Wageningen University & Research appoints Professor Joost de Laat as Managing Director of Social Sciences Group

Joost de Laat studied and obtained his PhD in the United States, at St Lawrence University and Brown University, respectively. He then worked as a postdoc and assistant professor at Harvard and Quebec. He also worked for the World Bank for a total of almost 10 years. He was also director of Learning and Evaluation at the international philanthropic institution Porticus.

Since 2018, Joost de Laat has been Professor of Economics at Utrecht University and director of the Utrecht University Centre for Global Challenges. Joost de Laat is internationally oriented and has lived and worked in several African countries, among others. Sustainability and equal (educational) opportunities for all are important themes in his work.

Joost de Laat will begin his role on 1st October 2024.