Sander (Alexander) van der Jagt is an international expert in the participatory design, governance, and mainstreaming of nature-based solutions for sustainable and just urban development. He is currently an Assistant Professor at Heriot-Watt University’s Research Centre for Urban Studies and serves as Postgraduate Representative for the Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences. Previously, he held research and teaching roles at Wageningen University & Research, Utrecht University, the University of Aberdeen, and Forest Research. He has led work packages and tasks in major EU-funded projects, including CONEXUS, NATURVATION, and GREEN SURGE, focusing on urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions. His work bridges research and practice, co-developing innovative approaches with built environment professionals and communities to ensure real-world impact. In NATURVATION, he led efforts to mainstream nature-based solutions in Utrecht, engaging over 200 stakeholders through an Urban-Regional Innovation Partnership. Sander holds a PhD in Environmental Psychology from the University of Aberdeen and received Utrecht University’s 2020 Pathways to Sustainability Award for transdisciplinary research. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and co-authored stakeholder guides and policy briefs. His research advances inclusive, evidence-based approaches to urban sustainability and contributes to shaping policy and practice in Europe and beyond.

Since beginning his role at Heriot-Watt University in September 2022, he has focused on building the capabilities needed to take on a future leadership and mentoring roles in academia. To support this, he completed the two-year Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning (AdvanceHE, 30 ECTS) and participated in a one-year Principal Investigator Development Programme delivered by Heriot-Watt’s Research Engagement and Development team. He also designed and launched his own undergraduate course, "Nature-based Solutions in the City," offered to final-year undergraduate students. He serves as the Postgraduate Research Lead for Architecture, Built Environment and Planning within the Scottish Graduate School for Social Sciences (SGSSS), and as the Postgraduate Research Coordinator for the Institute of Place, Environment & Society. 

In 2025, Sander was awarded Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and was shortlisted for the Heriot-Watt Student Union Oscars Best Postgraduate Supervisor Award, recognizing his commitment to excellence in teaching and learning in higher education. 

Sander’s research is inherently interdisciplinary, bridging environmental psychology, human geography, political ecology, and urban studies. His work aims to advance understanding of how urban systems can be transformed to prioritise greening and justice in planning and development. He explores both extrinsic drivers - such as policy incentives and business model innovation - and intrinsic factors, including personal transformation and environmental stewardship, as pathways to shifting practices, values and worldviews. Sander is particularly committed to working at the science–practice interface, co-developing innovative solutions with built environment professionals and communities to ensure his research delivers real-world impact. He and his collaborators have applied a diverse mix of qualitative and participatory methods - such as case study analysis, stakeholder analysis, discourse analysis, qualitative interpretative analysis, lab experiments, scoping literature review and survey-based approaches - to investigate urban sustainability and governance.

Research:

• PhD supervisor of Hanna Rauf, Jivantika Satyarthi, Koorosh Aghabozorgi and Stacey Marko

Teaching:

• Course coordinator for Urban Design for Health and Wellbeing (D41UD)
• Course coordinator for Nature-Based Solutions in the City (D49NB)
• Dissertation supervisor for the MA Geography, Society and Environment, MSc Urban Strategies and Design, and MSc Spatial Planning and Real Estate Development

Other:

• SGSSS (Scottish Graduate School for Social Sciences) PGR Lead for Architecture, Built Environment and Planning
• Institute PGR Coordinator