He obtained his master in Political Sciences in 2000 at the Catholic University of Leuven. In 2008, he succesfully defended his PhD dissertation 'Towards a public administration theory of public service motivation' at e Catholic University of Leuven. Since 2009, he is affiliated to the Utrecht University School of Governance of (since 2015 as associate professor). In 2011, he was appointed vistiting professor at the Public Management Institute at the Catholic University Leuven.