Beatrice van der Heijden Receives the Academy of Management Hughes Lifetime Careers Scholar Award
Beatrice van der Heijden Receives the Academy of Management Hughes Lifetime Careers Scholar Award
Beatrice van der Heijden Receives the Academy of Management Hughes Lifetime Careers Scholar Award
Professor van der Heijden Recognised for Significant Contributions to Research and Society
Professor Beatrice van der Heijden, a member of Wittenborg’s International Academic Advisory Panel (IAAP), has recently been awarded the prestigious Hughes Lifetime Careers Scholar Award by the Academy of Management’s (AOM) Careers Division. She received the award during the 85th AOM Annual Meeting, which took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 25 to 29 July. This was the first time the ceremony was held in Europe.
Van der Heijden, who completed a master’s degree in Work and Organisational Psychology at Radboud University and a PhD in Management Science at the University of Twente, is a full professor and Head of the Department of Strategic Human Resource Management at Radboud University. She has specialised in career research for more than 30 years.
“It still doesn’t feel real because it is the highest award you can receive in my field, and it is recognised worldwide. It’s a dream I never imagined would be attainable, so it’s amazing, and I am very happy,” the professor says.
Among other criteria for being selected for the award, which is not delivered every year and more likely to be given after one’s retirement, the committee highlighted van der Heijden’s remarkable achievements and contributions to academia. These include over 400 publications that have amassed over 30,000 citations, the development of relevant measurement instruments on occupational expertise and on employability and the publication of the Handbook of Research on Sustainable Careers, which she co-edited with professor Ans De Vos. The scholar has also been praised for her endless enthusiasm, tireless willingness to help others, creativity, inclusivity and capacity to build bridges with other domains.
Van der Heijden is a Knight of the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands and a member of the Academia Europaea, the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities and Sigma Xi in the USA.
Wittenborg’s Deputy Head of the School of Business, Fahad Shakeel, congratulated van der Heijden on receiving the Academy of Management Hughes Lifetime Careers Scholar Award and highlighted the importance of her contributions to both research and the school. “Professor van der Heijden has always excelled in academia, and we are very happy to have her as an IAAP member. Her guidance has been fundamental to Wittenborg’s progress. In addition, she is very approachable and friendly, always ready to help and share her knowledge.”
Van der Heijden notes that her favourite aspects of her career are its international character and the opportunity to help other scholars grow professionally. “I enjoy being part of an international community and conducting research on topics such as careers, human resource management and work and organisational psychology. Balancing research with my work educating students, my PhD students’ supervision and administrative responsibilities related to my management role is certainly challenging, but at the end of the day, it has been a deeply gratifying experience.”
Regarding her plans for the future, the professor says she intends to try her best to ensure her own and others’ career sustainability – a concept she has focused on over the course of her research. “I am very proud that, as the child of entrepreneurs, my parents always cared about employee well-being and health next to their performance. This has influenced my research on careers, and it led me to operationalise the concept of career sustainability, measured by three indicators: happiness, health and productivity, aligning the expectations of employees and employers,” she concludes.
WUP 17/09/2025
by Ulisses Sawczuk
©WUAS Press
Tags
#SDG4: Quality Education
#SDG17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal
#Internationalisation
#Diversity
#Ethics
#highered
#research
610 words