Leonard Engel and Mervin Bakker: The EAIE at 35!

2024 marks a special anniversary for the EAIE: the Association turns 35! A lot has happened within the world of international higher education in the decades since the EAIE’s founding in 1989, and the EAIE itself has also been on quite an evolutionary journey during this time. Current Executive Director Leonard Engel has been an important part of that journey for 14 years and is now getting ready to hand over the baton to Mervin Bakker.

In this special 35-year anniversary episode, Laura talks to both Leonard and Mervin about this EAIE milestone. It provides a wonderful opportunity to travel back in time (what were they doing all the way back in 1989?), to reflect on our changing sector (what are some of the important changes they've seen within the field of internationalisation over the years?), and to look toward the future (what will a successful conference in Toulouse look like in their eyes?). Join us in celebrating our 35th anniversary in this episode, where we say a big thank you to Leonard and give a warm welcome to Mervin!

About Leonard Engel

Leonard Engel is the Executive Director of the European Association for International Education (EAIE). He holds a Master of Public Administration from the Dutch School of Public Administration (NSOB), The Hague, and an MA in Literature from Leiden University, the Netherlands. Leonard is an experienced manager in higher education and a specialist in internationalisation and student affairs, having worked as a director at Leiden University from 1995 to 2010. His areas of specialisation are cooperation theory and relations between Dutch and Chinese higher education. Leonard is invited regularly to speak about international higher education and Association management.
Leonard received the 2023 President's Award from Piet Van Hove in recognition of his service and commitment to the EAIE and the wider international education community. Since joining the EAIE in 2010, he has guided the Association to new levels of professionalisation and led EAIE’s commitment to operational excellence.

About Mervin Bakker

Mervin Bakker has been working in international education for 25 years. Prior to joining the EAIE, he was the Director of International Strategy & Relations at the University of Groningen, where he is responsible for the university’s international strategy and the management of relations with strategic partners and networks globally. Before joining the University of Groningen, Mervin was Regional Director at Nuffic’s Netherlands Education Support Offices in South Africa and Indonesia. Before this, Mervin worked at the University of Amsterdam as Manager of International Programmes and Head of Marketing & Communications for the Faculty of Economics and Business. He has also worked for an education agent in Thailand and ran a student-related business in the Netherlands. Mervin holds an MSc in International Economics & Economic Geography from Utrecht University and an MBA in Higher Education Management from the Institute of Education in London. He will take over as Executive Director of the EAIE at the end of September 2024.