Commissioned by the Utrecht Challenge Alliance, we are responsible for the organization and coaching during the Sustainable Campus Challenge, both in the 2020 and 2021 edition. During this challenge week, 100+ students from Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht University, and ROC Midden Nederland (practical university) came together for a week of fast-paced human centred research on how to make the Utrecht Science Park more sustainable and healthy.
The students, from all kinds off studies, worked on this issue for various clients. Clients such as SSH Student Housing, the Prinses Máxima Centre, and the Province of Utrecht. In five days they took on a pressure cooker: they researched the challenge and designed solutions, in cooperation with their target group and stakeholders.
As Fundamentals we organized and supervised the week with over 50 of our coaches from the workfield. We provide coaches with experience in the various themes that students work on, including themes such as vitality, mental health and circularity. During the week we guided the human-centered design process, in a coaching role, but also as a link between client, stakeholder and student. For example, we facilitated the transfer of the results that came out of the challenge week by deploying curators. In this way, no valuable insights were lost in the overwhelming process.
After the challenge week, promising concepts were further developed. This process often took at least a few months, and happened during specializations, minors and internships, among others. In this way, a challenge week is a kick-off of a longer process of open innovation.
