Thomas van Andel (born 1984) joined the Kennisland team in October 2011, working on the Slimmernetwerk. He took a degree in political science and also spent some time studying Public Administration and taking classes in philosophy at Leiden University. For his Master’s degree in Political Psychology, Sociology and Media, his main focus was on the perceived relationship between political parties and political issues.
Thomas previously worked for an intermediary organisation in knowledge sharing and knowledge valorisation. His activities were concentrated in the domain of research programmes for education and government. After completing his studies he joined the Kafkabrigade, a research team working to beat bureaucracy, where he still works two days a week.
During his study and while working for his previous employers, Thomas developed a wide interest in knowledge sharing and innovation in the public sector. He is particularly motivated to hunt down and break through dysfunctional hierarchical relations within public services.
Thomas spends much of his spare time recording experimental electronic music, preferably using iconic synthesisers from the 1980s and ’90s. He is also trying to improve his Spanish, and dreams of being able to spend some time living in South America. He has already taken his first step towards this dream, with a tour of Colombia. During earlier travels he visited South Africa and Cambodia.
