If the role of higher education is to nurture human potential and character and prepare young people to thrive in an increasingly complex world, then how can universities better fulfil their role? In 2024, a group of universities came together to explore that question, and through that process the University Coalition for Student Inner Development was born.
From the beginning, the University Coalition was not designed as an invitation to shape something together. The founding members collectively defined the purpose, structure, and principles of the coalition through a series of structured calls and working groups. Rather than imposing a single model, we built on the diverse experiences of institutions already experimenting with inner development, which allowed us to co-create a flexible and practice-based framework while respecting local contexts. What connects the co-founding members of the Coalition is not one method, but a shared belief that inner development must become part of how universities prepare students for the future.
Our Story
The following universities are co-founding institutions:
Hochschule Darmstadt, Germany
Lars Rademacher, Professor of Corporate & Sustainability Communications; Director of the Doctoral Center Sustainability Sciences
Anna Altmann, Professor of HR and Organizational Development
Nyenrode Business University, Netherlands
Andre Nijhof, Professor Sustainable Business and Stewardship
Edwin Jonkers, Board member, Nyenrode MBA Program
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Savis Gohari, Associate Professor in Urban Facility Management
ALBA Graduate Business School, Greece
Gerasimos Kouvaras, Teaching Fellow, ALBA Executive Development
University of Cincinnati, USA
Kathie Maynard, Academic Director
Jess Link, Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives for CECH Innovation and Community Partnerships
University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Ilja Boor, Co-Head, Teaching and Learning Centre; Co-Programme Leader, Visible Learning Trajectories
Linda de Greef, Innovation Lead, Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies
Center for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS) at Lund Unviersity, Sweden
Christine Wamsler, Professor of Sustainability Science; Founder and Director of the Contemplative Sustainable Futures Program
Sara Gabrielsson, Senior Lecturer in Sustainability Science
University of Roehampton, UK
Leigh Robinson, Vice-Chancellor for Student Education
Aleata Alstad-Calkins, Director of Student Support & Success
ESADE Business School, Spain
Marc Vilanova Pichot, Senior Lecturer; Director of the Department of Society, Politics and Sustainability
Supported by a secretariat comprised of three leaders in wellbeing and social change:
Niels Rot is the founder of Rflect, a for-purpose EdTech startup scaling inner development in higher education.
Gabriela Gandel is the former Managing Director of the Impact Hub Network. She is a social change strategist, advisor, board member, and facilitator.
Katherine Milligan is the former Executive Director of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. She is a thought leader on social entrepreneurship and systems change and a Visiting Lecturer at multiple universities in Europe and the US.
Our Origins
Niels Rot, a Switzerland-based serial social entrepreneur, conceived the original idea for the University Coalition for Student Inner Development in 2024. His experience founding and leading Rflect, an education technology start-up that makes inner development tools easier and cheaper to integrate into university curricula, convinced him that multiple approaches are needed in parallel.
Niels approached the IDG Foundation in Sweden with a proposal to create a “coalition of the willing” and engage university leaders who want to contribute to shifting the narrative around the purpose of higher education. The IDG Foundation strongly endorsed the concept and Niels recruited the respected impact strategist Gabriela Gandal as a co-founder. In fall 2024, they created the University Coalition for Student Inner Development together with the nine co-founding institutions.