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Get to know Inge Grimm, Richard Wielinga and Karin Verschoor. Together, they make our Executive Board, guiding and representing Saxion. The members of the Executive Board are appointed for a period of four years.

Executive Board

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Inge Grimm has been President of the Saxion Executive Board since 1 June 2025. Based on her portfolio, she will be focusing on strategy, research and valorisation. Prior to this, Inge was Chair of the Executive Board at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences. She studied HEAO Finance and Control at evening school at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences followed by Sociology – Work & Organisation (Arbeid & Organisatie) at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Inge also obtained her MBA at the University of Groningen.

Inge began her career in the business sector and she also has extensive experience in education. From 2003 onwards she worked in various management roles at Wageningen University & Research before moving to Windesheim in 2017, initially as vice-chair and her last four years as chair.

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executive board member

Richard Wielinga joined Saxion's Executive Board on 1 September 2024. He is responsible for the Business Operations portfolio. Richard studied Public Administration at the University of Twente and is an experienced and enthusiastic director and manager with extensive experience in public organisations. Richard started his career as an organisational consultant at Twynstra Gudde. He then worked for 20 years in various municipalities as director of operations and general manager/municipal secretary. Most recently, Richard was a member of the Board of Directors at the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (Social Insurance Bank), where he was responsible for the business operations portfolio. He went on to serve as the interim Director of Operational Services at the Municipality of Amsterdam.

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executive board member

Karin Verschoor has been a member of Saxion's Executive Board since 1 January 2026. Her portfolio includes education and internationalisation. Karin studied Human Movement Sciences at the University of Groningen and began her career as a labour researcher/human movement scientist at the Roessingh Rehabilitation Centre in Enschede. 

In 2001, she moved to Saxion, where she started as a lecturer in Physiotherapy and progressed to team leader. She then spent three years as manager at the former Academy of Marketing & International Management and for the past eight years she has been director of the School of Commerce & Entrepreneurship (SCE). She also fulfilled interim director roles at the Academy for People and Labour (AMA) and the Academy for Healthcare (AGZ). From September 2021 until the end of 2025, Karin was chair of the Higher Economic Education (HEO) sector council, among other things.

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News about the Executive Board

Information Executive Board

Inge Grimm

Portfolio

  • Strategy
  • Research
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Integral safety (including knowledge safety)
  • Spokesperson
  • Supervisory Board
  • Central Participation Council
  • Diversity and inclusion

Schools

Services

  • Department of Institutional Affairs and Information Management
  • Saxion Research and Graduate School
  • Saxion Centre for Entrepreneurship

External

  • Association of Universities of Applied Sciences: General Members' Meeting, Audit Committee, Research Management Committee and Funding & Digitisation Management Committee, SME Action Agenda

  • Twente Board

  • Surf Members' Council (Vice-Chair)

  • ThinkEastNL

  • Thematic Table on Key Technologies in Higher Professional Education 

  • Centre for Security and Digitisation

  • National Programme for Vital Regions

  • Deventer Economic Board

Additional position

Supervisory Board, Phion orchestra

Richard Wielinga

Portfolio 

  • Operational management;
  • Internal organisation
  • Information provision
  • Social safety
  • Professional Culture
  • Sustainable Business Operations

Schools

  • School of Social Work
  • School of Governance, Law & Urban Development

Services

  • Marketing and Communication Department
  • Control, Finance & Audit Department
  • Business Support Organisation
  • Facility Service Organisation
  • Human Resource Management Department
  • Information provision (part of the Administrative Affairs and Information Management Department)

External

  • Association of Universities of Applied Sciences: Finance Committee, Management & Organisation Committee
  • Economic Board Regio Stedendriehoek
  • Powerful SMEs
  • Strategic Network Apeldoorn
  • Thematic Table on Safety 

Karin Verschoor

Portfolio

  • Education and educational support
  • Internationalisation
  • Sustainability in education
  • Saxion Next

Schools

Services

  • Education and Student Support Service

External

  • Association of Universities of Applied Sciences: Education Steering Committee, Internationalisation Steering Committee

  • Novel-T Founders' Consultation

  • Twents Model

  • De Kien

  • Sport Network Overijssel

  • UASNL

  • Education Advisory Board

Additional position

Board member, VAPO (Oldenzaal Poverty Prevention Association)

In the Saxion Strategic Plan 2025-2030 the road map for the board has been laid out which emphasises offering outstanding education, student achievement and Saxion as a vibrant organisation. What sets us apart from other Universities of Applied Sciences is the focus on Living Technology: We see technology as an import part of our work and our lives. Our students thus create knowledge with successful application of technological developments in their own discipline.

The duties and rights of the Executive Board are laid out in the law, statutes and Board regulations.

Inge Grimm

Duties and roles outside Saxion

  • Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Phion Orchestra - Gelderland & Overijssel (1 November 2023 to 1 November 2027)

Other Roles

Karin Verschoor

External duties as member of the Executive Board

  • Board member, VAPO (Oldenzaal Poverty Prevention Association)

Our Executive Board is accountable to the Supervisory Board. The management and supervision are regulated in accordance with the "Branch Code Governance for Universities of Applied Sciences".
The Executive Board also justifies the administrative costs in accordance with the 'Declarations and administrative costs of Executive Board members funded Dutch Universities of Applied Sciences'.

Contact

You can contact Inge Grimm, Richard Wielinga en Karin Verschoor via the secretarial office. Call 088 - 019 1628 or send a mail to [email protected].