Society faces major challenges such as poverty, housing, and climate change, to name just a few. To help countries worldwide address these issues sustainably, the United Nations formulated seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. Within ARC Research Center – the research center of the Creative Business domain at Inholland University of Applied Sciences – Philippa Collin conducted research on how to bring these goals to life. Her conviction: “Collaboration is the foundation for getting started on the SDGs. It is our task to teach students the language to talk about collaboration.”

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At the end of August, Philippa stepped down from her work at Inholland to enjoy early retirement. In recent years, she worked on projects focused on personal development in relation to sustainable change. She explored the question: how do you encourage students to actively contribute to a more sustainable world? Her research led to several meaningful projects, including two international collaborations: Games for Goals and the ESC-IDG Hub. In both projects, collaboration was central – not only as a means, but also as a goal in itself.

Games for Goals

In the Games for Goals project, four European universities of applied sciences from the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Portugal worked together with three NGOs to develop educational games designed to introduce primary school pupils to the SDG’s.

The collaboration took place through annual ‘mobilities’: intensive project weeks in which international student teams co-designed a game around a sustainability issue. In total, they developed three games , now translated into five languages and made freely available, along with an accompanying methodology on quality sustainability education.

An achievement to be proud of, but according to Philippa, the process was just as valuable as the product. “Students learned to collaborate in an international context, to uncover implicit cultural values, and to engage with different perspectives on learning, teaching, and motivation. Some partners from other countries, for example, viewed students primarily as producers of a final result, while at Inholland we aim to create space for personal growth and to nurture intrinsic motivation.”

These conversations about values led to something essential: “Students learned to reflect together, to align, and to make differences explicit and discussable. They learned to truly listen, to let go of assumptions, and to create something new together. They developed a shared working culture and a common language. That experience is at least as valuable as the game they created.”

ESC-IDG Hub

Many students – and lecturers as well – feel overwhelmed by the scale of societal issues such as climate change, social inequality, and the transition to a circular economy. They want to make a difference but often don’t know where to begin.

To address this, the IDG Hub was founded in collaboration with the Expertise Network for Systemic Co-Design: an interactive meeting space where research is conducted into people’s concerns and motivations for action. At the same time, the hub is a place where societal transitions and sustainability issues are addressed collectively and systemically, grounded in the Inner Development Goals (IDG’s).

Together with colleagues, Philippa developed a practical training program for students to explore these inner skills. The training consisted of a short introduction, followed by interactive exercises and reflection moments. The design was accessible, but the effect profound. “Students recognized themselves in the themes. They interacted with each other more openly, felt more connected to themselves, to others, and to the world around them. This created trust and a sense of agency.”

The ESC-IDG Hub applies a dynamic approach with the student at the centre. “The gap between knowing and doing is large. The IDGs help students bridge that gap, starting with themselves”, Philippa explains. “It’s not about knowing more, but about getting to know yourself better so that you dare to take action – based on your own values, within your own discipline.”

Collaboration as a force for change

What connects both projects is the understanding that sustainable collaboration does not emerge automatically. It requires awareness, language, practice, and the courage to move forward – even step by step. “By guiding students in their personal development and taking them seriously as partners in the learning process, we create space for genuine collaboration. And that collaboration is essential for sustainable development and for creating a world we want to live in”, says Philippa.

On 15 and 16 October, Inholland University of Applied Sciences, together with the other partners of the Center of Expertise Creative Innovation (CoE CI), is hosting the annual Society 5.0 Festival. This festival focuses on creating a human-centered digital society in which technology serves as a means to enhance the well-being of both people and the planet. This fourth edition is themed “Shaping Hybrid Realities” and will take place at The Social Hub Amsterdam City. Admission to the Society 5.0 Festival is free for Inholland students and staff: registrer via the CoE Ci website.

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Due to digitalisation, our lifeworld is becoming increasingly hybrid. The world as it appears to us – how we see it, understand it, and navigate it – is a blend of digital media technologies and physical environments. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and immersive experiences (IX) are set to deepen this fusion in the coming years.

This shift to hybrid realities has far-reaching implications for our everyday lives and our democratic society. How does this impact our shared sense of reality, mental well-being, relationships, and how we shape and experience public space?

At the Society 5.0 Festival, we explore new ways of working to shape a desirable future society. During this two-day festival – filled with workshops, performances, installations, and talks – creatives, researchers, citizens, technologists, educators, designers, students, and (policy)makers come together to access, generate, sense, and reclaim our hybrid future.

Find out more about the Society 5.0 Festival en register via the CoE Ci website to claim your free tickets.

“It was really an intensive week," agrees one of the Inholland students, as he walks on the fortieth floor of the Municipality’s office De Rotterdam to the corridor where the group photo is taken. After this, the group will make a cruise on the Maas and will have a last dinner together. Talking with a beer and recovering from a week of hard work is what this student will be doing.

Municipality receives international inspiration
It was indeed hard work for the participating students from various disciplines: management, architecture and urban design.  Prior to the field week in Rotterdam, they received five weeks of online lessons in for instance design thinking.

The floating designs had to meet the needs of both residents and entrepreneurs. In this way, the municipality received international inspiration for new destinations of harbours that lost their original function. The concept 'Floating Vibes' won the first prize for the best combination of design and business plan.

Lisanne de Bever, third-year Business Studies Management Studies
"If you had told me a week ago that I would be presenting in English, I wouldn't have believed you. I like presenting in Dutch, but in English it's really different. It was new for me to work with foreign students and it was a fun group. We connected well and kept focus on the goal. It is nice that you do not know each other at all at the beginning of the week and that you end up as good colleagues at the end.

I think it's important to connect with other cultures, because you will have to deal with them in your future life. The sooner you are exposed to other cultures, the easier it will be. In other words, participating in a BIP is a very good exercise to enter the real world."

Silpa Kinnunen - International Business from Finland
"I'm amazed and proud of how well I got through this week. The main reason to participate was to improve my English. I think my English has really improved this week. Moreover, I wanted to work with people from other countries, from other cultures and from other disciplines. I enjoyed getting to know new people and a new country.

What I noticed is that the other students talked so much while working on the project. In Finland we always work in silence. That was sometimes difficult, because I'm used to working very differently."

Jonah van den Beukel – third-year student Business Studies Management Studies
It was a lot of fun. This BIP was all about making friends and having fun together while developing a concept. Never before have I done such a project. Being creative was difficult. Because we had a big brainstorm session together, we succeeded. It helps that you are all working towards the same goal. Being at school every day, working hard every day: I'm going to miss that fun now it's over….

I recommend students to participate in a BIP, because you quickly make new friends. You will meet people you normally never meet, such as management students or architecture students from abroad. In short, I see it as a very positive experience."

What is a Blended Intensive Programme?
A Blended Intensive Programme is a programme that combines online and offline learning. Before the students started working together in Rotterdam, they worked together online in international teams to get prepared for their field work in Rotterdam. The partners in this BIP were recruited from Inholland’s large network of  international partners.

Marlies Springorum, internationalisation coordinator at Inholland and lecturer in Marketing, initiated this international programme, which receives financial support from ERASMUS+ from the EU. Abdul Kara, co-initiator at the Rotterdam campus, secured the cooperation of the municipality of Rotterdam as commissioners.

Marlies: "This programme is for students who do not necessarily want to go abroad for six months, but who do enjoy working together in an international context. This cross-cultural cooperation - online and offline - is also important for the EU. I think it's a great concept”.