Bettina van Hoven

Prof. Bettina van Hoven holds the Aletta Jacobs Chair in 'Place, Social Change and Collaborative Research for Wellbeing and Justice' at University College Groningen (University of Groningen). She earned her PhD in 1999 from the University of Plymouth with research on post-socialist rural societies in Germany. Her work focuses on participatory methodologies addressing marginalized groups' spatial experiences, including disability, aging, migration, and environmental challenges. She advocates 'slow science' emphasizing ethical collaboration and community co-creation.

Education: PhD (University of Plymouth, 1999), studies in Biology and Physical Geography (University of Osnabrück and Plymouth).
Research: Integrates visual methods, community partnerships, and arts-based dissemination to produce inclusive knowledge. Key themes include urban wellbeing, disability inclusion, and participatory resilience-building.
Teaching: Project-based learning focused on bridging theory and real-world challenges.
Advising: Supervised 9 PhD students since 2013, including works on climate action, Syrian refugee masculinities, and aging-in-place.
Labs/Teams: Leads the Aletta Jacobs Chair research group, collaborating with organizations like 'This Abled City' to improve urban accessibility. Serves on editorial boards for Emotion, Space and Society and Journal for Undergraduate Ethnography.