Academy

We believe that giving students a great education will prepare them for a brighter future. That is why we spend time getting to know them and building a safe space for them to work in, an environment that feels like home.

We are designers and coaches firmly rooted in our respective fields of work. In collaboration with teachers, graduates and educational experts, we tailor learning experiences with content that is most relevant for our students.

Together with the teachers, we determine the curriculum and design the ultimate environment in which students can learn and grow into creative professionals. We are helping to build the fundament of a new world by educating today’s students to deal with tomorrow’s challenges by working with cases that are both relevant and urgent.

What can your organization expect from a collaboration with Fundamentals Academy?

We offer three different types of collaboration, tailored to your organisation's needs. Feel free to reach out to us to further explore what best fits your quest.

1. Visiting lecturer - Bring us in

Would you like to strengthen your educational program with a fresh and professional outsider’s perspective? We represent a large variety of professionals from the work field, that we can introduce to your students. We believe it’s best to do this for at least 2 or 3 workshops, so we can also get to know the students and support them in applying the tools we offer.

Lena as a lecturer guiding a workshop with the client.

Presenting all the insights the student came up with.

2. Partnership - Co-create your vision

In a partnership we co-design the most suitable form of education together in order to get most out of both your teaching staff and our work field professionals. Since all parties step into their own strength, this is where the magic happens: teachers are given the opportunity to focus on educating, whilst designers offer the designers perspective on the case. We co-design the program and create an effective partnership, but you will still be in the lead of the program.

3. Turnkey - Full-service program

If you would prefer us to take the reins of the entire project, then we suggest requesting a turnkey project. In these projects we organise everything from start to finish. From coaches to clients and from locations to working methods: Fundamentals is an experienced partner in fully organising and executing educational design projects. As a client, you will be completely unburdened in turnkey projects.

Students discussing their new found research to come up with a new concept.

Our educational approach

As experienced educational developers, we incorporate these five elements in everything we do:

We offer coaching by professionals from the field

We work often with actual clients from our network

We focus strongly on personal growth

We work on building safe spaces together with our participants

What people say

"Fundamentals is one of my main sources of inspiration each year. It’s really important that students of vocational education and training (MBO) develop skills in creative thinking, but their standard curriculum lacks any focus on this. Anything goes during the Fundamentals ‘challenge week’: It’s a kind of Pippi Longstocking atmosphere where nothing is considered strange. My students often comment on how fun they thought it was and how different from their normal school experience."

Charlotte Verhagen

Nursing teacher at MBO Utrecht

"The network I developed during the Designer’s Identity program is invaluable. Thanks to my new connections I was given all sorts of opportunities and useful advice for my future. Almost everyone in my team has remained involved with Fundamentals, for example by working as a coach. We still see each other regularly. One thing always leads to another."

Anne Zeegers

Anne Zeegers, a former participant in the Designer’s Identity program

“The great thing about Fundamentals is that you get to deal with real clients and become involved in every aspect of the design process. For young professionals, this is the perfect steppingstone from school to a job.”

Jasper van 't Wel

Jasper van ’t Wel, a former student in the Co-Design Studio minor program