To ensure the proper education of “future proof” professionals, it is important that higher education institutions make strong connections between research and teaching. The combination of the institutional logics of research and teaching within the Universities of Applied Sciences (UASs) suggests that UASs should strive for synergy between these two logics. Before attempting to improve the synergy, we investigate UASs’ current visions on connecting research and teaching and the subsequent synergistic effects. A grounded coding analysis of university-wide policy documents of six UASs in the Netherlands suggests that universities want to achieve synergistic effects on the level of the student, the professional, education, research, organization and professional practice. To achieve these synergistic effects the universities show a variety of research-teaching connections. The findings have implications for both local and national policy makers.
The importance of teaching engineering students innovation development is commonly clearly understood. It is essential to achieve products which are attractive and profitable in the market. To achieve this, an institute of engineering education has to provide students with needed knowledge, skills and attitudes including both technical and business orientation. This is important especially for SME’s. Traditionally, education of engineering provides students with basic understanding how to solve common technical problems. However companies need wider view to achieve new products. Universities of applied Sciences in Oulu and Eindhoven want to research what is the today’s educational situation for this aim, to find criteria to improve the content of the educational system, and to improve the educational system. Important stakeholders are teachers and students within the institute but also key-persons in companies. The research is realized by questionnaires and interviews from which a current situation can be found. The research will also include the opinion of management who give possibilities to change the curriculum. By this research more insight will be presented about how to re-design a current curriculum. The research will act as basis for this discussion in SEFI-conference about formulating a curriculum that includes elements for wide-ranging knowledge and skills to achieve innovations especially in SME’s.
The SPRONG-collaboration “Collective process development for an innovative chemical industry” (CONNECT) aims to accelerate the chemical industry’s climate/sustainability transition by process development of innovative chemical processes.The CONNECT SPRONG-group integrates the expertise of the research groups “Material Sciences” (Zuyd Hogeschool [Zuyd]), “Making Industry Sustainable” (Hogeschool Rotterdam [HRotterdam]), “Innovative Testing in Life Sciences & Chemistry” and “Circular Water” (both Hogeschool Utrecht [HUtrecht]) and affiliated knowledge centres (Centres of Expertise CHILL [affiliated to Zuyd] and HRTech, and Utrecht Science Park InnovationLab [ILab]).The combined CONNECT-expertise generates critical mass to facilitate process development of necessary energy-/material-efficient processes for the 2050 goals of the Knowledge and Innovation Agenda (KIA) Climate and Energy (mission C) using Chemical Key Technologies. CONNECT focuses on process development/chemical engineering. We will collaborate with SPRONG-groups centred on chemistry and other non-SPRONG initiatives.The CONNECT-consortium will generate a Learning Community of the core group (universities of applied science [UASs] and knowledge centres), companies (high-tech equipment, engineering and chemical end-users), secondary vocational training, universities, sustainability institutes and regional governments/network organizations that will facilitate research, demand articulation and professionalization of students and professionals.
The SPRONG-collaboration “Collective process development for an innovative chemical industry” (CONNECT) aims to accelerate the chemical industry’s climate/sustainability transition by process development of innovative chemical processes. The CONNECT SPRONG-group integrates the expertise of the research groups “Material Sciences” (Zuyd Hogeschool), “Making Industry Sustainable” (Hogeschool Rotterdam), “Innovative Testing in Life Sciences & Chemistry” and “Circular Water” (both Hogeschool Utrecht) and affiliated knowledge centres (Centres of Expertise CHILL [affiliated to Zuyd] and HRTech, and Utrecht Science Park InnovationLab). The combined CONNECT-expertise generates critical mass to facilitate process development of necessary energy-/material-efficient processes for the 2050 goals of the Knowledge and Innovation Agenda (KIA) Climate and Energy (mission C) using Chemical Key Technologies. CONNECT focuses on process development/chemical engineering. We will collaborate with SPRONG-groups centred on chemistry and other non-SPRONG initiatives. The CONNECT-consortium will generate a Learning Community of the core group (universities of applied science and knowledge centres), companies (high-tech equipment, engineering and chemical end-users), secondary vocational training, universities, sustainability institutes and regional network organizations that will facilitate research, demand articulation and professionalization of students and professionals. In the CONNECT-trajectory, four field labs will be integrated and strengthened with necessary coordination, organisation, expertise and equipment to facilitate chemical innovations to bridge the innovation valley-of-death between feasibility studies and high technology-readiness-level pilot plant infrastructure. The CONNECT-field labs will combine experimental and theoretical approaches to generate high-quality data that can be used for modelling and predict the impact of flow chemical technologies. The CONNECT-trajectory will optimize research quality systems (e.g. PDCA, data management, impact). At the end of the CONNECT-trajectory, the SPRONG-group will have become the process development/chemical engineering SPRONG-group in the Netherlands. We can then meaningfully contribute to further integrate the (inter)national research ecosystem to valorise innovative chemical processes for the KIA Climate and Energy.
Design, Design Thinking, and Co-design have gained global recognition as powerful approaches for innovation and transformation. These methodologies foster stakeholder engagement, empathy, and collective sense-making, and are increasingly applied to tackle complex societal and institutional challenges. However, despite their collaborative potential, many initiatives encounter resistance, participation fatigue, or only result in superficial change. A key reason lies in the overlooked undercurrent—the hidden systemic dynamics that shape transitions. This one-year exploratory research project, initiated by the Expertise Network Systemic Co-design (ESC), aims to make systemic work accessible to creative professionals and companies working in social and transition design. It focuses on the development of a Toolkit for Systemic Work, enabling professionals to recognize underlying patterns, power structures, and behavioral dynamics that can block or accelerate innovation. The research builds on the shared learning agenda of the ESC network, which brings together universities of applied sciences, design practitioners, and organizations such as the Design Thinkers Group, Mindpact, and Vonken van Vernieuwing. By integrating systemic insights—drawing from fields like systemic therapy, constellation work, and behavioral sciences—into co-design practices, the project strengthens the capacity to not only design solutions but also navigate the forces that shape sustainable change. The central research question is: How can we make systemic work accessible to creative professionals, to support its application in social and transition design? Through the development and testing of practical tools and methods, this project bridges the gap between academic insights and the concrete needs of practitioners. It contributes to the professionalization of design for social innovation by embedding systemic awareness and collective learning into design processes, offering a foundation for deeper impact in societal transitions.
