Ramón Spaaij has demonstrated highly effective supervision and mentoring of students and early career researchers (ECRs). He has supervised 9 PhD, 19 Master’s, and 5 Honours students to completion and mentored more than 20 ECRs in building their capability to design research with impact, develop academic-industry partnerships, and science communication.
Ramón actively collaborates with current and former students and mentees on joint research projects and publications, including 30+ co-authored peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. He particularly enjoys building academic-practitioner collaborations through learning and working with students who are experienced professionals in the sport, social services, community development, law enforcement, criminal justice, defense, or education sectors.
The impact of Ramón’s supervision and mentoring is evidenced by students’ outstanding achievements. Examples include the Ambassador for Peace Award from the Universal Peace Federation (Dr. Yusuf Sheikh Omar), global Terrorism Research Initiative’s Best Doctoral Dissertation Award (Dr. Levi West), Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research & Research Training (Dr. Sarah Oxford), and VU Rising Star Alumni Award (Dr. Ryan Storr). Four students were awarded prestigious PhD scholarships, including from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Ramón’s former PhD and Master’s students are successfully employed in academia, government, and industry worldwide.
Current and former students
Rebecca Giglia
Current PhD Candidate
Director of The Borderlands Co-Operative
Hyuga Nishimura
Current PhD Candidate
Adrian Pacione
Current PhD Candidate
Manas Pandey
Current PhD Candidate
Bianca Handyside
Current PhD Candidate
Former Churchill Fellow
Belinda Cronje
Current PhD Candidate
Psychologist at Queensland Corrective Services
Justus Beth
Current PhD Candidate
Lecturer / Researcher in Human Movement, School and Sport at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences
Dr Emran Riffi Acharki
PhD Completed in 2025
Lecturer / Researcher at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA) | Centre for Applied Research on Education
Dr Christopher Winter
PhD Completed in 2025
Dr Levi West
PhD Completed in 2022
Research Fellow at the Australia National University College of Arts and Social Sciences
Executive Team at Praxis Advisory, a boutique national security consultancy
Dr Jora Broerse
PhD Completed in 2021
Senior Lecturer in the Sport Management & Sport Business Research Group at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
Dr Cameron Van der Smee
PhD Completed in 2020
Lecturer in Health and Physical Education in the School of
Education at Deakin University
Dr William Abur
PhD Completed In 2018
Accredited Mental Health Social Worker at Aspire Health & Psychology Werribee
Dr Sarah Oxford
PhD Completed In 2018
Research and Evaluation Lead at the Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research, Monash University
Dr Ryan Storr
PhD completed in 2018
Lecturer at Swinburne University of Technology | Sport Innovation Research Group
Founder of The Diversity Storr
Dr Robyn Smith
Former exchange student
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Loughborough University School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Dr Yusuf Sheikh Omar
PhD completed in 2012
Peace Practitioner
Director, Talo Wadaag Project of Heritage Institute for Policy Studies
Research Associate at Department of Development Studies of SOAS University of London
Would you like to update your listing on this page? Email Ramon.Spaaij@vu.edu.au
Ramón Spaaij 