The Da Vinci Master Program (30 EC) is a challenge-based education program in which students will work in innovation hubs dedicated to a sustainability challenge. It allows students to make the time investment to really go in depth of cooperation across disciplines.

Background

Reaching a sustainable, circular society and related economy is one of the grand challenges of this century, which can only be addressed through intimate collaboration of society, science, and technology. Academic education should be at the forefront of training the new generation, who are skilled in collaborating outside their comfort zone.

Project description

Five external partners facilitate the student teams and provide a real-life challenge: AkzoNobel, Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam, Province of Utrecht, UMC Utrecht and Unilever/Ministry of LNV. In several iterations and by applying design thinking as well as system thinking methodology, the teams will move from a challenge briefing to feasible, viable, desirable, and sustainable solutions. The teams are guided by a supervisor from the partner organization and by a mentor from the university to help them. Students spent two–thirds of the total course time on this challenge. The remaining time they work jointly with fellow students in the Da Vinci community and build a personal development portfolio.  Students have workshops together and operate in squads with fellow students from other teams of the Da Vinci Program. 

Aims

The program offers Master students an immersive learning experience with the aim of educating a new generation of changemakers, connectors, and innovators.

Results

• Training the mentors 

Designing and facilitating a training program to train mentors in design & system thinking as well as in coaching to develop personal and group development.

• The Da Vinci community and the organization in squads 

Output: fully operating squads. These squads all have a specific function in the community actively stimulating expertise exchange. An active exchange of expertise is stimulated on a wide variety of squads.

• Visibility 

It is important that everything we are creating within the Da Vinci program is visible. Therefore, we want to facilitate the external and internal communication squad not only with help but with a budget as well to create communication services and a video of every challenge.

• Cooperation with other innovative initiatives 

Concrete plans and implementations to collaborate with other innovative initiatives on a structural basis for the Da Vinci Program. The program is an excellent example of interdisciplinary collaboration that extends far beyond the academy.