Professor Smaranda Boros joins Vlerick

Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School is proud to welcome Smaranda Boros as a new Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour. Before joining Vlerick Smaranda Boros was teaching at the University of Tilburg in The Netherlands.

As a social psychologist, Smaranda Boros specialises in working with group dynamics, especially concerning issues of diversity, and in relation to this, gender stereotypes in management and group/organisational identities. “This can be well-applied in the client programmes Vlerick offers, particularly when looking at professional development programmes, so that individuals can learn the specific tools they need to function in the various groups they’re part of.”

Science is wasted if it doesn’t get to the people it’s intended for

Smaranda Boros: “For academics, there often comes a point where you have to choose between delving deeper into fundamental research and opting for more applied science. For me, the challenge is always in applied research, bridging the scientist and the practitioner – an area Vlerick excels in. I think science is wasted if it doesn’t get to the people it’s intended for. Which is why a psychologist needs to master two languages: one to address the scientific community, and the other for the larger public. I think this holds true for the attitude towards science as well. It should be triggered both by intellectual curiosity and by the need to take your findings out into the world so as to make a change – no matter how small.”