Karen van der Zee

Vrije Universiteit, Hoogleraar Intercultural Competence, Chief Diversity Officer

In my role as Chief Diversity Officer I am be responsible for developing an inspiring diversity strategy and for translating this strategies into concrete activities related to education, research and community service. As part of our diversity strategy we will focus on expertise development on diversity and inclusion as well as the external profile of VU Amsterdam.
Intercultural competence is of increased importance, at the international workplace, in diplomatic circles, in board rooms of major worldwide companies and organizations, in schools, counseling clinics and hospitals. Up till now, scientific work on intercultural competence is rooted in different research traditions (cross-cultural psychology, personality psychology, HRM, management, organizational psychology/sociology) that have focused on isolated aspects of the construct. In my research, I try to integrate those perspectives into explanatory models that help theory building in the field and that can provide a useful basis for organizational policies.