Stimulating Educational Innovation - Lessons from the University of Utrecht

Which approach fits best when implementing change in university teaching?
How do we know if we improve the quality of our education by using technology?

The Librarian and College Archivist of Trinity College Dublin, Helen Shenton, invites you to a presentation delivered by Jan Haarhuis University of Utrecht (UU), who will discuss UU’s strategy for education innovation and how they have implemented the Educate-it programme.

The UU educational model is one of engaged learning which aims to stimulate students to be responsible for their own personal development and academic progress.

In order to create their vision for education and IT, the university implemented a cultural change programme with specific emphasis on quality and research. To find out which implementation strategy was best and in order to measure the effects of innovations with blended learning, the Educate-it programme team collaborated with colleagues in the university’s School of Governance, School of Education and School of Social and Behavioural Sciences.

What to expect from this talk

• Explanation of the ‘why, what and how’ of the Educate-it programme

• Results of the implementation of educational innovation so far and how this is being scaled up

• Best practice and collaboration in longitudinal research of educational innovation programmes

Audience Participation

If you have a question you would like Jan to address as part of his talk, please email: library@tcd.ie with the subject heading ‘The Librarian Presents’.

Speaker Biography

Jan Haarhuis is an educationalist and since 2014, the programme manager of Educate-it at the University of Utrecht. In 2005 he became Head of the Department of Education and Student Affairs. From 2009 until 2013 he was responsible for the implementation of a new three year Masters programme in Veterinary Medicine, part of which included the implementation of programmatic/longitudinal assessment.

In 2016, Jan received the ‘change maker’ award in the ICT and Education Professionals category in the Netherlands’ SURF education awards.

Jan is the Chair of the Digital Education Group of the League of European Research Intensive Universities (LERU), which brings together experts from across the LERU network to focus on e assessment, academic development, e certificate open source programmes and collaborative research. The group is organising a blended ‘Digital Higher Education Summit’ in November 2018.

‘The Librarian presents’ is an occasional series of talks by thought-provoking speakers curated by the Librarian and College Archivist of Trinity College Dublin, Helen Shenton.