Our tracks

Tailored education for ambitious and motivated bachelor students: what do you want to develop yourself on?

To tailor your Honours experience to your personal development and interests, the Bachelor Honours programme is divided into 6 different tracks that each focus on a different field. Within the programme, you have to choose which of the tracks to follow. You can find an overview of the different tracks we offer below, or take a look at our interactive flyer highlighting the key elements of each track.

DOWNLOAD OUR INTERACTIVE FLYER TO FIND OUT THE KEY ELEMENTS FOR EACH TRACK

Each track takes 1.5 years and has 6 courses, of which the first one starts in quartile 3 (with selection taking place in January-February each year). You may enrol for the Honours programme either in the first or second year of your Bachelor study.

 

Bachelor year 1

Bachelor year 2

Bachelor year 3

 

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Q4

Student starting in the first year of their Bachelor

 

 

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Student starting in second year of their Bachelor

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Students participating in 'fishbowl' discussion sessions

Entrepreneurship & Business Development

The Entrepreneurship & Business Development track trains students to become real-time entrepreneurs. Different from start-up accelerators, the Honours Entrepreneurship & Business Development track helps develop the fundamental insights needed for sustainable entrepreneurial endeavours. The focus is on different ways students can run their own companies and how they can ensure that their businesses are relevant to society. We work in close cooperation with Novel-T to support students in their ventures and the track is focused on the student’s personal growth as entrepreneurs. The main perspective of the Entrepreneurship and Business Development track is the effectuation approach - a relatively new way to look at entrepreneurship. In the more traditional approaches, starting your business is a stepwise, planned action mostly focused on writing a business plan. However, expert entrepreneurs hardly follow this approach. Effectual entrepreneurs work with the means available to them and are actively searching for partners to cooperate and share risks by pre-commitment to the new venture. Co-creation is important; it is not a one-way trajectory but together with partners you will establish two-way cooperation where means are exchanged to create synergy. You will, therefore, focus a lot on networking and working together with your fellow entrepreneurs.

Track Experiences
Vincent van Engers - Student 19/20

The Entrepreneurship & Business Development track puts everyone out of their comfort zone. It forces you to think deeply and teaches you how to interact with the world. The lessons learned in this course are learned for life.

Mathematics

The Mathematics track goes far beyond equations and variables by teaching students how to solve problems using a mathematical approach. Aside from delving deeper into challenging and engaging mathematical topics (ranging from fundamental to applied), students will develop skills that go hand-in-hand with mathematics such as computer coding and signal processing. During the track, students will develop a structured yet creative way of problem-solving. The track will deepen and broaden your understanding and knowledge of mathematical skills. It is partly aligned with the mathematics curricula of engineering studies at the University of Twente but also includes new and challenging disciplines in this field of science, such as Coding Theory and Geometry. We offer this track through (guest) lectures and tutorials alongside challenging assignments and final projects.

Please note that specifically for the Mathematics track we also take your grades for the UT mathematics courses into account during our selection. Students outside of the engineering Bachelor studies are allowed to apply to this track, but we do ask those students to highlight in their motivation letter what their background in mathematics is and what makes them capable of taking on the level of mathematics in this track.

Track Experiences
Matthew Maat - Student 18/19

I chose to do the Honours programme to learn about new, challenging subjects. I am doing the Mathematics track because the subject interests me the most (as I am an Applied Mathematics student). The track teaches about various mathematical topics and gives space to investigate things by yourself within the problem sets that you are given.

Alexander Haas - Student 18/19

The Mathematics track combines interactive lectures with supervised tutorials. The programme really challenges you, but the teachers are always willing to help. As a student in the Mathematics Honours track, you learn a lot of interesting new things. Topics range from the P vs. NP problem to four-dimensional geometry, and from coding theory to the study of dynamic systems. This variety is part of what makes the track so worthwhile. All in all, then, I would certainly recommend this track to anyone who is interested in mathematics.

Processes of Change

The Processes of Change track teaches you to understand change and to promote it in practice. Change will be investigated at multiple levels ranging from society at large, to the organisational level as well as the individual level, as innovation and reform often imply change at various levels. Each course discusses a specific subject, but it also aims at improving your skills. We will enhance your personal development throughout the track courses as well as coaching sessions. We will teach you presenting skills, stimulate independent thinking and creativity and we will open you up to your leadership potential. All courses provide you with valuable insights and skills that can be put into practice in an individual change project at the end of the track, the results of which are presented during a final seminar. Hence, the track teaches you how to use your abilities to let yourself, others, and the groups and organisations that you are part of, turn to new views, attitudes, behaviours, and policies. When you have completed the Processes of Change track, you are ready to start new movements!

Track Experiences
Chris Sleurlink - Student 18/19

For me, the Honours programme is a great addition to my regular studies. It provides me with in-depth education into specific and broad subjects that help me place things into perspective, also within my regular study program. I chose the Processes of Change track because 'change' is an under-analysed subject in the business world. This Honours track analyses the idea of change and dynamics on different levels, including society and individual level.

Atis Kazaferi - Student 19/20

The Processes of Change track has given me significant insights into my surroundings as well as myself, on how I can develop and what I can ambitiously achieve. This Honours programme has been an inspirational experience for me, and I am looking forward to what more it can offer me in terms of network building and my personal learning objectives.

Reuven Avnon - Student 20/21

I applied for the Processes of Change track because I wanted to learn about change and because I wanted to be in an inspirational environment with students from other studies who have different expertises.

Moritz Wagner - Student 20/21

The Processes of Change track provides fantastic education and experiences for future work environments. This programme teaches you how to analyse societal behaviour, use your resources to understand the causality of change, and practice essential methods to achieve change. Furthermore, you learn more about your characteristics and how to utilise this awareness in the future.

Tsjalle van der Burg - Teacher

Because we as teachers get to know the students personally, we can help them improve their creativity.

Julia Wijnmalen - Teacher

Honours students are smart and being smart often makes you think that you already know everything. That is what I like about working with these students - the challenge to be able to challenge them.

Desirée van Dun - Teacher

Being a change leader requires you to be adaptive to and deal effectively with change. Both the Bachelor and Master Honours students challenge me to constantly innovate and step up my own knowledge and didactics, which is a delightfully enriching experience.

Philosophy

For students specialising in engineering, managerial or behavioural sciences, an apprenticeship in the broad scope of philosophy as provided by our Philosophy track is a valuable prerequisite to keep High Tech in touch with the Human Touch. After all, philosophy and its major representatives can be considered as best practices of creative and self-critical thought that proved its fecundity in science, ethics, politics, literature and art. The Philosophy track guides students into an encounter with philosophic primary sources. It is not an introduction to applied ethics or philosophy of a specific discipline, but it aims at students acquiring a Socratic attitude. Socratic wisdom entails the insight that if one asks long enough about the presuppositions, legitimations and consequences of current scientific, ethical and political ideas, they turn out to be apt for philosophical reflection. In this track you will encounter many questions, and maybe sometimes some answers.

Track Experiences
Jan-Niklas Grinth - Student 18/19

I joined the Philosophy track because I am very interested in the theories, concepts, and perspectives of philosophers. However, philosophy is a complex and interrelated discipline. The Honours programme offers the opportunity to explore it within a professional framework, including the study of literature, the guidance of professors, and discussions with enthusiastic classmates. Looking back, it was the ideal starting point for this field as the discussions inspired and enabled me to think about certain contents in a more sophisticated and transcendental manner.

Leonie Spitzer - Student 18/19

I chose the Philosophy track as it offers me the opportunity to share personal viewpoints on difficult issues to get a more thorough understanding. Through this Honours track, I am able to combine my personal interests with a philosophic attitude. I am enlightened by the different perspectives of other students and my professors. Furthermore, I learned to understand literature which I would normally avoid reading due to a high level of difficulty.

Bregje Walraven - Student 18/19

When I discovered the Honours programme, I was immediately in love with the Philosophy track because it is something totally different from my own study. I like the weekly sessions about certain topics that are so interesting for self-development, and therefore would really suggest other students do this track as well. 

Jan Hoogland - Teacher

As a teacher of the Philosophy track, the Honours programme offers me the joy of being a close witness of the growth and development of a group of young students for a year and a half. It is fantastic to see how interested, involved and unorthodox these students are in their dialogues and ideas about current issues.

Shaping the Future

Curiosity, engagement and impact are the keywords of this track! In Shaping the Future, students investigate ground-breaking scientific endeavours and breakthroughs to determine how these developments still affect our current ways of thinking. Our track combines both scientific rigour and design thinking as core values to let you explore topics outside of your regular curriculum. At the same time, you will focus on developing your multidisciplinary perspective and your investigative and communication skills. This track encourages students to develop and use a unique way of problem-solving that incorporates multidisciplinarity and diversity as key elements - skills that are essential for anyone looking to make an impact in their future career. Using this mindset, students gain hands-on experience in complex and multidisciplinary problem-solving in a large innovation project. With engaging guest lecturers, innovative education and the freedom to shape your own development, this track is meant for curious minds wanting to develop and broaden their skills alongside like-minded peers. 

Track Experiences
Annemarte Visscher - Student 18/19

Participating in the Honours programme gave me the opportunity to explore some of my interests in great detail with the aid of amazing teachers. It really taught me how great learning can be when you are working together with motivated and fun people.

Sven van Wincoop - Student 18/19

The Honours programme and the Shaping the Future track are unique opportunities to develop yourself on an academic level as well as personal level. Frequently presenting, critical thinking and active participation are keywords for the track. The icing on the cake is that it also looks well on your CV!

Kim van der Tak - Student 18/19

The Shaping the Future track enables you to gain more knowledge of subjects that are beyond your regular studies, like cosmology, evolution and philosophy. Here, it is about challenging yourself and others to be critical. You will enhance you presenting, discussion and listening skills. And apart from that, you will definitely have a fun time getting to know students from other studies. The reason I applied was because of my eagerness to increase my skills and knowledge in a different field than my own area of expertise.

Maarten Krol - Teacher

What I enjoy the most is to see how our students, in our multidisciplinary cohorts, first get so much more aware of their own disciplinary "tunnel" and then learn to appreciate the (sometimes) very different perspectives of their classmates.

Hajo Broersma - Teacher

Students are the key players for Shaping the Future. I strongly believe that our Honours programme prepares them better for their crucial role in saving our planet.

Eric Mulder - Guest Lecturer

For me, being a guest lecturer was - and still is - a positive challenge and very satisfying to deal with smart young people on an intellectual level.