Dr. Ruud Duvekot

E-mail: ruudduvekot@ec-vpl.nl
LinkedIn: LinkedIn Dr. Ruud Duvekot

Ruud Duvekot (1960) is director of the Foundation EC-VPL. He studied Economic and Social History at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He worked at Utrecht University as a teacher and project manager.

He initiated programmes on assessment, mentoring/tutoring and recruitment of non-traditional target groups for higher education. Later he worked at the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the department of Innovation and Technology. His work concerned tackling the problems of the gap between learning and working in the knowledge economy. Projects included making better use of non-formal learning and designing an integral approach of lifelong learning and a national policy for the ‘upskilling’ of the labour force. He chaired a national working group on developing a national policy on the Validation of non-formal and informal learning, resulting in the publication of “The glass is half filled” in 2001.

In 2001, he founded the Kenniscentrum EVC, the Dutch knowledge centre on the Validation of Prior Learning (VPL). This knowledge centre studies, accumulates and distributes information on every imaginable aspect of VPL, such as national and international information pertaining to VPL-projects, procedures, instruments, financing and legislation. He managed the centre for six years.

In 2006-2008, he worked at the AS University of Amsterdam as invited professor “Valuing Learning & VPL”. He then moved on to work at Inholland University (AS) as Associate Professor in personalized learning-strategies. This work focused on researching the learning opportunities for the citizen. The validation of prior learning plays the primary rol, being thé instrument to strengthen lifelong learning for the sake of employability, empowerment and/or citizenship.

At present, he is the program-director (since 2002) of the European Centre for Valuation of Prior Learning. The foundation studies, accumulates and distributes information on all aspects of VPL, such as national and international information pertaining to VPL projects, procedures, instruments, financing, yield and legislation. Incidental bottlenecks in the sphere of legislation and regulations are surveyed and discussed with the responsible authorities. The foundation has a long-standing work-relation with EU-funded research projects.

Furthermore he is:

Managing-director of the Centre for Lifelong Learning Services (CL3S), which provides services (advice, research, development) for organisations and individual to invest in sustainable development of ‘the self’. www.cl3s.com.

Senior lecturer at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences in the field of assessment and personalised learning strategies. www.hu.nl

Chairman of the Foundation Self-management of Competences CH-Q  (since 2011) that works with a Swiss licence for certification of portfolio-trainers and –assessors.

In 2016, he defended successfully his thesis at Utrecht University entitled ‘Valuing Learning. A qualitative research into the concepts of personalised learning and of Validation of Prior Learning.

He initiated and co-steers the global VPL Biennale, of which the 1st Biennale took place in 2014, Rotterdam, the Netherlands: www.vplbiennale.com. The 2nd VPL Biennale was in Denmark, Aarhus on 25-27 April 2017. This biannual manifestation focuses on raising awareness of the benefits of VPL on a global scale and brings together all stakeholders involved in validation-processes. The 3rd Biennale will be in Germany in 2019.

He publishes regularly on the transition to the learning society, VPL, lifelong learning and the innovation of learning systems.

He speaks Dutch and (Swiss-)German at C2-levels, English at C1-level and Italian, French and Spanish at B2- level.