The University of Twente (UT) has been awarded a EUR 2 million grant from the Lifelong Development (LLO) Catalyser programme of the National Growth Fund. The grant will be used to enhance the development of UT lifelong learning support infrastructure. Available for a period of two years, the grant is aimed at further professionalising the University of Twente to develop demand-driven lifelong development solutions.
The grant will primarily benefit the Centre for Educational Support and the department Library, ICT services & Archive (LISA) which will work with several other service departments to create and enhance systems and processes designed to support lifelong development activities for the faculties. This support should enable lifelong learning to become an integral fourth pillar of the University of Twente, joining teaching, research and valorisation.
“As an entrepreneurial university, we actively partner with businesses to drive innovations in the technical as well as social domains. In order for these innovations to take root in practical applications, joint efforts are essential to build the expertise and skills of the individuals who will engage with them. This grant will enable us to elevate our professional standing as a provider of lifelong learning activities, ensuring that they are both cost-effective and aligned with demand. This will make it significantly easier and more appealing for UT employees to create modules or programmes, for example, in parallel with their research, thereby expanding the impact of their work”, says Prof. Maaike Endedijk, assistant professor of professional learning and technology.
The University of Twente recently launched various new initiatives related to lifelong learning. Last spring, for example, the DesignLab created its own ‘Academy’ and the ITC Faculty launched its own lifelong learning environment ‘Geoversity’. The Digital Design & Architecture course, which was developed by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science and the Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences, was also successfully launched recently.
LLO CATALYSER: A NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR LIFELONG LEARNING
The LLO Catalyser is a National Growth Fund programme to which a substantial budget, totalling hundreds of millions of euros, has been allocated. The aim is to assist professionals and businesses in effectively adapting to the evolving labour market and societal changes. Earlier this year, the University of Twente, together with Saxion University of Applied Sciences and ROC Twente, secured a EUR 2 million grant from this fund, aimed specifically at developing lifelong learning programmes for the energy transition.
