Emma Stoks.

Expert in self-directed learning, built my own college

Political scientist to be at the world’s #1 innovative university.

Move to a new country every four monhts.

Self-directed learning expert

Unconvinced by traditional universities, I designed my own college experience—leveraging the science of learning, motivation theory, and community design.

What started as a personal challenge became a way to help others. Now, I teach people the most valuable skill of the 21st century: learning fast and effectively.

Join me on Instagram for daily tips, take my online course, or connect with a community of like-minded learners

But there's more to tell:

  • It's Your College

    1. Built my own college at 17.

    2. Made myself an expert in self-directed learning.

    3. Gave a TEDx talk.

    4. Consulted schools, corporates, and universities.

    5. Created an online course on self-directed learning

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  • Minerva University

    1. Global rotation in 7 countries in 4 years.

    2. Major in Political Science & Economics. Minor in Philosophy: Ethics and Law.

    3. The world’s #1 innovative university.

    4. True diversity: students from 100+ countries

    5. Program focussed on research skills & problem-solving.

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  • Data Journalism

    1. Internship #1 Data Journalism team in the world.

    2. Worked during election time Sep - Dec 2023.

    3. Data analysis

    4. Focus on themes: elections, social impact, sustainability.

    5. Working in Spanish.

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  • Social Impact Hub

    1. Minerva University did not have a course on Social Impact yet.

    2. I thought that was a problem, and created my own.

    3. 62 people signed up for the first edition in fall 2023.

    4. I care about teaching students how they can not only make money but create social value.

    5. I now understand Minerva University from two sides: as a student and curriculum designer.

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  • Speaker

    1. After becoming an expert on self-directed learning I gave many talks.

    2. A highlight was my TEDx talk.

    3. I have spoken for thousands of people in 50+ talks.

    4. The most special place I ever gave a talk was on the North Pole.

    5. How can we create a learning culture in our organization? - is my favorite question.

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  • Research

    1. When I started It’s Your College I did a lot of research into education.

    2. This research was published in two books.

    3. An art book called Let’s Do This.

    4. A non-fiction called: Onderwijsvragen [Questions about Education].

    5. These experiences taught me to translate academic research to different audiences.

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  • Emma's Notes

    1. Is the newsletter I started in 2019.

    2. I write about self-directed learning, entrepreneurship, and career development.

    3. My favorite segment in the newsletter is ‘date your career’ where I use dating metaphors to give career development tips.

    4. The most-read article is about Recognition Intelligence.

    5. My favorite is this one about interdisciplinarity.

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Some random facts about me:

  • There is no city where I feel as much myself as I do in Barna.

  • Maybe that’s why my biggest career dream has always been to facilitate international peace negotiations.

  • Yet I am lucky enough to live with a chef, so I eat more than I cook.

  • I did a 200hs yoga teacher training when I lived in India in the winter of 2023.

  • Gifts & surprises are my #1 love language.

  • I think it’s because I used to bike 20km a day to school and back.