Summer School 2026
Ready for an impactful step outside of academia?
6-10 september 2026 · Castle Spelderholt
More and more STEM graduates want to use their expertise to tackle societal challenges, and the public sector has a strong need for it. Yet for PhD candidates and postdocs, the transition into public administration and policy is not always straightforward.
That is why Beta in Governance & Policy organises a summer school to inspire STEM and technically trained participants and prepare them for a career in the worlds of governance and politics.
In one week, you will gain insight into how you can operate effectively in governance and policy as a STEM professional. You will learn from experienced administrators, policymakers, and politicians, work on relevant real-world cases, and build a network of like-minded peers.
About the Summer School
The BiBB summer school is a fully catered crash course of a small week in which a selection of ambitious students will learn the answers to the following questions and gain practical experience with them:
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How is the government organised?
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How do laws, policies and decisions arise in complex administrative realities and how does the 'real' world influence this?
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How can you operate effectively within that administrative reality? Which skills should people with a science background learn for this?
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Where are the opportunities for people with quantitative, exact, scientific or technical perspectives to be of value in socially urgent themes?
For whom?
This summer school is open to all motivated PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers in STEM disciplines who want to apply their expertise in governance and public policy.
There is space for a maximum of 30 participants. If we receive more applications than there are places available, we will use a selection process. We will consider motivation and aim for a diverse and balanced group across gender, university, and disciplinary backgrounds.
N.B. Due to the close connection to Dutch government and administration agencies, the programme will be in Dutch only.
Program
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Lectures and masterclasses by people with extensive experience in the Dutch government, such as (former) ministers, politicians, journalists and civil servants in high positions within ministries.
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Work supervised by relevant experts on current cases, aimed at policy formation and influencing
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Training in skills such as negotiating and pitching
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Social activities aimed at conviviality and creating a strong network
Curious what last year looked like? On the right, you can view the 2025 Summer School programme booklet.
The full programme for 2026 will be published at a later date. Below are the speakers already confirmed for 2026.
-
Lectures and masterclasses by people with extensive experience in the Dutch government, such as (former) ministers, politicians, journalists and civil servants in high positions within ministries.
-
Work supervised by relevant experts on current cases, aimed at policy formation and influencing
-
Training in skills such as negotiating and pitching
-
Social activities aimed at conviviality and creating a strong network
Curious what last year looked like? On the right, you can view the 2025 Summer School programme booklet.
The full programme for 2026 will be published at a later date. Below are the speakers already confirmed for 2026.
Confirmed speakers 2026
Jan Anthonie Bruijn
Robbert Dijkgraaf
Minister van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport van Nederland, Voormalig voorzitter Eerste Kamer (VVD), hoogleraar immunopathologie Universiteit Leiden | patholoog
Hoogleraar UvA, voormalig minister Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap | natuurkundige
Alexander Rinnooy Kan
Hoogleraar economie en bedrijfskunde UvA, voormalig voorzitter SER, oud-senator Eerste Kamer (D66) | wiskundige
Hans de Bruijn
Hoogleraar bestuurskunde TU Delft, expert in framing en politieke communicatie | bestuurskundige
Laura van Hazendonk
Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek | scheikundige
Moniek Tromp
Hoogleraar Materiaalchemie RUG, directeur van het Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials | scheikundige
Eppo Bruins
Voormalig minister van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap | natuurkundige
Paulien Herder
Decaan Technische Universiteit Delft | scheikundig ingenieur
Wilm Geurts
Directeur Internationale Zaken op het Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid | natuurkundige
Anne Schuth
Hind Dekker-Abdulaziz
Engineer Bureau Architectuur voor de Nederlandse Overheid | informaticus
Voormalig Tweede Kamerlid D66 met focus op inlichtingendiensten, de digitale overheid en persoonsgegevens
Christa Hooijer
Director of Science and Technology Defence Safety and Security, TNO |
natuurkundige
Luc Stultiens
Tweede Kamerlid GroenLinks-PvdA met focus op financieel-economisch beleid | wiskundige
Kees Keulemans
Kwartiermaker Bureau Architectuur voor de Nederlandse Overheid | werktuigbouwkundige, technisch bestuurskundige
Marte Altenburg
Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat | ingenieur
Meet the organizing team
Marloes Vredenborg
Universiteit Utrecht
Jan-Willem Hurkmans
TU Delft
Liedewij Laan
TU Delft
Maurits de Roo
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Natalia Vtyurina
ISPE
Rik Volger
TU Delft
Joost van Mameren
Universiteit van Amsterdam
Contact
If you have any questions you can contact us via the contact form
or via email: zomeschool@betainbestuurenbeleid.nl.
The organization is in the hands of the BiBB team.
In addition to this website, keep an eye on our LinkedIn page for more news.