On December 13th, Kirsten defended her phd at the KUL University in Leuven. The title of her phd is “Revisiting Dynamics and Values of Open Space, the case of Flanders” and introduces a new appeciation of open space in spatial planning. So Kirsten’s family, Jasper’s family and her friends and colleagues came to the auditorium in Heverlee for mental support. After she presented the main results of her research she then got grilled by a jury of experts, including Wiet’s boss. Spatial planning in Flanders, it’s a small world indeed.
Kirsten gave an overview of an impressive body of research she has accumulated over the past couple of years. She was able to respond to most of the hard questions of the experts, and received a lot of praise from them. Then came the laudatio, a speech by her promotor. He surprised her with a lengthy, in-depth and personal appreciation, not only of her work but also of her person. He ended by referring to the designs Kirsten made for T-shirt prints, stating that she left an imprint on many people around her. He then advised her to look around her, and at that time we – the audience – all took off our coats and sweaters. We were all wearing the zebra T-shirt she designed. Hope she got a little kick out of it.
Congratulations, dr. Kirsten!
