On November 24, dean of the Bachelor College Ines Lopez Arteaga signed a declaration of intent on behalf of TU/e. Representatives from eight other major players in secondary and higher education in North Brabant and Limburg did the same, officially establishing Onderwijsnetwerk Zuid Nederland.

The goal of the collaboration is to make the transition from secondary school to a university or university of applied sciences as smooth as possible for new students. To achieve this, the partners are working on three levels: students, teachers, and policy. Eindhoven School of Education (ESoE) will conduct research into the effects of the interventions.

From secondary education, the following parties are represented in Onderwijsnetwerk Zuid Nederland: Brainport-scholen, Onderwijsregio Brabant Oost, and Onderwijsregio Limburg. From higher education, the participants—besides TU/e—are Tilburg University, Maastricht University (Faculty of Science and Engineering), Fontys University of Applied Sciences, HAS Green Academy (Venlo), and Avans University of Applied Sciences.

Later, the focus will expand to other disciplines, Hueting says: “Such as economics, where Tilburg University will take the lead.”

All hands on deck

For now, however, it’s all hands on deck in engineering and technology. Hueting: “A key priority is making STEM education more attractive to groups that are underrepresented in technical programs: girls and students with a migration background.”

“That’s where the potential lies in the Netherlands; there’s still a lot to gain in those groups.” She refers to it as underutilized talent: “Young people who could do it, but still don’t choose a technical degree. For example, because they feel insecure or are not encouraged in the right way within the education system.”

A seven average

Inspiring students through hands-on experience is key, and guidance is consistently provided by TU/e students. The Pre-TU/e team includes two permanent education developers to ensure activities are both substantively and didactically sound.

“One comes from secondary education, the other is an engineer from the ESoE teacher training program. So not marketers, but professionals with subject-matter and teaching expertise.”

One of the education developers within Pre-TU/e is Emily van Leemput. She also develops lessons for 4TU.Schools, a platform through which the four technical universities collaborate with secondary education to create lessons that are offered free of charge.

The lessons are intentionally interdisciplinary, Van Leemput explains. “At technical universities, we often see different disciplines coming together in research. In our classes, however, we explicitly link these interdisciplinary topics to individual high school disciplines.”

One example is the lesson What do DNA and data have in common?, which focuses on data storage in synthetic DNA. “In that lesson, we explore what data and DNA actually are. Both are highly relevant concepts for secondary school students.”

To develop that lesson, Van Leemput visited a research group within Biomedical Engineering, which provided her with input. “That allows us to create well-informed material, in which we connect the university’s expertise to the curriculum taught in secondary school.”

4TU.Schools has been around for nearly a year and has already developed around seventy free lessons.

PSV

The Pre-TU/e team finds engaging topics within TU/e, for example through student teams, but also beyond. Van Kollenburg: “We are currently developing a project for VWO students in collaboration with PSV’s women’s team, which is sponsored by Female Tech Heroes.”

Van Kollenburg notes that TU/e lecturers are often enthusiastic about contributing ideas. She welcomes this: “In every department, we have a contact person or outreach representative. Anyone doing exciting research or with another interesting idea for a student project can reach out to them.”

Subject support hubs

Mulders: “Each vaksteunpunt has a coordinator at one of the higher education institutions in the network. TU/e has two.” Chemist and subject didactics expert Wendy Sanders coordinates the chemistry hub. “She has maintained such a network on her own initiative for years and does very valuable work.”

Mulders himself coordinates the physics hub. “Teachers can, for example, conduct experiments with their classes in the quantum lab on campus.”

Onderwijsnetwerk Zuid Nederland aims to develop a broad vision on the role of AI in education. Teachers from both secondary and higher education will engage in discussions about the major impact of AI on education, as they experience its advantages and disadvantages in practice.

Graphing calculator

Teachers from secondary education also provide valuable input to their colleagues at universities or universities of applied sciences, Mulders notes. “Unconsciously, you assume secondary education is still exactly the same as when you were in school yourself, thirty years ago. So you expect first-year students to have the same background you once had.”

However, things have changed. “In physics, for example, the former requirement to also take mathematics B has been dropped. As a result, the subject is now structured differently, without math B calculation methods.”