Jos de Kock

Background

About Jos de Kock

As Rector (President) I lead our faculty, a unique institution for higher (university-level) theological education and research in Leuven (Belgium). I started in this responsibility in September 2019. The executive administration I lead is ultimately responsible not only for the academic programs we run but also for the operation of the campus and fundraising for our institution. As rector I represent and position our university institution regionally and internationally to fellow institutions worldwide, governments, and a large variety of strategic cooperation partners. While completing my MBA studies at Vlerick Business School, I also took up the position of administrative director from January 2023. As administrative director, I am responsible for finances and management of our buildings; I lead the administrative and technical personnel; special focus is on fundraising and PR. As a Full Professor of Practical Theology, I teach in the BA, MA and PhD programs at our faculty and direct various research projects. I am coordinator of our Master of Teaching in Religion and I am the director of our research institute ISREYM (Institute for the Study of Religious Education and Youth Ministry). As a theologian and education expert my specializations are in the areas of empirical practical theology, religious education, youth ministry, and learning processes in faith communities. I serve in different international academic networks either as board member or journal editor. On a more personal note, as a family we have been a foster family since 2012, first in the Netherlands, now in Flanders. We have experience in crisis care, short- and long-term care and psychiatric foster care. Caring for vulnerable children and youth has my heart. With this hands-on experience in baggage, the youth care sector and improving care for vulnerable children and families also has my special interest. I obtained master’s degrees in education science (Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands) and religion and theology (Utrecht University, the Netherlands). In 2005, I obtained my PhD in social sciences at Radboud University Nijmegen. I obtained an MBA degree from Vlerick Business School (Brussels/Gent/Leuven). Before my appointments to ETF Leuven I worked as an assistant professor researcher, education expert, teacher, consultant and senior policy advisor at different other institutes.#Governance;#Finances;#Strategy;#HigherEducation;#Education;#Leadership;#Theology;#PracticalTheology;#ReligiousEducation;#YouthMinistry #YouthCare