‘Durable Inspiration’: what does the new Vision on Education mean?

As Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, we are at the heart of society. Major societal issues place high demands on our future engineers for the built environment. To address these and guide educational innovations, a Vision on Education has been established. MaartenJan Hoekstra and Mieke Topsom explain what this vision entails and what it will mean for students and staff.

"When we both started in our roles three years ago, we noticed that the faculty lacked a vision on education," says Mieke Topsom, Head of Education and Student Affairs. "The overarching vision of TU Delft dated back to 2017, and we wanted to develop a vision specifically aimed at our faculty." Mieke explains that much has changed in education recently: "Didactics are constantly evolving. There is more focus on blended learning, and we want to do more with challenge-based learning, where students tackle real-world problems." MaartenJan Hoekstra, Director of Education, adds: "This is also reflected in the renewed Bachelor programme, starting in September. After ten years, some courses were no longer up-to-date, and the curriculum had become increasingly full. Therefore, we needed to create more room and actualize the content."

In addition to renewing the Bachelor programme, the first phase of the Master harmonisation will start next year. MaartenJan: "Society increasingly demands educated engineers in the architectural field. Therefore, we will design the Master’s programmes in such a way that students can more easily take courses from multiple tracks and programmes.” Mieke: “And there will be more flexibility to adjust the curriculum if there is a societal need for knowledge in a specific area.” Uncertainty is also part of it, according to MaartenJan: “In the past, learning objectives described exactly what a student needed to design, for example, a house. Now, it focuses on how to design. Since we don’t know the future challenges, we need to teach students to deal with uncertainty."

Widely supported Vision

With these kinds of educational innovations, a guideline in the form of an Educational Vision is essential. MaartenJan: "The Educational Vision is mainly a conversation document. It is a foundation for innovations and policy measures/guidelines and a tool to exchange ideas." The development of the vision was thorough, coinciding nicely with the work on the Bachelor renewal and Master harmonisation. Discussions were held with stakeholders inside and outside the faculty: from the management team and coordinators to students and study and practice associations. A focus group consisting of study advisors, professors, students, and academic counsellors delved into the challenges and needs of students and teachers. MaartenJan: "We aimed to gather as much input as possible from across the faculty."

Room for encounters

But what exactly does the vision entail? MaartenJan: "A central element in the vision is that our education is an 'inspiring encounter between teachers and students.' Creating an environment for these encounters is essential. We have full programmes with a high workload for both students and teachers. There needs to be space to reflect and make more choices. This also means that looking outward is important: we should not only focus on what happens within the faculty walls but also seek collaborations with other faculties and societal partners." Mieke adds that a lot of attention has been paid to the implementation of the vision: "We must ensure that the vision doesn't just end up in a drawer. Involving all those people in the writing process has already helped make the vision tangible. And we have included very concrete follow-up steps."

Four pillars

MaartenJan explains that the vision consists of four pillars. "The first pillar is about teaching and feedback. Often, we think of feedback on the student's work. But the student can also give feedback to the teacher; it’s a two-way street. We want to train both teachers and students in this." The second pillar is about learning and assessment. Here, too, there should be more room for change: "We want to future-proof our education content, using, among other things, the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, and, for example, encourage students to critically engage with Artificial Intelligence (AI)."

The third pillar concerns curriculum design. "We want to pay more attention to study workload and feasibility. Are the educational programmes manageable? Is there time to reflect on what you are doing and how you are developing? To facilitate this, we plan to schedule a Personal Development Week (POW) twice a year in the Bachelor programme. This was possible because we critically examined the course content and eliminated redundancies." Mieke: “We found that students highly value the freedom of choice and the Personal Development Weeks. We are exploring whether the POW can also be introduced in the Master's programmes."

Safety and Inclusion

Perhaps the most challenging pillar is the fourth: a respectful study culture. "A design never seems finished," says MaartenJan. "It is tempting to work through the nights and then give the final presentation with tired eyes. But that’s not healthy. That’s why we will build in more rest and set realistic deadlines. And we want to create an atmosphere where it is normal to make mistakes. Designing is, after all, experimenting." Such a culture change requires both students and teachers, Mieke believes: "It is just as important that teachers are open to this and are critical of their demands and expectations."

Culture is not only about workload but also about whether you feel at home. MaartenJan: “Our programmes have a diverse population with many international students and staff. But inclusion is not only about the people but also about the teaching material. In the past, we mostly covered Western male architects. This is shifting towards multiple perspectives. Not to check off a box of being inclusive, but because a design truly improves when you include multiple perspectives.”

So what next?

At the beginning of this year, the management team officially established the vision, which has already come to life through educational innovations. But the process continues. Mieke: "We have set up working groups and action plans to actively engage with the vision. An important first example is the Action Plan for Educational Quality. This means we aim to keep training our teachers with a varied offering of courses and workshops. We will also do more with course evaluations: in addition to student surveys, we will use teacher’s evaluations to genuinely improve courses." The working groups will include not only teachers and students but also educational experts. Mieke: "The Educational Advisory Team will play an important role in the implementation."

The Educational Vision is not a static document, but a dynamic compass for education that continues to evolve. MaartenJan: "It is essential to keep the conversation going and to ensure that everyone feels involved. For both staff and students: do you want to discuss it further or contribute? Please join in. If our education is an honest and respectful meeting between people, every conversation is valuable, even if you disagree on something."

More information

The Educational Vision ‘Durable Inspiration’ can be downloaded in Dutch and English.