Esther Ventura-Medina is a Professor of Innovation in STEM Education at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), Eindhoven School of Education within the Department of Applied Physics and Education Science. She is also the Scientific Director of the Academy for Learning and Teaching (ALT) and the Leader of the Centre for Engineering Education (4TU.CEE) at TU/e. 

Her main research interests are grounded on questions about how cognitive development and human agency are influenced by the social environment. Her expertise is in the area of skill development in student-centre pedagogies such as Problem- and Project-Based Learning. In particular, her research focuses on ‘how’ students working in teams solve problems, self-manage their team effort and become self-directed learners by looking at social interactions and ‘what’ actually takes place within the learning environment. Current research interests also include what opportunities the digitalisation of education offer to student’s learning and how digital technologies can be best employed.  Her work has been published in journals such Classroom Discourse, European Journal of Engineering Education, Computer Applications in Engineering Education and Education for Chemical Engineers.

Esther Ventura-Medina obtained BSc and MSc degrees in Chemical Engineering at the Universidad Simón Bolívar (Caracas, Venezuela) and subsequently went on to complete her PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology -UMIST- (Manchester, United Kingdom) in 2000. Her PhD research work was on mineral froth flotation systems.  She worked as a Research Associate in the Froth and Foam Research Group in the Chemical Engineering Department at UMIST, Manchester following her PhD. During her studies (MSc and PhD) she also worked as an instructor and teaching assistant in Chemical Engineering which inspired her passion for education and led her to pursue a ‘Post-graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)’ (Secondary Maths) at the University of Manchester. In 2005 she became one of the first Education-focus lecturers at the University of Manchester working in the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science (SCEAS) and setting the Enquiry-based learning approach in the first year of the chemical engineering programme.  In 2011 she won the University of Manchester 'Teacher of the Year' award for her contribution to the development of the eLearning portfolio in Chemical Engineering. She became a Senior Lecturer in 2012 and served as Director of Undergraduate Studies before moving to Monash University (Australia) where she served as Director of Teaching. In 2015 Esther moved to the University of Strathclyde (United Kingdom) where she took roles such as Director of Assessment and Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes in the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering. 

Esther has served as Chair of the Education Special Interest Group within the Institution of Chemical Engineers between 2019 and 2022. She is also a member of the Collaborative Online Learning Network (ONL) and of the Engineering Education Research Special Interest Group at SEFI. 

She is currently the Scientific Director of the TU/e Academy of Learning and Teaching and the Leader of the Centre for Engineering Education at TU/e (4TU.CEE).