Category Archives: Continuous professionalisation

15 Books that help you become your own futurist in education and work

The beginning of a new year is always a time when planning for the future comes to our minds. Every now and then people ask me which “visionary” books I read to anticipate trends in education and work in science, … Continue reading

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Lifelong learning is exploring and enjoying

In my blog “Success in study and career highly depends on grit” I wrote “21st Century skills sound to me as a hollow phrase.  Many of these skills have been important since ages!” Lifelong learning is such a skill that … Continue reading

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The magic of an Unconference on Impact-Focused Education

Mid July I received a personal invitation to join an “Impact-Focused Education Unconference” at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. I was skeptic about the unconference with its wordings of “unplanning” and “unorganisation”, but decided to discover new pathways toward innovative best … Continue reading

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Can staff competencies sufficiently be enhanced through Kaizen?

Today’s higher engineering education faces an existential crisis. The changing world of work, the blurring of boundaries between disciplines and between industry and academic boundaries, the rise of continuous learning, the evolving globalisation and digital behaviour, and the increasing international … Continue reading

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Will these conspicuous statements in TU Delft’s Vision on Education 2018-2024 fuel any change?

Many factors call universities to make choices on how to adapt their education: the accelerating pace of technological change, the globalisation, the accelerating digitalisation of economy and social interaction, the growth in talent mobility, the student’s interest to go well … Continue reading

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Teaching technology innovation and Reframing academic careers with an educational accent

My one but previous post was about the confluence of talent development, discovery and innovation at Skoltech, using the CDIO framework. At that same gathering the 4TU.Centre for Engineering Education took the opportunity to run workshops about topics that really … Continue reading

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Following the CDIO framework Skoltech develops into a powerhouse for innovation and talent development

Visiting a massive campus building under construction in an extensive technology park which is under development at the same time. Understanding the impact of CDIO thinking on the development of Skoltech. Discussing a career development framework that has an accent … Continue reading

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Looking at the outside world: Never urgent but always important

December 2016 I felt a bit annoyed when I asked my Department of Communication to support me in giving exposure to advancements and innovations in our on-campus aerospace engineering education, but got their advice to start a personal weblog instead. … Continue reading

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How an online ProfEd course can help young or senior engineering professionals and Master students Design their Next Career Move

If you are a  frequent follower of my blog, you can’t have missed my lasting message that we are living in a rapidly changing world and that change is accelerating. Nowhere is this truer than in the world of engineering. … Continue reading

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How to benefit most from digital co-creation in a rapidly changing world

Embracing the future today Digitalisation, technology and innovation have advanced industries in ways that previously could not have been imagined. The world is in a perpetual state of change and flux and, as a result, the world of engineering faces … Continue reading

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How to transform disposable fulltime lecturers into innovative power?

Research universities have put the primary focus on the quality of research already for decades. Scientific staff is encouraged to research and publish. Appraisal cycles and career advancement rest on research achievements, with teaching achievement playing only a marginal role, … Continue reading

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If you can invent a second wheel, you don’t want to reinvent the wheel, do you?

“The guy who invented the first wheel must have been an idiot. The guy who invented the other three was a genius”. Reinventing wheels This quote by Sid Caesar illustrates that (scientific) discoveries in technology need further development to raise … Continue reading

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Evidence-based innovation in engineering education? This is why and how.

What do we learn from trial and error? Innovating curricula is about designing effective learning and teaching environments in continual cycles of educational practice and research. That’s what I have always learned in theory. But I have been curious why … Continue reading

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Teaching interdisciplinarity in field-specific disciplinary programmes involves more than just a shift of mind

This second post on interdisciplinary education is about my gain from the National Interdisciplinary Education Conference, organised by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) February 2nd, 2017. At this conference a wide range of Dutch and … Continue reading

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Interdisciplinary education: a wave of the future?

Also at my university, though rigidly organised in disciplinary silos and producing disciplinary programmes, I hear the buzzwords “multidisciplinarity” and “interdisciplinarity” almost every day. Obviously there is a shift of interest towards exploring questions and solving problems that cross borders … Continue reading

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Educating engineers for a resource constrained future: do we understand what we are doing?

Has it ever been different? “Engineering Opportunities in a Resource Constrained Future”. When I read this theme of the CDIO European Regional Meeting at Trinity College Dublin on 12-13 January 2017 the very first time, I wondered: “Has it ever … Continue reading

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An innovative educational framework that lies on your doorstep

Most curriculum innovations fail As a board member of the Educational Leadership Course that is organised under the sponsorship of Erasmus University, TU Delft and University Leiden (LDE), I reviewed the application files of the 17 candidates for the course … Continue reading

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