Professor Maurits van Rooijen is Chief Executive for Academic Affairs at Global University Systems (GUS). He is also the President of the University of Europe for Applied Sciences, located on five campuses in Germany and Dubai and strongly focused on employer engagement and work-integrated education. He is also the Chairman of amongst others the supervisory boards of UE Amsterdam, GISMA University Germany, IBAT Ireland.
Before the launch of GUS, he was CEO & Rector Magnificus of Nyenrode University, in the Netherlands, and prior to that Executive Vice President, University of Westminster, London, acting VP at Victoria University Melbourne, VP (International) at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He also held positions at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and his Alma Mater, Utrecht University. At the University of Westminster, he was also chairperson of the Westminster group of FE colleges and for the TNE operations. The latter included campus development of WUIT in Tashkent Uzbekistan (from 2001), four new institutions including campuses on project basis for the Delta State government, Nigeria, University of Westminster Paris (PG diplomacy co-located with FACO Paris), Director of the University of Westminster Vietnam company in preparation for a branch campus development on request of the Vietnamese government which shortly afterwards changed policy and licensed the British University Vietnam (est. 2009).
In parallel to his university career, he has worked since the mid-eighties extensively for Dutch educational television and radio and is auteur of some twenty book publications including ten written in assignment of Shell Netherlands (1984-1993).
He was also a visiting scholar/researcher throughout his career including at the University of Hull (Leverhulme), Cambridge University, University of Pennsylvania, Bergen University Norway, Leibniz University Germany, Technical university Vienna Austria and has held extraordinary/honorary professorial positions at various universities in the Netherlands, Australia, PR China, Malaysia. He was also a long serving member of the executive of the Compostela Group of Universities Spain (President 2007-2012), member of the executive of the European Access Network Belgium (from 1996-2018 Vice-President), co-chairman of the World Association for Cooperative and Work-Integrated Education (initially Northeastern university Boston MA, now based at Waterloo Canada; 2008-2024), Chairman of the high council of GaragErasmus (Italy), Chairman of the Foundation for Global Knowledge Cities, Netherlands (2012-2023) and advisory board member of the Export Academy Oranjewoud, Netherlands (from 2023).
He currently holds leadership positions with international organisations including an executive role with the European Access Network (EAN), and Chair of the Strategic Team and Board member for GIOYA Higher Education Institute. He also holds an Honorary Professorship at Pei Hua University Xi’an (since 2024) and is a member of its international advisory board and is also member of the international advisory board of Shanghai Polytechnic. He is also an academic board member of Metropolitan College, the largest TNE provider in Greece.
