Co-learning in the innovation hub: a way to improve transdisciplinary partnerships

Introduction Challenge-based learning (CBL) distinguishes itself through active stakeholder engagement and its focus on tackling real-world, open-ended challenges. Unlike other active learning models, CBL involves students, educators, and stakeholders as co-learners (van den Beemt et al. 2023; Doulougeri et al., 2024). Typically, challenges are presented by a single stakeholder, often from industry, which can narrow the focus and limit alignment with grand societal challenges (van den Beemt & McCleod, 2021). Addressing multifaceted, complex societal challenges requires an integrative worldview (Giesenbauer & Müller-Christ, 2020). The perspectives and contribution of multiple, responsible stakeholders need to come together to ensure a systemic and comprehensive understanding of the issues at hand. In the effort to create more inter-stakeholder collaboration and co-learning, TU/e innovation Space supports and facilitates the development of "Thematic Communities". Thematic communities revolve around broad, societally relevant themes, such as Regenerative Resources and Responsible Mobility. Stakeholders from various sectors, research institutes, and societal organizations come together within the ecosystem of a given grand challenge. Students interested in the theme and working on the topic in a course, design-oriented research project, extra-curricular student team or entrepreneurial project join these thematic communities to work on the challenge and engage with the diverse stakeholders involved. This thematic approach provides valuable learning opportunities to students, particularly in navigating complex multi-stakeholder relationships. For stakeholders, the thematic community way of working calls for their participation in CBL education as co-learners, addressing grand societal challenges from a significantly different mindset compared to the more profit-oriented one that most industry partners have. Being part of a thematic community prompts stakeholders to reflect on their roles, challenging their organizational agendas and their impact on society and the ecosystem. To support this reflection and mindset shift, we developed the "Co-Learning in the Innovation Hub" workshop. Workshop Design The "Co-Learning in the Innovation Hub" workshop simulates the transition to multi-stakeholder, thematic communities within a CBL framework through innovative co-creation and dialogue methods, such as: deep democracy, a methodology to create a safe environment that encourages discourse and dissent within a diverse group holding opposing views and stakes (Mindell, 2002); organizational constellations as a system mapping technique to explore tensions and alignments among stakeholders and to enable systemic transformation (Scholtens et al., 2023; Giesenbauer & Müller-Christ, 2020); and role-playing, where participants immerse themselves in the perspectives and roles of different stakeholders (Visscher, 2024). The workshop is structured as follows: •10 minutes: a welcome moment in plenary, where participants follow the Deep Democracy's check-in protocol to introduce themselves and share what they bring into the room. •15 min: introduction to the thematic, grand challenges approach with multiple stakeholders, with examples from TU/e curricular education where this has been applied and sharing of key insights. This will include a Q&A moment for the attendees to ask questions. •20 min: interactive session where attendees engage in the "Co-Learning in the Innovation Hub" workshop through role playing. In this section of the workshop, the attendees are divided into small groups and within those groups they choose a role they want to impersonate for the workshop (e.g. industry partner, government, citizen, non-profit organization, educational organization, etc.). They are then assigned a thematic challenge (e.g. Regenerative resources, Smart Mobility, etc.) and they are facilitated through the creation of a systemic constellation around the given challenge. During the discussion, they are encouraged to share their stakes in the thematic challenge, from the perspective of the stakeholder they are roleplaying. By doing so, conflicting interests and perspectives will emerge, and the facilitator will support them to find a common ground. •10 min: A reflection moment, facilitated in plenary, where all attendees discuss their experiences, share key takeaways and give feedback on the approach. •5 min: A closing moment, before concluding the workshop, following the Deep Democracy's check-out approach, where all participants share how they are leaving the workshop. Participants and required knowledge The workshop is aimed at educational designers and teachers interested in (multi-) stakeholder challenges in CBL. The workshop requires no prior knowledge. Participants will be equipped with concrete tools to start or improve collaboration with external stakeholders in CBL education. Educational impact The intended outcome of this workshop is to disseminate our approach to transition from narrow, mono-stakeholder challenges in CBL to grand, thematic challenges with involvement of multiple stakeholders. Besides learning from our examples how this transition was experienced in our curricular education, experiencing this workshop equips participants with the tools to implement similar approaches in their own contexts. For TU/e innovation Space, this workshop is an opportunity to continuously improve our approach based on participant feedback and critical inquiry.