For business and society | ECIU University

an organizational problem? UT would be happy to help

Complex social and industrial problems dealing with such issues as digitisation, sustainability and the circular economy often have multiple possible solutions. A creative, interdisciplinary and broad-based vision is needed to come up with intelligent and surprising new approaches. By actively deploying students from different disciplines and different European universities, in collaboration with public and private partners in the professional field, more sophisticated solutions can be found that generate greater impact.

The University of Twente — in partnership with its European sister universities — has started offering a new learning pathway. In the challenge-based learning pathway, interdisciplinary teams of (international) students partner with external organisations to work on complex social and industrial problems. The University of Twente is looking for companies and institutions who want to make an active contribution to this new learning programme by inviting our teams to work collaboratively on their complex problems to find creative solutions.

Marike Boertien from Novel-T is involved in this. ‘I think it is cool to see the chemistry between the challenge partners and the students develop. For example, they spend one hour each week sparring about the concepts. As a result, a special bond develops between both parties.’ As a UT lecturer, Raymond Loohuis is enthusiastic about CBL and is closely involved with ECIU University, a new alliance of European universities of which UT is a partner and where challenge-based learning is at the educational heart. ‘We see challenges as an opportunity to build a long-term relationship with parties outside UT.’ Boertien adds: 'We would like to show that we are developing new ways of working together, in addition to regular research and education. If you have an issue, we will look at it and see what opportunities are there for collaboration with students. In this way, UT is easily accessible, and we would definitely like to get in touch with challenge partners.’

What you stand to gain

International interdisciplinary student teams deliver new perspectives on the problem, possibly resulting in a solution.
Based on previous experience, such collaboration often leads to highly creative solutions.
You gain access to unique and directly applicable know-how developed during the time of the project.
You become acquainted with the University of Twente in a relatively easy way, and join our network of national and international partner companies and European knowledge institutions with operations all over the world.
Your employees develop important skills and know-how through their close contact with our student teams and UT professionals over the course of the project.
Participation offers the possibility of coming into contact with talented individuals and potential future employees.
It gives your organisation a chance to help educate students and prepare them to make a positive impact on society.

How does it work?

An organisation presents us with their challenge or problem. Student teams (between 3 and 5 students) then go to work. The team first comes to a precise problem definition — their challenge — in dialogue with your organisation. They work on the challenge in close collaboration with members of your organisation for a period of 4 to 15 weeks, depending on the scope of the problem, in search of a realistic solution. The student teams are actively supported by specially trained lecturers and researchers drawn from various academic disciplines at UT and from its international partners. Boertien: 'We ask the challenge partner to adopt an active attitude. Students need a lot of background information because the issues on which they work are complex, often on a conceptual level. Collaboration involves regular sparring. We often see students 'swim around' first. After that, they have a lot of questions. And these questions are directed at the challenge partners: how would they solve this? Students and challenge partners acquire all kinds of knowledge, and a firm collaboration between the parties develops.'

Your investment & our investment

What we ask for:

Supplying us with a complex problem that does not yet have a known solution
Time investment of approx. one hour per week for each group during the course of the project, to supply the necessary information and give feedback on ideas and proposed solutions
Input for the final evaluation
No financial contribution is being requested, because this is the pilot phase

Our offer:

We make one or more groups of students (3-5 students per team) available to work on your problem
We provide support from a University of Twente lecturer and/or researcher
Access to / get to know UT

Interested? Apply now

You can apply to become a partner by sending an email to our challenge coordinator Marike Boertien (m.boertien@utwente.nl). Please include a brief description of the problem. Marike will get in touch with you to discuss matters further.

Further information
www.utwente.nl
www.eciu.org

Challenge-based learning explained

Within ECIU University, challenge-based learning means putting the learner in the centre of their educational process. The learner needs to be in the driver’s seat and they should be able to pick the topic they are genuinely interested in. Check out this video and see why this educational approcah is an answer to nowadays challanges.

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How does challenge-based learning (CBL) work in practice? This animation takes you through the three phases of CBL: engage, investigate and act. Check the video and see what your role is as a student and what is expected from you.

These challenge providers preceded you

Social welfare organisation Impuls
"Two heads are better than one"
The challenge: How can technology provide more wellbeing?
Impuls (Oldenzaal) is a welfare organisation for the region where issues from society are picked up. Impuls poses the following questions: (a) how can consumer technology provide in more wellbeing, safety and self-reliant for (frailty) elderly? (b) how can they be more connected? (c) which consumer technology can provide all that and more? (d) how can an informal network be formed, where informal caretakers are getting a signal from consumer technology when someone is in need of help? Impuls invites students to think along and explore ideas and possible solutions for this problem.
Challenge provider: Impuls
The entry submitted to the Autumn Challenge by Impuls, a social welfare organisation from Oldenzaal, was a challenge about combining care with technical innovation. ‘Participation broadens your horizon’, says Alice ten Dam, Impuls director.
Why did Impuls take part in the Autumn Challenge?
‘There were two reasons. I feel it is important that - as an organisation - we focus our efforts on external aspects too, and the topic of technology had been part of our work for a while already. Social workers are not naturally attuned to technology; they are wired for personal conversations and face-to-face visits. However, this current time of crisis and our sector’s labour market shortage mean that examining the technical possibilities is an interesting prospect for us.’
What was the remit of the Impuls challenge?
‘Elderly people have the option to use a personal alarm - a necklace or a bracelet with a push button. When pushed, the assistance control room receives a notification and care is provided. Experience proves that almost 70 percent of the alarm notifications are of a non-medical nature. There are alarms for lost spectacles, or to check that the device is actually working. How can we utilise the social environment here? And how can this be arranged in view of access to the home, in other words: the keys? It seemed a good idea to let the Autumn Challenge ponder these questions and create some input.’
How was the collaboration with the students?
‘Good, we were in contact on a weekly basis. Two heads (or more) are better than one. I did have ideas, but there may be better ideas or new insights along the way. My expectations? I don’t really have any - anything is a bonus. Impuls often welcomes interns. We have a lot of experience with students and we are somewhat familiar with how it works.’
How did the challenge benefit you?
‘It is interesting to hear about the way other countries approach care of the elderly. Or not, because families share a home. A question emerged from our challenge: how do elderly people personally feel about the alarm system, and what do they want from it? This was a good point, and as a result we carried out a survey among 330 people. We received almost 90 responses. This was a great boost for the students. We had beaming faces on our screens.’
Would you take part again?
‘I don’t know if I would take part in a time not marked by the coronavirus, actual meetings in person in particular would take up time. The digital meetings are manageable. I would favour a combination of both, and maybe my colleagues would get on board.’
What advice would you give a potential challenge provider?
‘Participation broadens your horizon. You will probably also come across viewpoints and ideas that have been examined before, you have to accept that. But there are different routes you can take and you have be receptive to those.’

Gemeente Enschede
"It's good to walk this path together"
The challenge: Micro-level citizen participation
For years, the municipality of Enschede has been trying to realise micro-level participation. The municipal government is interested in the manner in which different forms of community-based engagement at the micro level can function in the city. In Palo Alto, Enschede's partner city, community-based empowerment is supported via the Cool Block programme; a way to stimulate citizen participation with regard to safety, security, environmental sustainability and resilience. What is the need for community-based empowerment in Enschede? What are other good practices such as the Palo Alto example?
Challenge provider: Malu Hertzdahl, administrative-legal adviser at the municipality of Enschede.
What is it like to work with students? “I am positively surprised by the students’ drive and interest,” says Malu Hertzdahl, administrative-legal adviser at the municipality of Enschede and one of the people involved in the programme. “Participants read background material, they are willing to explore our standards and values and we are making progress with regard to the challenge. That is all wonderful to see.”
This is not the first time that the municipality of Enschede has collaborated with educational institutions. Why is this so important to you? “I am a major proponent of this approach. The five students taking part in the programme chose this challenge themselves. They are highly motivated. They all have different educational and cultural backgrounds, which brings enormous added value to the table. It allows you to examine an issue from vastly different angles. For example, the team includes a student of psychology who can explain the intricacies of behaviour - active citizenship in our case. What drives citizens to be active in the first place? Does the culture play a part in that? We are now able to study these aspects.”
What were your expectations beforehand? “I did not really have any expectations. I jumped in with an open mind. If the outcome of the programme is a list of critical success factors, we will be happy with that. More than that, I love seeing the students learn, work together and interact with their ‘client’ and how I can learn from them in turn. It is good to walk this path towards an unknown destination together.”
What would you like to say to other interested parties? “Make sure your challenge is up to date. It has to be truly relevant to ensure you can make a real difference with the results.”
"It opens up a new world"
The challenge: the circular city
The realisation of a circular economy is a hot topic at the European, national and provincial level. The municipality of Enschede is in need of a strategic policy to help with the transformation towards a circular economy. In recent years, the municipality has been successfully working to improve its waste collection processes and it has formulated sustainability and circularity criteria that are used during purchasing and tender procedures. However, there is no overarching strategy in place regarding the facilitation of the municipality’s collaboration with businesses and their networks. With this challenge, the municipality wants to explore the best practices that are available within and outside the Netherlands and the possible scenarios with regard to the municipality’s own role.
Challenge provider:Dayenne Smolders, Director International Affairs at the municipality of Enschede.
What is the added value of collaborating with international and multidisciplinary student teams?“Above all, it is fun and educational to view a challenge from different perspectives,” says Dayenne Smolders, Director International Affairs at the municipality of Enschede and involved in the programme. “The students have a critical outlook, which helps prevent tunnel vision and is quite inspiring to boot.”
Can you explain that?“They all come from different countries. This means the students also get to learn from each other. For example, a Finnish student talked about the fully sustainable residential neighbourhoods that are being built in their country - much to the amazement of the others. A student from France explained that their country does not have a deposit-return scheme for plastic bottles. This teaches students that a system that works well in one country is not necessarily successful in other countries as well.”
When are you satisfied?“I am happy with the results thus far. The team is conducting a thorough analysis of the latest European developments with regard to the circular economy. They are providing new insights and forming a wonderful dynamic between entrepreneurs, students and the municipality.”
What would you like to say to other potential providers?“Do it! This approach prevents tunnel vision. You might be hesitant because the whole thing s in English, but it's not as bad as it seems. We just have to do it. We desperately need this ollaboration and it opens up a whole new world.”
"Work on real challenges"
The challenge: The creative city
Enschede is bursting at the seams with creative talent. Nevertheless, it is not really seen as a creative city. The municipality of Enschede wants to change that. Its ambition goes beyond the cultural aspect and also concerns the creation of the right ecosystem within which creativity and innovation can thrive. That, in turn, will result in an attractive living and working environment. Cities with a strong creative class are more robust and resilient.
How can we develop a creative city? What are the key wishes and needs to take into account? What are the best practical examples to follow and the biggest challenges to look out for? What are the underlying principles and how can these be applied within the context of Enschede? How can a local government affect this transition?
Challenge provider: Arjan Beerman, Director City Marketing / Senior Communication Advisor at the municipality of Enschede.
What did you expect when you started this journey? “It is often said that students have all the answers. Since I work with students a lot, I know that this is not always the case. What is true, however, is that the small and surprising insights they provide form the building blocks for the bigger picture.”
Can you give an example of that? “Three ideas really stuck with me. Take the scenario-based product design course, for example. We presented a challenge that had to do with city marketing. A group of students presented Enschede as a character. It was a really fun and ingenious way to illustrate how a city would behave if it were a person. I was also pleasantly surprised during Create Tomorrow (the world's largest student think tank). A team came up with the idea that Enschede should be a carbon-negative city. By choosing to live in Enschede, people would contribute to a better world. That is a fantastic proposition. Another group suggested that we should become known as the remote workforce capital of Europe by the year 2040. By then, the need to be physically present in the office will be all but obsolete, so why not live in a wonderful green environment? At the time, we had no idea of what was in store for us or that working from home would become the new normal quite so quickly.”
What can you say about your collaboration with the students? “It is a highly diverse group. The team includes people with a background in rocket science, data analysis, psychology and marketing. At this point, however, I cannot say too much about the added value of this diversity.”
Would you recommend this programme to others? “I celebrate this initiative and would certainly advise interested organisations to take the leap. However, it is important to make sure that you work on real challenges rather than fictitious problems. Otherwise, it would just be a waste of time.”