Our Team
The Communication Skills Academy is run by a core team of four people and supported by a larger team of teachers. We introduce ourselves below.
Core Team
Emma Versteegh (PhD) holds a master’s degree in biology and a teaching degree from Utrecht University, and taught biology and science in secondary education. She obtained a PhD degree in biogeochemistry from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) and did postdoctoral research in Belgium, the UK and the USA. Upon return to the Netherlands she became a teacher trainer at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences and subsequently at Utrecht University. She is currently an assistant professor and director of education at the Freudenthal Institute and programme leader of the master Science Education and Communication.
Kim van Ommering (PhD) obtained her master's degree in Applied Physics from the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and a PhD degree in Applied Physics based on her work at Philips Research on magnetic biosensors. She has another master degree in Science Education and has taught at both high school and university level. She has always loved languages and communication of science and is excited to integrate these into her position as the Coordinator Communication Skills Academy, where she organizes, develops and teaches courses in academic writing from bachelor to PhD level – and in 2025, she will extend this expertise to include courses tailored specifically for supervisors.
Heather Huijting obtained her Master's degree in sustainable development, with a specific focus on ecosystems and climate change, from Utrecht University in 2024. Soon after graduating she joined the Communication Skills Academy as course coordinator. For more information, you can view her LinkedIn profile here.
Marrit Bleeker earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology in 2024 and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Science Education and Communication. Alongside her studies, she has joined the Communication Skills Academy as a student assistant, where she contributes to course organization and setup.
After a career as a researcher, Saskia Ebeling (PhD) joined the Graduate School of Life Sciences (GSLS) to better support both PhD candidates and PhD supervisors. She initiated the PhD Course Centre in 2015 to offer training in general skills for PhD candidates, and presently serves as the managing director of the GSLS PhD Course Center. This Course Center considers academic writing, organized by the Communication Skills Academy, one of the most important academic skills for PhD candidates.
Teachers
A 'proud papa' of four, Adam Frick received his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Notre Dame (USA) and his master's in Latin American Studies from Tulane University (USA). Originally a secondary school instructor with teaching positions on (almost!) every continent, Adam specialises in writing, translating and editing for non-native practitioners of English (see Effective English). He currently supports writers as a workshop leader, as an editor for various international academic publications and as a staff member at Utrecht University.
Michelle Marks has worked in many capacities in professional writing and academic editing, as well as peer review and editorial management with book and journal publishers. Her specialty is writing on complex topics, particularly in environmental fields, development studies and social disciplines (see Marks Editing & Translation). She has been an in-house editor at Elsevier Science and is a regular writer for geomatics industry magazines. She studied journalism at the University of Connecticut (USA).
Taylor Krohn is a US English native speaker who has been teaching English since 2011. She is the founder of Premier Taaltraining and works with researchers in the Netherlands and abroad to improve the clarity of their writing, both for research articles and grant applications. Taylor is enthusiastic about making academic writing accessible to as wide an audience as possible. Her courses give students efficient and practical tools that will make their writing clear and concise.
Kim van Ommering (see above at Core Team)
Patrick Moore is a British English language trainer who loves teaching the ‘ins and outs’ of effective written communication in a wide range of contexts. Already a UK qualified teacher, he found his passion for writing while teaching English in the Netherlands. Since 2009, he has pursued this focus in Dutch universities and businesses enabling course participants to understand what it takes to create a highly readable, structured and clear text that makes its mark on the intended reader. He lives in a quiet part of Limburg where he can focus on reading so many papers!
Li-fan Lee is a PhD candidate of the Institute for Philosophy at Leiden University. His research interest lies in intercultural philosophy and mainly concerns Continental and Chinese philosophies. He is also dedicated to education in general and is enthusiastic about helping others become better thinkers through good practices in thinking, writing, and reading, ultimately bringing people together through thoughtful and effective communication.
Alexandra Sattler studied Philosophy at Leiden (BA/MA) and her PhD thesis in German Studies (University of Birmingham, UK) provides an analysis of aphoristic writing within the theoretical framework of Begriffsgeschichte. She lectured at the University of Birmingham, taught Ancient Greek as part of a community project and has an interest in the philosophical implications of writing. Since 2018 she is a contributing editor (Dutch Literature) for The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies (Brill).
Syahirah Rasheed received her PhD from the National University of Singapore, focusing on a medical anthropology of maternity care in Singapore. Previously, she completed a master’s degree in development studies from the International Institute of Social Studies Erasmus University Rotterdam. Her 13 years of experience in research and editorial work, ranges from teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students to copyediting dissertations and edited volumes. With a passion for supporting the academic and personal growth of students from diverse language backgrounds, Sya’s approach is grounded in empowering them to think critically, communicate effectively, and engage with each other in collaborative and supportive ways.
Antonella Rusconi works as an Information Scientist & Medical Writer for a research institute in Italy. She started back in 2002 as a Business English teacher and then furthered her career in English for Academic Purposes. Her teaching skills are solidly rooted in DELTA and her experience with foreign students include several pre-sessional courses in the U.K. and online. A recently completed MA in Academic Writing Development & Research from Coventry University has equipped Antonella with knowledge and strategies to make students aware of the persuasive power of effective writing in academia and beyond. She loves teaching writing for research purposes in Medicine and professional writing in Engineering.
Libusa van de Pavert (www.teaching-academic-writing.com) is an academic writing trainer who specializes in online education. In addition to teaching at Dutch universities, she runs her own online course platform that covers everything from improving the writing process to crafting well-structured paragraphs and using the correct style conventions. Next to her work as a teacher, Libusa is also a certified proofreader. She lives in Northern Norway, where she enjoys working while overlooking the fjords!
Christien Ettema has a PhD in Ecology and has worked as a postdoc in the USA, New Zealand and the Netherlands. In 2008 she switched careers to focus on science communication, helping authors from a wide range of disciplines to get their papers published and proposals funded. As editor and teacher of academic writing she focuses on developing strong storylines, improving logical order and flow, and linking to what the target audience knows, needs, and cares about. Her two favourite words are why and how :) See her website and LinkedIn
Ellen van den Assem is a philosophy teacher at the Royal Academy of Arts (The Hague), where she develops courses on subjectivity and objectivity, philosophy of technology, and German Idealism. Her teaching is designed to foster critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, and to help students express complex ideas clearly. With an academic background in metaphysics from Leiden University, Ellen is passionate about helping students articulate their passions and become effective communicators. Beyond the classroom, she has experience in developing educational programs and leads workshops exploring the intersections of Western and Buddhist philosophy.
Aisha Pagnes is a teacher for the Communication Skills Academy at the Freudenthal Institute, Utrecht University. She holds a Cum Laude Master’s degree in Modern European Philosophy from Leiden University, with specializations in German Idealist aesthetics and Formal Logic, and a growing interest in the Philosophy of Science. Aisha’s teaching experience includes academic writing for science students and applied ethics for engineering students, alongside contributions to scholarly publications in philosophy. Her approach to teaching academic writing is informed by argumentation theory, formal logic, literary analysis, and a decade of experience in editing, where she brings a detailed and critical eye to improving students' writing skills.
Claire Bacon studied biochemistry at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and did her Master’s degree at the AO Research Institute in Davos, Switzerland before getting her PhD in neurobiology at the University of York in England. After completing her PhD she moved to Heidelberg, Germany, and worked for eight years as a postdoctoral research scientist and project leader at the Institute of Human Genetics. During her postdoc she started helping her German colleagues write their own papers and realised that many talented scientists need help communicating their results and ideas effectively. She left academia in 2015 to focus on helping scientists get their research published and proposals funded, and has never been happier! As a trained language editor and Advanced Professional member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, she now spends her time teaching scientific writing and editing research papers and grant proposals. You can find out more by visiting her website and LinkedIn page.
Richard Peters-Sarti holds BS and MS degrees in geology, an MA in religion and science, and a PhD in “Science, Philosophy, and Religion”—this last from Boston University. He earned them all in pursuit of the meaning of life, which he once thought could be found in books and labs, but now knows has a very great deal to do with two wonderful little boys named Noah and Adam (certainly in his own case). Before joining the COSKA team at UU—when he wasn’t meaningfully daddying or trying to make the most of rare and brief yet very well-deserved rests from meaningful daddying—he earned his keep teaching English and editing master's theses and PhD dissertations, mostly for ESL students.