{"id":444476,"date":"2023-04-28T09:29:43","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T07:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=444476"},"modified":"2023-04-28T09:29:43","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T07:29:43","slug":"how-challenge-based-learning-teaches-university-students-what-the-real-world-is-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/how-challenge-based-learning-teaches-university-students-what-the-real-world-is-about\/","title":{"rendered":"How challenge-based learning teaches university students what the real world is about"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Although the changes education is experiencing, books, lectures, and notes remain the primary learning tools for university students. Yet, teaching them to put all this amount of technical information to work boosts their ability to adapt to working environments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past few years, the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU\/e<\/a>) has offered more practical learning opportunities<\/a> to complement what\u2019s being taught during conventional lectures. Theoretical knowledge remains the backbone, integrated by activities to exploit it and experience what the actual working world is about. Student teams such as the TU\/e Ecomotive<\/a>, Team Polar<\/a>, or VIRTUe<\/a> are just a few examples of the success of the university\u2019s endeavor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In keeping stimulating students to work on innovative projects, the TU\/e insists on challenge-based learning. Master students from different tracks and backgrounds are taught this course, which makes them experience real work dynamics just before they leave academia. In this class,  they choose an open innovation challenge posed by university partners \u2013 mainly companies and public institutions in the region \u2013 and work in teams to find a solution to it. During a semester, they are pushed to think like entrepreneurs, and they develop their idea, concluding with a potential pilot project to implement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Figuring out what the problem is <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOffered challenges are broad and can be described as having a non-running car, and then students have to find out where the problem is. It might be the engine, the electronics, or the car itself might not be worth repairing. Thanks to challenge-based learning, students can unleash their entrepreneurial and creative abilities, firstly by identifying the problem and then addressing it,\u201d says Gert Guri, coordinator, and organizer of the challenge-based learning course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the educational value of the course lies in the fact that the challenges aren\u2019t posed by teachers but by societal stakeholders. Students directly discuss with challenge owner representatives, receiving their input and readjusting their idea accordingly \u2013 thus establishing a professional relationship. The challenge owners provide feedback on every step student teams take in developing their concepts. Graduates can always count on the guidance of their teachers \u2013 or coaches, as Guri prefers to define himself and his colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>
<\/div><\/div>
How education is evolving; students now learn through challenge-based learning<\/div>
Students at the Technical University of Eindhoven (TU\/e) are no longer sitting in the lecture halls as much as they used to. Education is focusing more and more on the practical side, which means on the actual application of technological knowledge.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Sports to reduce stress at the workplace <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A student team from one of the latest cohorts ideated Stressless, a startup that wants to improve employees’ well-being. From the open challenge \u2013 finding a solution to reduce stress levels at the workplace \u2013 they devised a system to allow employees to sport, organizing activities for them. In other words, workers get a weekly schedule with the activities they\u2019re involved in, arranged in a way that wouldn\u2019t clash with their daily tasks. However, time is not the main constraint. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven though people like to sport, they often don\u2019t have the motivation. They don\u2019t want to do it alone, or their daily activities don\u2019t allow them to practice,\u201d says David Lodder, one of Stressless team members. The student team is trying to remove all the existing barriers, offering workers a way to exercise that suits them best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo facilitate them in sport more, they can choose from a list of activities \u2013 such as walking, running, or playing ping pong \u2013 and free time slots based on their calendars. Then, we schedule them, making sure to do that when their co-workers can join,\u201d explains D\u00e9lano Gaasbeek, another Stressless team member. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"challenge-based
Stressless team members. From left to right: Gijs Boekweit, Maria Argyrion, D\u00e9lano Gaasbeek, Bram van Neeruan, and David Lodder. – \u00a9 Stressless<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Establishing an entrepreneurial mindset<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Teaching students how to be entrepreneurs and to make a societal impact \u2013 or at least showing them what it is about \u2013 is something Guri has done for years. In his recipe for success, the starting point is to make students move from conceptual to contextual, that is, how that idea works in real terms. Then, validation comes at every step. In this manner, students better figure out the real problem and if somebody is ready to pay for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guri: \u201cNot all students will become entrepreneurs in real life, but each one of them needs an entrepreneurial mindset. This means identifying the best technology to solve that problem, the solution\u2019s impact, and the best way to bring it to those affected by a given problem. Companies lament that fresh graduates need a few years to develop the expertise to work autonomously. That\u2019s what we try to prevent with this course. Every private or public organization asks employees to find comprehensive solutions to problems, not just the technicalities involved to overcome them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Failure as a way to learn<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During the first weeks of the challenge-based learning course, Stressless focused on investigating all the reasons behind the low sporting levels among workers, also noticing how healthier employees are less prone to absenteeism. Yet, to find the right formula and way, the team started from scratch several times. That\u2019s very valuable, per Guri, as failing is part of the learning curve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs we always say, \u2018It\u2019s not important if you hit the wall, what matters is that you don\u2019t hit the same wall twice.\u2019 Students are at the wheel, and we coaches are the driving instructors. We can only use the brake pedal if needed. We see they are heading to the wall, but we let them hit it,\u201d Guri stresses. In his opinion, daring to take risks is one of the ingredients that make a student a good entrepreneur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and the other coaches constantly push students out of their comfort zone to stimulate students to develop such an attitude. \u201cWhen you\u2019re out of it or on the brink of it, you learn more. That\u2019s why they are constantly on the brink and daring to fail. Failure is a way to learn,\u201d he underlines.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>
<\/div><\/div>
The engineers of tomorrow challenge their ideas at the TU\/e Contest<\/div>
A real-world problem, an innovative solution, and the students\u2019 enthusiasm. These three ingredients are behind many successful start-ups. <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Better work environment <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During the final weeks of the semester, Stressless conducted a one-week-long pilot test that involved five TU\/e employees. From there, they could put their concept to the test and gather the first results. \u201cYou step easier into your colleagues\u2019 office because you know them better,\u201d told one of the workers who took part in the test to the students. If the primary goal is to enhance working conditions, engaging people in non-working activities allows them to know their colleagues better and to see them from another perspective. This ultimately results in a better environment at the workplace.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other employees asked \u201cwhy the activities stopped\u201d and \u201dwhen they would start again\u201d. At the moment, Stressless is discussing with the TU\/e\u2019s human resources department how to conduct further tests and possibly establish a strengthened partnership. Meanwhile, the students are working on fully automating the organizing part through their own software, as they now only have part of the technology in place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At some point in the future, the idea is to connect sports facilities, companies, and employees to provide employees with as many options as possible. Making stress-releasing activities and socializing more accessible is the end goal. For now,  achieving a better understanding of the concept when scaled is StressLess\u2019 focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting comfortable in an uncomfortable zone <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As Stressless members are about to graduate, many learnings will stay with them. \u201cThis course gave us a chance to experience what the real world is about,\u201d underlines Gijs Boekweit \u2013 also part of Stressless. \u201cInteracting with the challenge owner was a rocky road to drive in, but it helped us learn things that we wouldn\u2019t have learned in a theory class,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf many things I learned, I\u2019d mention the mental aspect. Dealing not necessarily with setbacks but with feedback that wasn\u2019t what you expected and how that might impact your motivation. In a way, to get comfortable in an uncomfortable zone,\u201d Lodder concludes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although the changes education is experiencing, books, lectures, and notes remain the primary learning tools for university students. Yet, teaching them to put all this amount of technical information to work boosts their ability to adapt to working environments.  In the past few years, the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU\/e) has offered more practical learning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2084,"featured_media":494125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"views\/single-partner.blade.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3009],"tags":[36097,10216,74831,484,132,2519],"location":[6763],"article_type":[43139],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[],"class_list":["post-444476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startup","tag-challenge-based-learning","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-innovatie-2","tag-innovation","tag-tue","tag-tue-en","location-netherlands","article_type-features"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"To foster innovation and entrepreneurship, the Eindhoven University of Technology offers a challenge-based learning course to push students out of their comfort zone. ","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Mauro Mereu","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/mauro-mereu\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Photo_Gert.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Start-ups<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Start-ups<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["challenge-based learning<\/a>","Entrepreneurship<\/a>","innovatie<\/a>","innovation<\/a>","TU\/e<\/a>","TU\/e<\/a>"],"unlinked":["challenge-based learning<\/span>","Entrepreneurship<\/span>","innovatie<\/span>","innovation<\/span>","TU\/e<\/span>","TU\/e<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 3 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on April 28, 2023","modified":"Updated on April 28, 2023"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on April 28, 2023 9:29 am","modified":"Updated on April 28, 2023 9:29 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2084"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444476"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=444476"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=444476"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=444476"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=444476"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=444476"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=444476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}