DesignLab University of Twente is headquarters and host of the annual University Innovation Fellows meetup from 12 to 14 April, a three-day programme from the Hasso Plattner School of Design (d.School), Stanford University. For the past decade it was held at Stanford in California. This year, they have decided to broaden their horizons and put their trust in the University of Twente. This meetup is a student-driven experience of a lifetime.
University Innovation Fellows (UIF)
International students participate in the UIF programme to make change in higher education. It was created as part of the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter), a five-year National Science Foundation grant. This programme empowers students around the world to become agents of change in higher education. Fellows create opportunities that help their peers unlock their creative potential and develop the design-centered mindset, required to take on complex challenges in today’s world. Students of all majors and academic levels – from first years to PhDs – who want to shape the future of education are encouraged to apply.
Embrace different world views
Soon DesignLab will welcome over 400 international students, staff and faculty from about 63 different institutions. These institutions consist of not only ivy league schools, but community colleges, HBCU schools, state colleges, and even non-academic institutes. People from all over the world will be welcomed: Uruguay, Peru, India, Germany, the US, Japan, Australia, and more. DesignLab encourages the international group of innovation enthusiasts with different backgrounds to really learn from each other, making it possible to work in a transdisciplinary way. It helps us as society, our future generations and our environment, to work on solutions for societal challenges.
Future changemakers in Twente
In a few days, the UIF global meetup will start! The meetup will be jampacked with insightful masterclasses, inspiring workshops, mind-blowing presentations, exciting company visits and engaging conversations. The UIF community will dive into the world of DesignLabs Responsible Futuring: the approach that guides participants in looking at different perspectives to co-speculate and reflect ethically on created future scenarios. Students will also get the opportunity to learn what the innovative industry in Twente does and has to offer, planting seeds for both professional development and possible collaborations with future changemakers of the UIF programme.
