Today, thirty first-year Erasmus University College students were introduced to the Foundation Walking & Talking, their partner during the Basestone Research & Writing Project. These students will work on research questions around the impact and growth opportunities of this social partner. This is how we make social impact within our education!
Impact at the Core is proud that our knowledge brokers were able to make the connection between this course and this great initiative. Do you also want to collaborate with social partners in your profession, but don't know where to start? André Hendrikse and Moon Fung Fong are happy to help you.
The impact of our education
EUR strives to have a positive social impact, in close consultation and collaboration with its environment. Thus, is written in the definition document 'Defining social impact at EUR. A common framework for our impact strategy'. To increase the 'impact capacity' of our students, we bring social stakeholders and the challenges they face into our education. In this way, we want to make our students aware of the role they can play in social issues.
This is exactly what happens during the EUC course "Basestone Research & Writing Project" taught to first-year Liberal Arts & Sciences students. This course is the culmination of the first-year skills line and revolves around conducting a small-scale research project on a pressing social challenge. These issues are brought in by, among others, social partners from the city. Impact at the Core knowledge broker André Hendrikse helped EUC and skills coordinator Jop Dispa find a social partner with the potential to commit to the course for several years. A valuable collaboration that will mean a lot to both students and social partner Foundation Walking & Talking.
Foundation Walking & Talking
Making an impact doesn't have to be complex. Sometimes it can be done simply by walking and talking. The foundation's mission is to make non-native speakers (status holders, expats, family migrants) feel at home in the Netherlands by speaking the language. This is done by walking three times a week in groups and having one-on-one conversations in Dutch. During the walks, people from different backgrounds meet each other, mutual understanding is stimulated, and social bubbles are broken.
Walking & Talking Foundation would like to expand the project and increase their impact. These kinds of questions fit well with the EUC Basestone. André already had warm contacts with the foundation. He knows the initiators and regularly walks with them himself. After an exploratory conversation between EUC and Walking & Talking, there was mutual enthusiasm to enter this long-term cooperation. A great example of impact-driven education in practice!
Would you like to help your fellow townspeople improve their Dutch by engaging in conversation together? You can do so every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening. More information about Walking & Talking can be found here.
- More information
Impact at the Core is a central innovation program at Erasmus University Rotterdam that works on education within which students work together on solutions for societal problems. We do this by designing, strengthening and co-developing initiatives for so-called impact-driven education. By that, we mean education in which our positive contribution to society plays a central role.