Rob is an in-demand guest public speaker, with accepted invites to many established learning events and conferences around the world. Whether online or face-to-face, there are too many to mention alongside GoogleTalks, Hundred.org, Lego Foundation & GESS Dubai. Rob also speaks and advises at private events, with many organisations and stakeholders seeking insights, inroads and inspiration from him on best-foot-forward approaches to help spark change and innovation.  

Rob’s enthusiasm, self-effacing humour and story-telling ability captivates his audiences wherever he goes. But it’s not just a smile that audiences leave with – he will administer large doses of self-reflection and augment the ambition of those wanting to change things tomorrow.     

Rob’s talks – encompassing many of today’s themes in education – encourage his audiences to think deeply about their own ideas and approaches to learning, and to evaluate their impact and relevance in ever-changing times. Profound yet unapologetically honest, Rob will instil in you the confidence and fresh mindset to know that you can achieve your goals, no matter how challenging they may at first seem. 

Interested in booking Rob as a guest speaker at your next conference or event?

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Watch some of Rob’s talks below…

HundrED.org Keynote

Kindergartens International Keynote

Rob is a regular guest across a variety of media formats. Click to access some of his articles and interviews below! 

In 2013, Sjef Drummen, Jan Fasen, Bert Martens and Bert Sterken – all principals in the Roermond, Netherlands area – got together to draft their vision statement for a new education project – Agora Schools. 

In August 2014 a small group was appointed as the foundational team at Agora in the city of Roermond (The Netherlands), which opened its doors to a modest thirty students. 

In May 2015 Rob received a (very) short phone call: 

Hi Rob, this is Sjef Drummen speaking. Can we talk about you working for Agora? 

The call surprised Rob, but he said yes. 

Sjef responded: Okay see you tomorrow at noon. Then he hung up. 

While they had never spoken before, Rob and Sjef knew each other. Rob – using his investigative and deductive skills to figure out where Sjef’s office was – travelled there the following day, where they spoke for roughly five minutes. 

During their brief exchange, Rob answered a couple of questions, with Sjef informing Rob: Within a couple of years I will retire and you must become my successor. 

Rob revealed to Sjef that one of the main motivating factors for travelling across to meet with him was to get out of his office and explore the possibility of becoming part of a team that really wanted to get their hands dirty, to work with children and reframe what the concept of managing meant. This pleased Sjef, and so he was welcomed into the fold as one of the five core Agora team members in 2015.  

By July 2018, Agora had grown quite significantly, and this meant someone needed to step up and represent Agora students and staff during management meetings. The community was seeking to embed a hierarchy by appointing a team leader, which Rob accepted under one condition – the goal of this team leader was to make the role itself redundant. 

From that day on, Rob became guardian of the Agora vision, and responsible for helping grow his colleagues into a self-organised team, capable of supporting all of the learning at Agora.   

If you want to find our more, please read Beyond the Classroom: Meet Agora, the School that Has no Rules (2023 Article) or visit Agora at Hundred.org.