About 25 students participated in the Moonshot Meetups, workshops held by the University Innovation Fellows (UIF) in February and March. ‘The goal was to contribute the students’ vision to the university’s new strategy,’ says Anja Dömer (UIF), one of the events’ organizers. ‘We wanted the participants to come up with bold ideas that are inspiring. They should serve as indicators of what students want to see in the future.’
These ideas, presented last week, revolved around three main themes: sustainability, personal development and community building. For instance, the group that focused on sustainability would like the University of Twente to become the greenest university in the world by 2030, informs Dömer. ‘One of their ideas on how to make this happen was to start an Honours Track for sustainability.’
To ensure personal development of future students, other participants of the Meetups suggested to start an online platform. ‘On this website, you could fill in your goals, such as “becoming a product manager” and the platform would tell you what skills you need to develop,’ explains Dömer. ‘It would also compare the courses you already took and show you what else is available on campus for you to achieve the necessary skills.’
If the students’ wishes were to come true, you might soon encounter a ‘moving container’ on campus. ‘One group concentrated on communal spaces and suggested to have a container moving around campus. The container would serve as a space for various pop-up events,’ clarifies Anja Dömer. ‘So, for example, one day it would host a workshop in front of the Waaier and the next day it would offer a yoga course at the Bastille. The idea is that people can’t escape it because it’s right there, and so it serves as a good space from different cultures to connect.’
Will any of these wishes and suggestions be part of the official UT strategy? That is up to the new strategy writing group, says Dömer. ‘We have presented the students’ ideas to them and they will try to match them with the new policy.’
