Eshita, a psychology student, enthusiastically jumped into the minor "Positive Behavioural Change in the Digital Age." She was drawn to the unique combination of classroom learning and real-world application. "I chose this minor was because the idea of teaming up with a societal partner to tackle problems using a digital intervention strategy sounded pretty exciting," Eshita shares. This innovative minor involves students directly in addressing actual challenges, encouraging collaboration with community members and other important groups. Dr. Chiara de Jong, who coordinates the minor, is thrilled with the results: "Seeing students like Eshita apply their classroom knowledge to real-world issues for our community partners has been amazing."
The opportunities of digital media
The minor encourages students to address a behavioural issue provided by a societal partner and create an effective solution using behavioural and communication strategies in combination with digital technology. Eshita was drawn to the digital media aspect, stating, "I was drawn to how much this minor focuses on digital media. Using technology is so important today. I saw this as a chance to really explore how the digital world can help us change behavior for the better."
Addressing societal challenges
Students work with societal partners in the minor to develop digital behaviour change interventions. This year 38 students worked with six partners, such as Quardin, Gemeente Rotterdam, and Maasstad Hospital, to inspire and empower people to adopt and sustain happy, healthy, prosocial, and sustainable lifestyles. Eshita and her team partnered with Zorgzaam010.nl, an online platform for volunteer work. Their challenge was encouraging youth aged 18-25 to volunteer at nursing homes. The solution? An innovative Instagram campaign, co-created with stakeholders including the target group and Zorgzaam010.nl. “Their solution showed how valuable it can be to build an intervention on theory and effective behavior change techniques, but also on insights from important stakeholders. This will make the intervention way more effective and impactful”, Chiara said when asked about Eshita’s solution.
Applying theoretical models in practice
Chiara talks about what makes this minor special: "This minor is different because it lets students use what they’ve learned in class and their own ideas to work on an issue they care about. This helps them understand and remember what they've learned, and more importantly, it makes learning more fun and meaningful." Eshita reflects on her team experience: "The collaboration with the students in my team was really good. Everyone was super interested and involved. The interaction with the organization was also very frequent and effective."
Preparing for the next cohort
As they get ready to welcome new students from all kinds of study areas in September, Chiara talks about what kind of students they're looking for: “We really want students from different backgrounds because having many points of view is key to solving behavioural challenges. We're open to anyone who wants to make a positive difference in people’s lives.” Eshita gives advice to future students: "Be open to changing your ideas as you go. This will lead to better and longer-lasting results. If you're into consultancy, this minor is really useful because it teaches many important skills for that field."
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The minor Positive behavioural change in the digital age is a collaboration between several research labs (Movez, BRICS and Love Lab) and the Erasmus Verbindt student initiative. The minor teaches students to combine behavioural and communication strategies with digital media.
Interested in the results or curious whether students can also get started with an issue of your organisation? Get in touch via minor.posbehavior@essb.eur.nl.
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