Joshua Nooij
PhD candidate & Initiator

Joshua is a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Geography and Rural Sociology. When he started his own Ph.D. trajectory, he started of strong; however, along the way, he got lost in the forest of deadlines, opportunities, and pressures. After he got close to quitting academia for good, he joined the Ph.D. council at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam to make a change.

It is during this time that he also became a father, which squeezed his time further and brought him close to burning out. After long talks with other Ph.D. candidates, most of whom felt the same, he initiated the Ph.D. bench together with Leonore, in an attempt to improve Ph.D. mental health for all those who struggle like he did.

Leonore de Wit
Associate Professor and Initiator

Leonore’s work is driven by a strong commitment to improving wellbeing in academia. She believes that universities should not only be places where people learn and conduct research, but also environments where they can thrive personally and professionally. Supporting the wellbeing of students and early career researchers is therefore central to her work.

Leonore is involved in a range of initiatives aimed at understanding the experiences and challenges faced by students and PhD candidates. Together with these groups, she develops and studies new ideas, interventions, and projects that aim to strengthen wellbeing within the university. She believes that a healthy academic community is built together, by listening, learning, and creating space for people to flourish.

Jan Passchier
Emeritus Professor & Coach

After a long and fulfilling career in academia, Jan is happy to coach PhD candidates navigating the challenges of their research and career paths. Having worked within the university system for many years, Jan understands the pressures of publishing, career uncertainty, and work-life balance, but also the satisfaction of successes.

His coaching is grounded in real experience—both his own and that of the many researchers he has guided (in the Netherlands and Indonesia). With a reflective yet practical approach, Jan will help you to gain clarity, manage setbacks, and take meaningful steps toward a fulfilling career, whether within or beyond academia. His goal is to support you in finding a path that truly fits you.

Tjeert Olthof
Emeritus Professor & Coach

After having been involved in academic research for almost 50 years and in academic teaching for 30 years, Tjeert is happy to participate in coaching PhD candidates as they navigate the highs and lows of academic life.

Tjeert remembers the uncertainties of his own career, like job insecurity, the pressure of deadlines, and the struggle to combine working in academia with having a family life, but also the satisfaction when things worked out well. By listening to your experiences and reflecting on them, he hopes to use his experience as a researcher and supervisor to help you to gain clarity, manage setbacks, and take meaningful steps toward a fulfilling career.