make it a more tangible story.”
Together with others, Van den Wijngaard asked lecturers to describe PBL without using terms like “seven jumps” or “pre-discussion”. Instead, words like “exploration”, “meaningful” and “together” came up. “From there, we created a narrative to help students understand what to expect. For example, they play a central role in their own learning, but that doesn’t mean lecturers don’t share knowledge – it just doesn’t happen through traditional lectures.”
The bell
Finally, there’s Van den Wijngaard’s most well-known contribution to the university: the UCM anthem Sweet UCM, played at every graduation ceremony. He laughs. “One day when I was driving, a song came on the radio, and the lyrics just wrote themselves. UCM is housed in a former monastery on Zwingelput, with a defunct bell in the courtyard. The song is about how, if that bell ever rang again, we’d all flock back to UCM right away.”
Group identity, community building – it matters, he says. “It’s always better when you can rely on each other and work towards something together, moving beyond individual interests towards shared passion. I see the same thing happen at our Education Days, where people from different faculties exchange ideas about teaching. Everyone leaves feeling energised and inspired.”