Engineering experts for technasium students wanted!

Engineering expert for technasia pupils: something for you?

Technasia are secondary schools where students ('Future-makers') prepare for an education in engineering. They do this with the subject Research & Design (O&O), in which pupils carry out technical projects. There are over 100 havo/vwo schools in the Netherlands with the Technasium designation, with a total of over 35,000 pupils following the R&D subject.

In the lower grades, a project is usually tackled in class and groups of 2 or 3 pupils all work on the same project. In upper school, groups work on their own unique project. For all these projects, a project assignment is drawn up together with a client, usually a company or authority. By solving the problem presented, pupils experience what working in engineering is like in practice.

Of course, it is useful if the pupils can submit technical questions to an expert during the course of the project. For example, about how to make a certain calculation or about the feasibility of a solution they came up with. Thanks to this expert, they experience what it is like to work in a technical profession. And who better to answer these questions than an engineer!

The technasia work with assignments in 7 STEM worlds:

1. Construction and Space
2. Design and Innovation
3. Energy and Sustainability
4. Health and Care
5. Information and Communication
6. Mobility and Transport
7. Water and Delta

The content of a project obviously depends on the client's question and on the way the school and the teacher involved interpret it, but in general, you help formulate the assignment and are available for questions during the project. For instance, by visiting the school one afternoon and answering questions or by making appointments with groups of pupils in the upper school. Contact is always through the teacher involved.

A project in junior grades has a lead time of 10-12 weeks (usually slightly longer in senior grades) and is always concluded with a presentation of the result to the client. It is up to you, as the expert, whether you want to be present at the presentation by the students.

In total, a project at a technasium costs the expert 8-12 hours.

Would you like to take on such an expert role in a technasium project?

Let us know using the form below.

More information on Technasia: www.technasium.nl