Earlier this year, the Network Institute published an open call for outreach initiatives with the aim of helping researchers connect with societal partners. As reported by the VU here, Organizational scientist Yvette Taminiau and Wende Wallert, art curator at VU ART SCIENCE gallery have been awarded the grant associated with this open call. The duo will investigate how the VU and the Gerrit Rietveld Academie could collaborate more often in the fields of science, education, art and exhibitions. The Gerrit Rietveld Academie, the college of fine arts and design, is only 1.8 kilometres apart from the VU. It raised the question whether the two should reinforce each other more often.

“It is expected that 65% of children who enter primary school will end up working in jobs that do not exist today.”

Importance of creativity and imagination
According to the World Economic Forum, students need more than traditional academic learning to thrive in the 21st century. For example, they must be trained in collaboration-, communication-, and problem solving skills, which are developed through social and emotional learning (SEL). Combined with traditional skills, like social and emotional competences, it will equip students to succeed in the rapidly developing digital economy. “It is expected that 65% of children entering primary school will end up working in jobs that do not exist today, putting creativity, initiative and adaptability first,” according to the World Economic Forum.

Brainstorming sessions
The findings of the World Academic Forum are closely related to lifelong learning skills that form the base of the VU Centre of Teaching and Learning and the general VU policy. To increase the creativity and collaboration skills of VU students and to eventually bring art students into contact with the academic world, various brainstorming sessions will be held.

With the use of a visual map it will be made clear which institutional contacts already exist between VU and the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. For example, there is already a collaboration between the UvA, HvA, VU and the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in the form of the research platform Arias and there is also an existing partnership for the Hybrid Forms Lab. The goal is to describe learning objectives and research projects and to develop concrete ideas in order to achieve more structural cooperation between both institutes in the long term.

Many thanks to Yvette for describing this project in detail.