I’m Ines Labarca, the new learning innovator at Impact at the Core. I'm originally from Santiago, Chile and I arrived to the Netherlands four years ago, to work in education at TU Delft. My background is in educational psychology and I have focused most of my professional career developing and supporting education in universities both in Chile and in the Netherlands. In my free time I enjoy long walks in nature, and I love to learn new things. I consider myself a lifelong learner, which is why I am now also studying a Masters in Sustainable Development at Sussex University.
What attracted you to Impact at the Core? What made you want to work as a Learning Innovator here?
I love education because I believe in its power to transform people and societies. One of my personal ambitions is to leave the world a little better than how I found it. To improve the way we humans relate to each other, how we relate to future generations and how we relate to other living beings and our environment. And there is so much work to do!
That’s why I was immediately attracted to working at Impact at the Core. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to combine my experience with education and the ambition to contribute to positive societal change. I think universities can be privileged spaces to promote this change, if only we dare to question the status quo.
What is your understanding of impact-driven education?
For me, impact-driven education is any type of education that directly and intentionally aims to bring about positive change to the world. And I’m saying ‘the world’ because I think it exceeds societal change but relates to improving our relationships with the natural world as well.
I think this type of education has two key components: On the one hand, it requires our students to have contact with the outside world and interact with different realities, and on the other hand, you need to provide spaces for students to reflect on how these learning experiences impact them, both personally and professionally. So, impact-driven education is not only about learning content and developing professional skills required for positive societal change. It also provides experiences that can influence how our students perceive the world, perceive themselves and perceive their place in the world.
In what way do you hope to contribute to impact-driven education for EUR students?
I’m looking forward to developing meaningful and transformative learning experiences that can help our students expand their worldviews and feel the need to commit to positive societal transformation. I would love to help develop education that can empower our students to believe in their potential to change things.
What gives you good energy?
I love getting inspiration from fresh creative minds that see things in new light. I also find passion incredibly contagious, so I get a lot of energy when working with passionate people that enjoy and believe in the value of their work.