No fewer than four extraordinary professors have been appointed at the research focus area of late:
- Prof Kristen Betts
- Prof Marieta du Plessis
- Prof Ståle Pallesen
- Prof Jac van der Klink
More about the appointees
Prof Betts has more than 20 years of experience working in higher education and online learning as a senior administrator, programme director, and clinical professor for private, public and for-profit institutions. Her research focuses on Mind, Brain and Education science, assessment, advising, transfer of learning, online human touch/high touch, student engagement, instructional design and neuropedagogy.
After completing a PhD in Industrial Organisational Psychology, Prof Du Plessis has been involved with Optentia as an extroaordinary researcher for the past three years. She has published 17 peer-reviewed manuscripts and was recently promoted to the level of Associate professor at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
Professor Pallesen graduated from the Professional School of Psychology at the University of Bergen in Norway in 1997. He defended his PhD thesis at the same institution in 2002, and since 2007 he has worked there as a professor. His main research interests include sleep and addictions wherein he has published extensively.
As a student of medicine and psychology, Prof Van der Klink worked as a physician in Ghana and as a General Practitioner in the Netherlands. From 2006 till 2014 he was full professor of occupational health at the University Medical Center in Groningen. His research focus is on mental health at work and on sustainable employability and the application of the capability model in these fields.
Other extraordinary appointments
The following extraordinary professors were reappointed for a period of three years:
- Prof Isabella Aboderin
- Prof Hans De Witte
- Prof Mary Grosser
- Prof Hans Henrik Knoop
- Prof Franziska Meinck
- Prof David Segal
- Prof Michael Steger
- Prof Rens van de Schoot
- Prof Anja van den Broeck
- Prof Ruut Veenhoven
Dr Laura Weiss was appointed as an extraordinary researcher for a period of three years.
