prof. dr. G. (Gjalt) de Jong

Education and Valorization

Professor de Jong is founder and director of the NVAO accredited MSc program Sustainable Entrepreneurship for which he successfully supervised the macro efficiency test and the accreditation process. The MSc program aligns offers students the opportunity to develop academic/leadership/entrepreneurship skills together with learning how to successfully design/implement/manage sustainable enterprises. Together with his team and colleagues, professor de Jong is responsible for management and organization of the program including the education and exam committees, the recruitment and selection of students, the marketing and communication of the program, the quality control cycle, teaching staff quality and the performance of the students. Professor de Jong actively engages in academic and public debates offering more than 125 guest lectures and 180 network/news events.

Professor de Jong initiated and chairs the program’s Council of Commitment and the program’s Circular Minds Conference. All participating students of the first edition successfully completed the A+ evaluated master program (including the successful completion of final projects with sustainable entrepreneurs/organizations). The second edition of the master program serves a double amount of students (with 60 percent international and 40 percent Dutch students). The students highlight the program’s sustainability/entrepreneurship focus and the small-group and transdisciplinary teaching methods/context.

Professor de Jong and his chair group introduced four new educational programs/activities aimed to foster the success of sustainable entrepreneurship and the transition towards a circular economy. Together with his team he introduced (i) the Circular 11-city Tour Friesland; a two-year quarterly event where practitioners/academics offer state-of-the-art insights concerning sustainable entrepreneurship and the circular economy, (ii) the Sustainable Startup Academy; a joint venture between the chair group and Innovatiepact Friesland (Sterk Fries Ondernemerschap) where students together with practitioners/academics design their sustainable enterprises, (iii) the science lectures series Sustainable Entrepreneurship; a yearly program that offer regional entrepreneurs/policy-makers state-of-the-art insights of the field, and (iv) the preparation course Sustainable Entrepreneurship; a once-a-year program that offers students of applied sciences an opportunity to join the MSc program at the University of Groningen.