Jochen Mierau will leave as academic director of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health

Jochen Mierau will leave as academic director of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health on 1 September 2022.

In 2016 Jochen laid the foundation for the creation of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health (AJSPH), which was officially established in 2018 by the UG, Hanzehogeschool Groningen and UMCG. Since 2022, NHL Stenden has also been a partner in the AJSPH. Under Mierau's leadership, the AJSPH has grown into a tight interdisciplinary network of researchers and policy makers.

Jochen is also an unmistakable figurehead of the AJSPH during the corona pandemic, thanks to many appearances in the media and his participation in advisory committees. He has also been at the forefront of several regional, national and international collaborations in the field of health and prevention. As a result, the AJSPH has built an excellent reputation as a talking partner for government and politics.

Now that the AJSPH is anchored in the strategic plan of the UG and as an iconic project within the University of the North, Jochen thinks it is time for a new adventure. He will, however, remain connected to the UG as professor of economics of public health.

The UG, UMCG, Hanze University Groningen and NHL Stenden are extremely grateful to Jochen for his dedication and inspiration. They will be looking for a successor in the near future and will prepare a festive farewell.