Reitsma, Dr L. (Liefke) EMC

Areas of expertize

Sociolinguistics, language change, group dynamics, (international) research policy, strategic organisational challenges, change management.

Biography

Following her studies in Dutch and Frisian language and linguistics (both University of Groningen, 2001), Liefke Reitsma conducted research into bilingualism and language change and the Frisian verbal complex. From 2007 to 2022, she built a (international) career as a civil servant with increasing responsibilities in e.g. research policy and international policy at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. She also spent five years as a Dutch representative at UNESCO in Paris. Later, she was responsible for the coordination of the Erasmus program and represented the Netherlands in the higher education working groups of the EU and the OECD.

Upon returning to the Netherlands, she resumed her academic research and obtained her PhD in 2021 with the dissertation 'Bilingualism and contact-induced language change: exploring variation in the Frisian verbal complex' (University of Groningen).

Between 2022 and 2025, Liefke worked as a senior management consultant on strategic assignments for various (educational) organizations and research institutions. In 2025, she took a sabbatical and completed the Executive Master in Change (at Insead) with a thesis on the effect of political and organizational changes in government organizations.

At the Fryske Akademy, she combines her academic background with her experience in policy and (interim) management.