4TU.Alumni Events - Washington D.C. and New York, United States of America

You are warmly invited to the 4TU.Alumni gathering in Washington D.C. taking place on Tuesday, 2 December and hosted at the World Bank Headquarters, courtesy of the Office of the Executive Director for the Netherlands Constituency.

This special event will offer a behind-the-scenes look at how major international organizations shape the world — through the experiences of 4TU alumni working at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.

The programme will consist of UT alumnus Dirk Jan Grolleman sharing his career path and insights from his current role at IMF Monetary & Capital Markets Department. This will be followed by an interactive alumni panel and updates from the Embassy and the four universities. The programme concludes with an informal borrel/networking reception.

Programme

4:30PM Arrival with light refreshments

5:00PM Opening words

5:15PM Talk by Dirk Jan Grolleman, Deputy Division Chief - IMF.

5:45PM Panel Interview with WB young (alumni) professionals: Bramka Arga Jafino (TUD alumnus) – Disaster Risk Management Specialist, Josina Mellink (WUR alumna) – Environmental Analyst, Kaja Waldmann (UT alumna) – Natural Resources Management Specialist.

6:15PM Summary

6:25PM Networking 'Borrel' reception (at nearby location)

8:00PM End of programme

Location

World Bank Headquarters, 700 18th Street, N.W., Washington, DC
20433.

Speaker

Dirk Jan Grolleman is Deputy Division Chief in the Financial Supervision and Regulation Division of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Since joining the IMF in 2012, he has been involved in shaping international financial sector policies and leading capacity development initiatives across IMF member countries. His current work focuses on strengthening banking supervision frameworks, addressing emerging cybersecurity challenges, and advancing digital transformation in financial services.

Earlier in his career, Dirk Jan held senior supervisory roles at the Dutch Central Bank (2006–2012), where he focused on prudential oversight of financial institutions. Before transitioning to public service, he spent eight years in the private sector with ING Bank NV (1998–2006), gaining hands-on experience in banking operations and risk management.

He holds an engineering & management degree from the University of Twente and a master in risk management from the University of Amsterdam, combining technical rigor with a strategic perspective on financial system resilience.

Panelists

Bramka Arga Jafino (TUD alumnus)
Bramka Jafino is a Disaster Risk Management Specialist at the World Bank, based in Washington, DC. His work focuses on strengthening climate and disaster resilience across South Asia, focusing on projects in Bangladesh and Bhutan that integrate infrastructure upgrade, community resilience, and systems for early warning and financial preparedness. Prior to joining the Bank, Bramka worked at Deltares in the Netherlands and contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report.

Bramka holds a Ph.D. in Policy Analysis from Delft University of Technology, where his research centered on equitable climate adaptation planning under deep uncertainty. Bramka has published extensively in high-impact journals such as Nature Climate Change and Nature Communications, and continues to combine data-driven analysis with systems thinking to inform sustainable and inclusive development policies worldwide.

Josina Mellink (WUR alumna)
Josina Mellink is an environmental specialist with expertise in nature-based solutions, urban and coastal adaptation, and integrated water resources management across Africa. She currently works at the World Bank, leading monitoring and evaluation for the PROBLUE program, the Bank’s Blue Economy initiative. She is also part of the Nature-Based Solutions Invest team, where she supports project design and mobilizes GEF funding for least-developed countries to implement solution such as reforestation, landscape restoration, and mangrove restoration in Madagascar and the Central African Republic.

Previously, Josina worked in Ghana with the Dutch Water Authorities on the Blue Deal Program, supporting the Ghanaian Water Resources Commission in developing an Integrated Water Resources Management Plan. She holds an MSc in Urban Environmental Management and a BSc in International Development from Wageningen University.

Kaja Waldmann (UT alumna)
Kaja Waldmann is a Natural Resource Management Specialist in the Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Global Practice at the World Bank, where she works on projects across West Africa. Previously, she worked in the Bank’s Agriculture and Food Global Practice, contributing to operations that address food insecurity and strengthen food system resilience.

Before joining the World Bank, Kaja worked with KfW Development Bank on climate risk management. She holds a Master’s degree in International Development from Sciences Po Paris and a dual Bachelor’s degree from the University of Twente and the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster.

Registration

Registration for this event is now closed.

You are warmly invited to the 4TU.Alumni gathering in New York taking place on Thursday, 4 December, highlighting inspiring examples of innovation within the local 4TU community.

This 4TU Alumni event hosted at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York will feature two local alumni speakers.

Marleen Vogelaar (alumna TU/e) will share her entrepreneurial journey across two continents — starting from co-founding her 2007 startup in the Netherlands all the way through the growth, successes, and challenges that followed. Today Shapeways is headquartered in New York, with factories and offices in Eindhoven, Queens, and Seattle.

Paulus Schoutsen (alumnus UT), founder of Home Assistant and a pioneer of open, privacy-respecting smart-home technology will be interviewed about his insights and lessons learned from building one of the world’s largest open-source platforms with nearly 2 million users.

In addition, brief updates will be given from both the Dutch Consulate and our four universities, followed by a networking borrel reception.

Programme

5:30PM Arrival with light refreshments

6:00PM Opening words

6:15PM Updates from the Universities

6:30PM Talk by Marleen Vogelaar, CEO/Co-founder Shapeways

6:55PM Talk by Paulus Schoutsen, founder of Home Assistant

7:20PM Summary

7:30PM Networking 'Borrel' Reception

9:00PM End of programme

Location

Consulate General of the Netherlands, 666 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10017.

Speakers

Marleen Vogelaar is the co-founder and current CEO of Shapeways, the pioneering digital-manufacturing company she helped launch in 2007 with the vision of democratizing on-demand production for creators and businesses alike. After the company filed for bankruptcy in mid-2024, she led a revival alongside a dedicated Eindhoven team, acquiring the brand and original production facility and steering the business back to operational stability and customer-centric growth.

With a strong foundation in strategy, operations and manufacturing, Marleen brings deep expertise to her leadership role. Her career journey includes consulting in M&A and strategy, as well as hands-on experience in quality and logistics management. She holds an M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management Science from TU Eindhoven. Known for her energetic and positive approach, Marleen thrives at the intersection of technology, design and manufacturing—driving innovation while empowering teams to bring bold ideas to life.

Paulus Schoutsen is the founder of Home Assistant, the open-source smart-home platform he launched in 2013 to give users privacy, local control and freedom from big-tech ecosystems. In 2024, he also founded the Open Home Foundation, a Swiss non-profit that now safeguards Home Assistant and related projects, ensuring they remain independent and community-driven.

Under his leadership, Home Assistant has grown into a mainstream platform with an estimated two million users and broad compatibility across thousands of devices — standing alongside but distinctly apart from offerings by Apple, Amazon and Google. Originally from the Netherlands, Paulus studied Business Information Technology (BSc & MSc) at the University of Twente and now lives in a very smart home with his family in Brooklyn, New York.

Registration

Registration for this event is now closed.

This event is free for alumni from the Dutch Technical Universities but for logistical and security reasons, prior registration is required and capacity is limited. Registration for these events is now closed.

IMPORTANT: your name in the registration form must match the name in your passport. Please reach out to alumni@wur.nl if this is not the case.

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WUR on future events and relevant information, please update your contact and/or work details here.