Nick graduated as a biologist at the University of Amsterdam and subsequently began working as a plant scientist for the Royal Tropical Institute. He obtained his PhD at the University of Wageningen. For about eight years, he has worked as a policy advisor for the Dutch Research Council. Before his current position in Rotterdam, he had a similar position at Leiden University, the oldest university in the Netherlands. He also worked for the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study and at the Universities of The Netherlands. At EUR, he is responsible for PhD related policies, research assessments, and research integrity-related policies.