- NAME
- Dekker, Karien Klaske
- BIRTHDATE
- 10-5-1972
- PLACE OF BIRTH
- Schagen, The Netherlands
- NATIONALITY
- Dutch
10-5-1972
Birthday
1991
Employment
Karien started her MA at Utrecht University. After finishing her thesis (2006), she got employed by Utrecht University till her departure to Australia
7-2014
Migration AU
Karien: “We three joined my then husband Keith in Melbourne in July that year and moved into the house he had organised for us in the suburb of Mount Waverley, the school for our youngest was also nearby”
7-2014
Scheme
“In Australia we could and did apply for permanent residency (PR) a year after arrival. It took us 2 years to get it”
7-2014
Employment
“I started my job as an associate professor at RMIT a few days after arriving, despite suffering from jet lag”
2016
Support
Zing! Is a Melbourne based Dutch choir that was formed in mid-2016 from an expressed interest in the Dutch community for a place to sing in Dutch, and meet other Dutch speakers. Karien met her new partner Kurt van Wijck at Zing! read more 
At the question ‘would you do it all again’, Karien reflects on her migration: “I would, but I would do it much earlier. I was 43 when I arrived in Australia and it is an unusual age to be making such enormous changes”
4-10-2020
Interview
SBS-Dutch interviewed Karien on the financial future of universities after COVID read more