Reflective Engineer

Thanks EPFL for the wonderful conference SEFI - European Society for Engineering Education 2024. Sjoerd van Dommelen and Pleun Hermsen from Reflective Engineer gave a workshop on how to make a #CodeOfConduct a meaningful tool in educational practice. To really understand how to conduct yourself in, for example, a collaboration it is necessary to #reflect on what your personal norms and values are, what these are for your peers and how you - together - behave towards each other. When things are going well, and especially when things become more difficult. This is where abstract concepts as #reflection and #CodeOfConduct become tangible and actionable. Thanks İlke Ercan and Paula Hueso Espinosa for inspiration and co-creation.

Thanks İlke Ercan and @SeGQuRo for trusting us to facilitate an hour of reflective conversation and exercises in context of DEI. We were happy to see new perspectives spark and to meet your international quantum technology community! 

Workshop: Versterk de Community van Management Assistenten bij TU Delft Als management assistent ondersteun je onderwijs en onderzoek en ben je vaak het aanspreekpunt. Je volgt processen en afspraken en lost zelfstandig problemen op. Jouw werk varieert, en hoe je het kunt aanpakken is niet altijd direct duidelijk. Door een community te vormen kun je ruggespraak bij elkaar zoeken, kennis delen en leren van collega’s, zodat je niet telkens zelf het wiel hoeft uit te vinden. Dit is dus een waardevolle investering die je helpt bij uitdagingen. Een toegankelijke en vertrouwde community ontstaat niet vanzelf. In deze workshop onderzoeken we de eigenschappen van de communities die je kent en welke eigenschappen je kunt gebruiken om de community voor management assistenten te versterken. Deze workshop vindt plaats in het kader van de ZieSOmer georganiseerd door onze eigen programma assistante Claudia K.. Het wordt een dag vol inspiratie met en voor alle management assistenten van de TU. Werk je bij de TU Delft als management assistent? Doe mee en investeer in jouw professionele netwerk! Aanmelden kan via MS Teams link hieronder. https://lnkd.in/enFzV5ka #ZieSO #CommunityBuilding #ManagementAssistent #ReflectiveEngineer #TUDelft #Workshop #ProfessionalDevelopment

Community Workshop at Tribe Session by the Study Climate Program. Do we share a sense of community with the people that we work with, similar to how we do with for example friends or the people with who we share hobbies? And could the things that we value about our personal communities be beneficial within our working environment? To help explore that question, we facilitated our Community Workshop at the so-called Tribe Session by the TU Delft Study Climate Program. An example that inspired us for this workshop is a canoe club. There seems to be a synergy among the canoeists to coordinate the materials on departure and on return, and to tidy up after using the club house. But in the shared kitchen at work, for example, we rarely see that kind of behaviour regarding the dishes. What if this canoe club synergy would be taken to the shared kitchen at work? The next few days we set that idea in motion, by regularly filling the dishwasher in this shared kitchen, especially when other people were around. A few days later, a colleague who saw this, started doing the same. A sense of shared responsibility was initiated.  In our workshop participants first mapped their personal communities and then defined what kind of interactions within this community they value. Then they explored how this value could transfer to the context of work and how that could help move forward their TU Delft community(ies). At the end of the workshop, participants defined a (small) thing they could do `the next day’ to have that value become part of their communities of practice.  It was lovely to see how participants shared, inspiring each other and creating a rippling effect to bring a bit more of their best selves into their communities of practice. Recently we learned that the workshop led to the initiation of a Whatsapp group in one of the departments of the participants. It’s a small thing that can grow into something great.  

Danielle Rietdijk from the Teaching Academy invited us to bring a masterclass in reflection to our colleagues that are (relatively) new to their teaching role in Delft. A mixed group of PhD’s, assistant professors, postdocs and lecturers attended. Their personal objectives were to reflect on their own teaching and on the interaction with students, and to take home reflective tools to use in class. After exploring the broadness of the concept of ‘reflection’, teachers connected and reflected on their teaching with help of dilemma cards.  With support from our domains of reflection, the participants navigated the future reflection challenges. Through exampling some of our interventions, we explained how we embody meaningful reflection in education, and discussed our learnings from our experiences. We concluded with our Perspective Workshop, in this instance tailored to the topic of interaction with students. We look forward to assisting the participants on their challenges in designing reflective education! 

What a cozy Campfire Talk! It is lovely to see our boards lying around the beautiful living room of Exhale, but most importantly... rounded by students who dare to explore their issues! It is wonderful to see how the Campfire Talk is being used across the campus. Thank you Albaraa Khalil for your support of the game, and for putting together once more such a wonderful event with Kerrin Banz. Of course, thank you Lotte van der Horst for facilitating the gameplay that night! The new and last version of the game is almost ready, and we will do something special to celebrate it! Curious to know more? We will keep you posted! 🔥

Bittersweet goodbye to Lotte, one of our wonderful student assistants! Last week, in our weekly team meeting, we came together to bid adieu to Lotte van der Horst and wish her luck in her new adventure in Italian lands.  Lotte has been a part of the Reflective Engineer team since August and has contributed to our projects in many ways: offering her invaluable student perspective, assisting in co-creating reflective exercises, facilitating Campfire Talks, and analysing some of our workshops, to name a few. We are grateful for these months together and wish you the best for this phase full of learning and self-discovery. You will be missed Lotte! 

Bringing the Perspective Workshop to the Minor Connected Creativity The Reflective Engineer Team collaborated with Milene Gonçalves to introduce the Perspective Workshop to a student context, in this case the minor of Connected Creativity. This workshop provides students with an opportunity to broaden their perspectives and learn about (the hurdles in) their own dominant creative mindsets. We observed that many students were eager to dive straight into work without overthinking, while during the workshop they were very reflective. For creativity and learning something new, this attitude is a great starting point. During the workshop evaluation, one student shared an insight from her experience. She expressed how exploring the perspective of Pippi Longstocking was a confronting yet enlightening experience for her. She quoted the insight that was inspired by this character: "I've never done it, so I think I can do it." This mentality of embracing new challenges was something she felt was lacking in her own creative journey. Our team is excited about the prospect of experimenting further with this workshop in a student environment, next to continuing to run the workshop in a staff context. We want to thank Milene for the opportunity and anticipate joining the Connected Creativity minor again next year, to continue developing student’s creative confidence and encouraging students to explore diverse perspectives in their work.  Get in touch with us if you are interested in introducing this workshop within your class, context and topic. #Reflection #TransformativeEducation #InnovationCommunity #Perspective

Exploring the TU/e Innovation Space: Eindhoven's makers and learners hub Last Tuesday, our team had the chance to visit Technische Universiteit Eindhoven Innovation Space. The visit provided a unique opportunity to connect with people who share our passion for innovation in education: Ana, Eugenio, Chantal, Sabine, Isolde and Chiara are some of the people behind the InnoSpace, a place where learning and innovation can coexist. It was really inspiring to see how they are successful in creating synergy between these two through Challenge-Based Learning. Connecting with like-minded people also reinforced the idea that we are not alone in our quest for a common goal: Their dedication to making transformative change in education resonated with our own mission. And of course, such an ambitious goal, comes with resistance and challenges. It was helpful for us to listen and share our experiences when it comes to driving innovation forward in engineering education, especially when it requires a change of mindset.  Our heartfelt gratitude goes to the TU Eindhoven community for making us feel at home. The warmth and hospitality during our visit only strengthened our belief in the power of collaborative innovation. #Reflection #CollaborativeInnovation #ChallengeBasedLearning #TransformativeEducation #InnovationCommunity

This documentary, initiated by Kees Klomp, resonates with us, as it reflects the challenges our program aims to address. The realization of the “Betekeniseconomie” (Purpose Economy) in education is a real accomplishment which we want to support and celebrate.