Zoekresultaten

Intercultural Communication - An Interdisciplinary Approach

Preparing undergraduate students for lifelong learning

This thesis presents an exploration of ‘how entrepreneurship education pedagogy can enhance undergraduate business students’ autonomous motivation for self-directed learning’. It has twin, equally valuable, purposes: to make an original theoretical contribution and to improve professional practice in this area. The work addresses the lack of pedagogical research in entrepreneurship education that focuses on learner development, with a specific aim at development of self-directed learning skills for lifelong learning. The research is approached with a concurrent, mixed methods design, comparing pre- and a post-EE, self-assessment survey results from 245 students, enrolled in a Young Enterprise venture creation programme, and a control group at a Dutch university. With the use of open-question surveys among the same population, during and after the EE modules, as well as from focus group discussions with a selection of participating students and teachers, explanation was sought for the observations drawn from the quantitative study. Significant relationships were found between students’ self-reported maturity of autonomy, self-efficacy, and motivation for learning, and in how these relate to self-directed learning readiness. Entrepreneurship education was found to significantly moderate the relationship between the learning characteristics and self-directed learning, and to strengthen of the students’ perceived readiness for self-directed learning. Explanation for the impact of EE were found to be related to the stage-wise, mixed pedagogy approach to learning, that combines authentic learning with a hierarchical approach to competence development, and supportive team dynamics. The research contributes to practice with a proposed conceptual framework for understanding how to prepare for self-directed learning readiness and a teaching-learning framework for its development in formal educational settings. It contributes to knowledge with its deeper understanding of how students experience learning in EE and how that affects their willingness to pursue learning opportunities.

Minor Circular Cities: Mission Zero Waste Amsterdam

This communication aims to provide a framework on how to integrate the concept of Circular Economy (CE) when addressing real-life urban challenges such as resource scarcity, greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, waste, and high consumerism (Williams, 2019), through delivery of courses to students of various educational backgrounds. As part of the mission of Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) to be at the forefront of promoting sustainability through education and research, the Faculties of Technology and of Business and Economics joined forces to launch a new minor namely Circular Amsterdam: Mission Zero Waste. This minor focuses on the challenges and opportunities towards the circular transition in Amsterdam as well as in other European cities, by applying system level of thinking and real-life practical cases.CE model is a shift from the traditional linear “take, make, and dispose” way of doing business, to promoting circularity of the waste product through the 3R principles (reduce, reuse, recycle), which is nowadays extended to using 9R principles (0-Refuse, 1-Rethink, 2-Reduce, 3-Reuse, 4-Repair, 5-Refurbish, 6-Remanufacture, 7-Repurpose, 8-Recycle, and 9-Recover) (Potting et al., 2017). Transitioning to CE model needs intervention and multidisciplinary approach at different levels, hence requiring systems level of thinking. This means that technical, organizational, economic, behavioral, and regulatory aspects should be taken into account when designing business models, policies, or framework on CE. In the case of the minor, a system change including the challenges and opportunities needed in the cities, will be approached from different perspectives. In order to do this, the minor requires collaboration on a real-life problem using multiple backgrounds of students that include technical, economic, creative and social domains, as well as various stakeholders such as businesses, policy makers, and experts in circular economy.This minor will provide in-depth knowledge and skills based on its two tracks. The first track is called Circular Design & Technology. It focuses on the role of technology in CE, technological design, material use, production, use of circular resources in production, and impact analysis. The second track is called Circular Governance & Management. This track focuses on viable business case development, circular supply chain management, finance, regulations, entrepreneurship, and human capital. The focus of this communication will be the second track.Multidisciplinary teams each consisting of approximately four students will work on different projects. Examples of real-world, practical cases related to Circular Governance & Management track include: (1) development of business models addressing resource shortages and waste in the cities, (2) influencing consumer mindset when it comes to recycling and use of circular materials and products, (3) development of financially viable circular businesses, with due consideration of different instruments such as traditional bank loans, green/social bonds and loans, crowdfunding, or impact investing, and (4) tracking and reporting their sustainability performance with the voluntary use of sustainability metrics and reporting standards in order to better manage their risk and attract capital. These projects are linked to research expertises in AUAS. The course activities include (guest) lectures, workshops, co-creation sessions, excursions, presentations and peer reviews. The learning goals in the Circular Governance & Management track include being able to:1. Understand the foundations of CE and theory of change;2. Apply systems thinking to show how different interventions, such as consumer products, logistics models, business models or policy designs, can affect the transition from the existing linear to a CE model;3. Design an intervention, such as a product, logistic concept, business model, communication strategy or policy design supporting the CE, using students‘ backgrounds, ambitions and interests;4. Understand the financial and regulatory framework affecting the management and governance of (financially viable) circular businesses, including government incentives;5. Evaluate the economic, environmental and social impacts of developed intervention design on the city and its environment;6. Provide justification of students‘ design according to sustainability performance indicators;7. Collaborate with stakeholders in a multidisciplinary team; and8. Present, defend and communicate the results in English.

Analysing unmet needs

This research was conducted to update the content of the International Business Studies curriculum. The dynamically developing business environment, including the shift towards hybrid work, deepened the widely reported misalignment between business communication instruction and industry requirements. Thus, we resolved to discover what this misalignment entails and will present the employers’ unmet needs concerning recent graduates’ communication skills.

SDG Barometer 2024 Report The Netherlands

The Dutch SDG Barometer 2024 reveals a nuanced perspective on sustainability progress in the Netherlands. While awareness of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains high among Dutch organizations, significant challenges persist in their prioritization, implementation and measurement.This second edition of the SDG Barometer, developed collaboratively by Amsterdam School of International Business (AMSIB), Maastricht School of Management (MSM), and TIAS School for Business and Society, builds on its 2022 debut. It provides valuable insights into the adoption of the SDGs, showcasing both encouraging trends and persistent barriers as the 2030 deadline approaches. Key Findings from the Dutch SDG Barometer 20241.Sustainability Awareness: Nearly 70% of organizations in the Netherlands claim to prioritize sustainability, a steady trend from 2022. However, only 15% have fully integrated SDGs into their sustainability strategies.2.Framework Competition: While the SDG framework remains widely used, mandatory EU guidelines such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) are starting to surpass the SDGs in usage, raising concerns about a ‘crowding-out effect.’3.Obstacles Persist: Resource constraints and knowledge gaps remain the top barriers to SDG implementation, though awareness and understanding of the goals have improved since 2022.4.Communication Decline: The number of organizations not communicating internally (31%) or externally (30%) about their SDG efforts has risen sharply, reflecting a potential de-prioritization.5.Government Role: A majority of respondents (55%) believe government support for SDG adoption is insufficient, while a consistent 80% of organizations agree that the government should play an active role in encouraging SDG adoption.6.Sectoral Insights: Educational institutions lead in SDG awareness, while not-for-profits and governmental bodies show varying levels of alignment. Corporate participation, though significant, often lacks depth in SDG integration.

Studentonderzoek Diversiteit en Inclusie

Hogeschool van Amsterdam heeft het thema diversiteit als een van haar beleidsspeerpunten geformuleerd. In het hoger onderwijs is al geruime tijd veel aandacht voor de thema’s diversiteit en inclusie. Het Faculteit Business en Economie van de Hogeschool van Amsterdam heeft een onderzoek door het Hogeschool-lectoraat Teamprofessionalisering van Daniel van Middelkoop geïnitieerd teneinde inzicht te verkrijgen in de wijze waarop docenten en management met diversiteit en inclusie omgaan in de dagelijkse onderwijspraktijk. Deze inzichten zijn waardevol, maar zijn waardevoller als daarbij ook de stem van studenten wordt gehoord. In het onderzoek dat in dit rapport zal worden toegelicht, staat de vraag centraal hoe studenten van het Faculteit Business en Economie het thema diversiteit en inclusie beleven binnen de Hogeschool. Wat is volgens hen een diverse en inclusieve hogeschool? Wat zijn voorwaarden om dat te bewerkstelligen? Voelen ze zich thuis? Wat zijn hun ervaringen en belevingen binnen de opleiding waaraan ze studeren als het gaat om het contact met docenten, met medestudenten, de dynamiek tijdens de colleges of de inhoud van het curriculum? Dit rapport weerspiegelt de ervaringen en belevingen van de studenten van de vijf opleidingen: Bedrijfskunde, Commerciële Economie, Finance en Accounting, HRM en de internationale opleiding Amsib. Beoogd wordt aan het einde van de onderzoeksperiode, die uit twee delen bestaat en in oktober 2022 wordt afgesloten, inzicht te bieden in de wijze waarop de opleidingen een divers en inclusief opleidingsklimaat kunnen realiseren. De deeltijdopleiding heeft in een eerdere fase al met hun studenten gesproken, voor deze opleiding zijn gedurende de onderzoeksperiode drie inspiratiesessies voor het management- en het docententeam georganiseerd.