ÀÖÓãºǫ́

On Thursday 6 March, ÀÖÓãºǫ́'s annual education event took place: the OnderwijsFestival. Over 500 visitors from across the ÀÖÓãºǫ́ education community came together in the Academiegebouw to exchange ideas and knowledge on quality and developments in education.

The number of visitors far exceeded the initial number of registrations, leading to some organisational puzzles and long queues at lunch. The education community evidently has a great need for a day like this where education is celebrated together.

With a wide range of sessions, this sun-drenched day allowed participants to exchange extensively, meet each other and, above all, inspire. The evaluation showed that many participants really enjoyed meeting new colleagues to exchange with during the festival. They also indicated that it is a day that allows you to take a break from your daily business to celebrate the education we work so hard on as a community.

Inspiring programme

This year, there is an overarching theme: the personal and professional development of students and staff at ÀÖÓãºǫ́. For example, several sessions focusing on valuable forms of conversation and perspective-taking, on how development can be woven into study programmes and on tools to support reflecting on yourself took place.

There was also room for surprising sessions such as the creative workshop ‘’, where participants learned how to use drawings to enhance their teaching, or the session ‘, which took a technical journey through time; how have past innovations shaped education? There were also a number of game workshops, such as ‘, focused on perspective-taking, and ‘, which focused on transdisciplinary collaboration. The programme also included space for sessions focused on research into one's own teaching. For example, there was a Q&A session on education, research and educational research at ÀÖÓãºǫ́ and a poster session where several lecturers presented their scientific research on their own teaching. The abstracts of these projects have been compiled in an abstract book.

The , where various interactive education initiatives were presented, also provided plenty of opportunity to get inspired. For instance, participants could immerse themselves in various virtual learning environments with Virtual Reality glasses, try 3D printing at Lili's Proto Lab, engage in conversation with the teacher community T@ÀÖÓãºǫ́, learn more about various innovation tools and get a sneak peek at the Brightspace Escape Room Illuminate.

The diverse offer gave every visitor the chance to gain knowledge around a topic relevant to them, directly applicable in their educational practice. The day was therefore perceived as inspiring and visitors shared a great sense of connection and belonging by coming together with so many like-minded people with a heart for education.

It is a heartwarming celebration for the education community.

Award ceremonies

This year, there was a special focus on the Teacher Awards, which mark 30 years of existence. This included a where three former winners discussed developments in education over the past 3 decades and how the role of teacher has changed. And, of course, it was announced who won this year's coveted Teacher Awards. Lennart de Groot won the Outstanding Teacher of the Year prize and Alissa Kotowski went home with the Teacher Talent of the Year prize.

The ÀÖÓãºǫ́ Team Award for Education was also awarded. This year, team Summer School Digital Art History was awarded the prize. In this interdisciplinary education and research project, students, lecturers and external partners worked together on digitisation and art history research. This prize rewards this special initiative, which has had a major impact on our education, as well as recognising the value of working together as a team.

In short, it was a vibrant day, with plenty of opportunities to gain new knowledge, meet colleagues and celebrate education at ÀÖÓãºǫ́. The 34th edition of the OnderwijsFestival will take place in March 2026.

Curious about the atmosphere? !