Learning happiness and innovation grow in the Learning Lab
On Thursday, May 25, Brainport Human Campus together with its partners Fontys Hogescholen Eindhoven, ROC ter AA, OMO Scholengroep Helmond and the Municipality of Helmond opened the Learning Lab. The Learning Lab is a unique collaboration in the Helmond-Eindhoven region between students, educational and governmental institutions and (social) organizations. With the main goals: grow the learning happiness of students and accelerate innovation in the field of people and work in the region.
Close the gap
Students are the professionals of the future. And especially in view of the approaching aging population, they are indispensable for the labor market. But the transition from studying to working is quite difficult for students. To close that gap, Brainport Human Campus, educational institutions Fontys Hogescholen Eindhoven, ROC Ter AA, OMO Scholengroep Helmond, the Municipality of Helmond, Brainport Development and VNO-NCW Brabant/Zeeland have joined forces. From this triple helix collaboration of government, education and business, the Learning Lab was created.
Win-win on multiple fronts
The Learning Lab is an incubator where students from VO, MBO and HBO work together on real assignments in the field of people and work that matter. In fact, these assignments come from a variety of organizations in the region. Ellen van Straalen of Fontys: "The Learning Lab is a real win-win situation. On the one hand, this construction offers students the opportunity to gain experience with all aspects of practice. They learn to cooperate with students of different levels, how to deal with clients and experience the structure of the work rhythm. On the other hand, organizations that put their assignments in the hands of the students often receive refreshing insights and solutions to their issues that they can actually move forward with."
Ambition for the future
There are currently about 50 students from the participating educational institutions affiliated with the Learning Lab and the ambition is to add a university as well, so that all levels of education are represented. "For the next 3 years, the ambition is to grow the Learning Lab into the innovation lab for People & Work in the region through further cooperation between education, the professional field and government around social issues and human development," says Jeroen Driessen, CEO of Driessen Groep. "In this way, we are jointly contributing to the scale leap needed in the region in which 'Happy Living, Learning and Working' go hand in hand with economic growth."