Prof. Dr. Jan van der Molen

Jan van der Molen is a part-time professor in the field of international cooperation and is working at the university since 2012. His specialization is the governance of cross-border alliances, in particular in the field of water management.

In the summer of 2025 Professor van der Molen retired from his main function as an international cooperation strategist for one of the Dutch Water Authorities. In this function he developed two major international cooperative programs in the field of integrated water resource management, one in Vietnam and the other in Eswatini, the former Swaziland. Both programs run from 2019-2030 and are part of the overarching Dutch Blue Deal program.

The main interests that drive Professor van der Molen as a scientist are the key elements and principles of cross-border cooperation and the significance of water management to impact and improve the position of vulnerable groups. Every year, Professor van der Molen and a colleague give a five-day Winter School related to this last theme. In 2025, the German Political Science Association (DVPW) gave the Winter School project the predicate "Outstanding teaching in German political science".

Professor van der Molen is founder and board member of De Mûne Foundation, a small-scale fundraising organization that supports locally led resilience-building projects for vulnerable groups in Eswatini. Based in the Netherlands, the foundation raises funds through presentations to service clubs, churches, and women’s organizations, and also supports individuals and organizations that wish to contribute to its mission.

Together with his wife Professor van der Molen is living in a former fishing village in the northern part of The Netherlands.