ERIC Number: EJ1081348
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1559-0151
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Innovation Labs: A Professional Approach to Honors
Bormans, Ron
Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council, v16 n2 p113-119 Fall-Win 2015
Honors education at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (RUAS) focuses on students who are willing to invest more in their study than the average student. Selection criteria are the students' willingness to develop beyond what is offered in the regular curriculum and are not based on previous accomplishments. The additional challenge of the honors program lies in its multidisciplinary teamwork. Students say that the program teaches them to appreciate different perspectives on issues and to integrate these with their own perspectives (Lappia, Weerheijm, Pilot, and Van Eijl). Honors students are stimulated to get the best out of themselves and to develop themselves as junior innovative professionals. The desired learning outcomes of the RUAS honors programs are five competencies included in their profile, "Learning to Innovate," which describe an excellent professional as one who can: (1) focus on innovation (innovation-driven); (2) focus on the context in which (s)he works (demand-driven); (3) work closely with important disciplines in this context (cooperatively multidisciplinary); (4) arrive jointly at a solution to an issue, provide arguments in favor of the solution, and share ideas (co-creative in knowledge generation); and (5) manage his or her own development (capable of interactive learning). These competencies focus on the student's individual development as an innovative professional and provide emphasis on the student's intended profession. This article provides a first-hand perspective from Boo Van Der Vlist, offering one student's views on her honors experience and demonstrating how the RUAS program is on the right path.
Descriptors: Honors Curriculum, Educational Practices, Innovation, Competency Based Education, Student Experience, Student Development, Relevance (Education), Educational Environment, Interdisciplinary Approach, Intervention, College Programs, Foreign Countries
National Collegiate Honors Council. 1100 Neihardt Residence Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 540 North 16th Street, Lincoln, NE 68588. Tel: 402-472-9150; Fax: 402-472-9152; e-mail: nchc@unl.edu; Web site: http://nchchonors.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Netherlands
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A