M. Janssen (Mirka)

Mirka Janssen (Academy of Physical Education (ALO), Human Movement Sciences, Epidemiology, Pedagogic Leadership) is head of the ALO's Physical Activity In and Around School professorship.

Mirka completed her Bachelor's degree at the ALO in 2005 and subsequently obtained Master's degrees in Human Movement Sciences (2008) and Epidemiology (2011). In 2014 she took her doctorate at VU Amsterdam (VUmc), for which she researched PLAYgrounds, a school project which has since been implemented as the playground model at schools Amsterdam-wide as part of the Jump-in (AAGG) school programme.

Mirka has also contributed to several research projects, including SALVO and Smart Moves!. As from June 2017 she is interim professor in the Human Movement Sciences professorship, leading a team of lecturer-researchers and project leaders. Currently the professorship is focused on facilitating measurement of childhood motor development through a dual strategy of equipping physical education teachers with a reliable, valid and practicable measurement tool, on the one hand, and on the other structuring a care pathway in which teachers of children with delayed motor development can work with paediatric doctors and other professionals. In this connection, also see the MAMBO cohort and Gymmermansoog project.

In the years ahead, the professorship will be broadening and deepening its foundation by delving into the role physical education teachers play in exercise activities in and around school and how they can collaborate with other professionals in areas hardly explored thus far. The stronger the network to promote children's health development, the better the chances for lifelong vitality: 'It takes a village to raise a child.'