Paul Craenen is a research professor, composer and a frequently demanded expert at the intersection of artistic practice, education and research. He studied piano and chamber music at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven and was a teacher of piano and experimental music at several Flemish music academies for many years. He obtained his PhD from Leiden University (2011) with a study on the status of the performing body in contemporary composed music.  His book 'Composing under the Skin. The music-making body at the composer's desk' (2014) was published by Leuven University Press. From 2012 to 2018, he was director of Musica Impulse Centre, a Flemish arts organisation for music education and participation. In 2018, he was appointed head of the lectorate Music, Education & Society at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague. He is also a lecturer at Leiden University.