Leadership Award for Extension School Executive Director

At the Education 2.0 Conference, Willem van Valkenburg was honoured as exemplary leader for his sustained efforts in inspiring and guiding individuals and organisations in  lifelong learning education. 

This most recent award follows on from other recent international recognitions and highlights van Valkenburg’s dedication to lifelong learning for self-improvement and professional enrichment and thus his work as trailblazer and role mode in the field. The award nominees were judged on five parameters, namely leader’s reputation, educational background, professional experience, creative thinking, and decisive leadership.

“Open and continuing education are close to my heart”, says Van Valkenburg “but my words and actions would not produce great results by themselves. It is through the collaboration and work of many others, such as my colleagues at TU Delft and other committed people in several international institutions that we can truly realise great positive societal impact and extend the reach of high quality education. I hope I can continue to inspire others to work toward sharing knowledge with the world and in being bold in their activities for lifelong learning”.

Van Valkenburg has been a tireless advocate of open and online education for many years, including in his work as a board member of OEGlobal since 2013 and of EDEN (European Distance and e-Learning Network) since 2021. As Executive Director of the TU Delft Extension School of Continuing Education, he is committed to continuing to drive innovation, encourage pioneering projects and support best industry practice.

At the Education 2.0 Conference, Van Valkenburg was part of a panel leading a discussion about education policy and leadership (in this video at 4.48.50). The conference brings together the global education community to facilitate knowledge sharing and to look for solutions to issues faced in education transmittal in this day and age. It aspires to present a vibrant platform where changemakers from the education industry can meet with peers and discuss ways and means to revolutionize how we learn and teach.