Our Mission
We want to create a research culture that empowers scientists to tap into their full potential. Our methods are rooted in business theater, work psychology, organizational change management, educational science, and sociology – and they have been carefully transferred to the scientific world. Our fun and thought-provoking roleplay exercises help you internalize, transfer and apply the knowledge on the spot.
Founder & Coaches
Marieke F. Buffing (PhD)
Founder and Coach
Marieke is an entrepreneur, coach, data scientist and former person of trust. After completing her PhD in systems biology in 2018, she founded IMPROVATE to teach individual researchers and teams new effective ways of working together.
Gerald Weber (MSc)
Independent Coach
Gerald is an experienced actor, improvisation theater coach and head of anundpfirsich. At IMPROVATE, he combines his love for the stage with his ambition to guide individuals and organizations through the challenging process of facilitating growth and change.
Advisory Board
Prof. Dr. Brusoni
Advisor
Prof. Dr. Brusoni's current work focuses on the analysis of obstacles on the path to innovation and change. As a researcher, he is interested in understanding the mechanisms that affect the performance of individuals and organizations as well as finding ways to support their learning and development efforts.
Prof. Dr. van Rossenberg
Advisor
Prof. Dr. van Rossenberg's work is centered around the management of employee motivation, attitudes, and behaviors in innovation processes. She focuses on what makes people committed to identify, approach, and solve problems in the context of contemporary work environments.
Evelien van Geffen
Advisor
Evelien is a teacher educator at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. She holds a teaching degree for primary education (cum laude) and a Masters degree in educational science. When she is not teaching teachers herself, she develops innovative methods for adult education.