Werner Soontiens

Prof Werner Soontiens is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Law & Business, University of Notre Dame Australia. Previously, he served as Dean of the School of Business at Notre Dame (2017–present) and held leadership roles at Curtin University, including faculty executive positions in the Curtin Business School and Faculty of Humanities. He holds a PhD in International Management and Economics and has over 25 years of experience in tertiary education. His research focuses on cross-cultural management, international business, and migrant acculturation, with notable contributions to higher education policy and governance through roles on Curtin's Academic Board and TEQSA Panel of Experts.

Education: Educated in Belgium and South Africa, he began his academic career at Tshwane University of Technology (1990) before migrating to Australia in 2000. Teaching areas include cross-cultural management, international business, and international economics.

Research highlights include studies on migrant acculturation in workplaces and Swan Valley Innovation. He has supervised 2 PhD completions, currently supervises 1 student, and co-supervised since 2008. Awards include the Curtin Excellence and Innovation in Teaching Award (2013) and the Curtin Business School Teaching Award (2012).

Grants include a $100,000 EU-Australian consortium project (2011–2013) for student exchanges and a $40,000 World Bank project (2005–2007) on e-government procurement analysis. Community roles include Board positions at Churches of Christ WA and Sheridan College.

Labs/Teams: Active in collaborative research initiatives such as the Swan Valley Innovation project and international academic networks focused on higher education quality assurance and migrant integration.