'Anyone can be a student'

A car consists of approximately 15% plastic, of which only 3% is recycled. By 2030, 25% of the plastic used in cars must be recycled. Of that 25% recycled plastic, a quarter must actually come from the automotive industry. So there is still work to be done. CirCuClarity, a group of four students from the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), is committed to improving the circularity of plastic in the automotive industry.

The students are working on this project for the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Processes course, part of the challenge-based learning at the TU/e. Students not only learn through lectures and exams, but also acquire knowledge and skills through practical challenges. CirCuClarity originated from a challenge set by truck manufacturer DAF and PreZero, a waste management and recycling expert.

Challenge-based learning is becoming increasingly important at TU/e. “The engineers of the future need new skills to tackle today's societal challenges,” says Dominique Fürst, program coordinator for artificial intelligence at TU/e Innovation Space. This center of expertise plays an essential role in innovating education, and expanding challenge-based learning is a crucial aspect. In addition to subject-specific knowledge, skills such as collaboration, systems thinking, and entrepreneurship are gaining traction. This also requires new forms of education.

Educational innovation

In challenge-based learning activities, students from different study programs work together in a multidisciplinary team on a real-world challenge. Previously, a single company would provide the challenge. This is changing; a pilot project is underway to bring together students from different study programs and companies from distinct sectors to work together on a single challenge. DAF and PreZero are the first pair of companies in this pilot.

'Innovation is not a solo effort'

“As an industry, we also need to collaborate more and more. We cannot tackle major challenges such as the energy transition and digitization alone. From both a cost and a knowledge perspective, it is important to join forces,” says Kati Brock, program manager for digital services at DAF and involved with TU/e Innovation Space for six years. Previously, a challenge often focused on a single problem within a single company. “By working alongside multiple partners within a challenge, we shift the focus and automatically start looking at the bigger picture.”

As part of the pilot, Brock works with Freddy Pelders, business development manager for innovation at PreZero. He recently started working with TU/e Innovation Space and finds the collaboration with DAF valuable. “After all, innovation is not something you do alone,” he says. “At PreZero, we believe in a society where we throw away less, reuse more, and work together to conserve the Earth's raw materials. This challenge, therefore, fits in well with our philosophy. We understand plastics and know how to recycle waste into new raw materials. With DAF's knowledge and the students' new insights, I look forward to seeing the solutions to this challenge at the end of the process.”

DAF CEO: 'Decarbonization is a team sport, not a solo race'

Harald Seidel urges European collaboration to overcome infrastructure, cost, and clarity barriers in the shift to zero-emission trucking.

Read More

Learning from each other

The students don't immediately come up with concrete solutions. Still, they inspire and give the companies a different way of thinking to build on, says Pelders about his first experience with challenge-based learning at TU/e Innovation Space. Brock assents: “Students offer a different perspective on things. For example, whereas we often tend to think in terms of business, they look more at the bigger picture. That makes us look at things differently, too. We can help the students kick their ideas off with our network and background knowledge of the market.” Pelders adds: "It's nice to learn from each other this way."

Brock sees that this teaching method helps students learn different skills. "Exams are fun, but our future employees need more than just knowledge. Soft skills such as collaboration, pitching, and sales are becoming increasingly important.” She emphasizes that DAF does not see its contribution to challenge-based learning as recruitment, but primarily as a way to contribute to society. “It's about the employees of the future, for us and other organizations.”

Involving the entire chain

Pelders believes it would be very helpful, in the future, if more companies take part in TU/e Innovation Space's challenges. Brock agrees: “It would be great to include companies along the entire value chain in a challenge. In our case, that would mean, for example, that we would also work together with a raw materials producer, right at the start of the chain, or a driver, the end user at the end of the chain,” she explains. This would enable students to find out what end users value and what they are prepared to do in terms of making concessions or paying higher costs.

University in 2050: 'Everyone is welcome and chooses their own path'

How do you see the university in the future? The Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is asking visitors of the Dutch Design Week to share their thoughts.

Read More

The university of the future

Expanding challenge-based learning is part of a larger project within TU/e Innovation Space, Learning in the Innovation Hub. This is part of the University of the Future program, in which the institution is developing a long-term vision for the education of the future. Expanded challenge-based learning is a step toward open interdisciplinary thematic communities, a form of education reflected in the vision for the future.

Such a community brings together students at different levels (from bachelor's to PhD), researchers, companies, policymakers, and other stakeholders around a specific theme to work on societal issues. Themes include the circular economy and healthcare. Dominique Fürst of TU/e innovation Space: “In the current form of challenge-based learning, we are dealing with the roles of student and expert. In the future, we want everyone to be able to learn together, regardless of their background.”

Learning and growing together

Working together on challenges also contributes to lifelong development, whereby professionals can retrain or upgrade their skills. In some fields, new social challenges mean that new or different knowledge is needed. “In that sense, everyone can be a student,” concludes Fürst.