Students have to get involved in shaping their own education.
At Utrecht University, we want students to make the most of their studies. This does not only mean gaining knowledge, but also developing skills such as (social) entrepeneurship and leadership, and a general all-round development of 21st century skills.
At the moment, students can only develop these skills in select groups at the university (honours programmes), outside of their own degree (in study associations or student representation), or even outside of the university (student associations). Within our degree programmes, 21st century education isn’t the norm. Both students and the university miss a lot of opportunities by not using the talent and enthusiasm present in the university.
There’s also much room for development if we look at the connection between university and society. It is, for example, not clear what students can do with an interest in societal issues, and how degrees link to communities. One aspect of this is awareness of interdisciplinary theme’s and degree-transcending questions.
A crucial step toward this goal is involving students in creating their own education. Edu challenge: create your own course is a first step towards this ideal.