Stefan Hartman earned a Master’s degree in Regional Studies: Spaces & Places, Analysis & Intervention from Groningen University.

During his studies and in the period that followed, he participated in a variety of research studies, including ones commissioned by the European Union, the Wadden Academy and the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. He is currently conducting PhD research at Groningen University into the development and planning of leisure landscapes. Mr Hartman is employed at NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences for the European Tourism Futures Institute, where he specialises in city planning and policy related to the development of the tourism and recreational sectors.