Abdelhamid Idrissi appointed Professor of Practice

11 Feb 2022 11:00 | Communication

Abdelhamid Idrissi was officially inaugurated as Professor of Practice for Diversity & Inclusion at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, on 10 February 2022. Idrissi’s focus will among other things be on the issue of student dropout and how diversity and inclusion relate to this.

Idrissi's official appointment ceremony was part of the annual AUAS Knowledge Parade. In his inaugural speech, he spoke about his own experiences with inequality of opportunities, the importance of talent development and his own plans for diversity and inclusion at AUAS.

“The topic of diversity and inclusion has nothing to do with your parents’ origins or what country you spent your childhood in,” the new Professor of Practice stated. “It is about wanting to get to know the other. About genuinely wanting to hear and understand the other and the world they live in, their home, their standards and values. Because that is the only way to feel and understand who the other person truly is.”

Abdelhamid Idrissi therefore explicitly intends to establish a dialogue with both AUAS’s students and its lecturers. “Together, we will reflect, learn, and look towards the future and see how we can join forces to shape student satisfaction and academic success for the AUAS.”

During the Knowledge Parade, AUAS Rector Geleyn Meijer elaborated on the choice to appoint Idrissi as a new Professor of Practice. The position enables AUAS to engage individuals who are a source of inspiration in the area of topical, future-oriented strategic issues that align with AUAS’s vision and mission. “In short, we are always looking for people who have the ability, drive, and the capacity to galvanise us into really setting things in motion in such areas.”

Idrissi will be performing his duties at AUAS from the Faculty of Education. Dean Ramon Puras is proud of Idrissi’s appointment. AUAS wishes to be an inclusive institution, and steps are being taken in that area, although Puras recognises that there is still much room for improvement. “We want to be a university of applied sciences where everyone feels at home. Abdelhamid can help us incorporate the city into our networks even more. I am very much looking forward to collaborating with him.”

About Abdelhamid Idrissi

Abdelhamid Idrissi is a central figure in Amsterdam’s society. Through neighbourhood projects, he draws attention to such themes as the combating of inequality of opportunity, driving the dialogue around these subjects throughout the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. A graduate of AUAS’s Architecture programme, Abdelhamid Idrissi grew up in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, where he founded the city’s first Studiezaal (a study space for children and youths). For this, he received the Audience Award at the Nieuw Amsterdam Prijzen (New Amsterdam Awards) in 2021.

Abdelhamid Idrissi was elected Amsterdammer of the Year in 2018. He is a member of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science’s NPO initiative, a council member of the Municipality of Amsterdam’s Knowledge Centre for Inequality of Opportunity (Kenniscentrum Kansenongelijkheid), and a renowned social entrepreneur with a broad vision for the city.