Is your organisation facing a challenge or do you have certain ambitions? This almost always entails a change in working methods, and that does not always go smoothly. If you want to gain insight into possible solutions and approach them from a fresh, independent perspective, then a collaboration with the honours programme Process of Change may be of interest to you. Students look at change tasks with an innovative and open mind and bring new perspectives that are sometimes difficult to see in daily practice.
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What are honours programmes?
The honours programmes at the University of Twente (UT) offer outstanding and motivated Bachelor’s students from various fields of study the opportunity to develop both academically and socially. These programmes have a clearly distinctive profile: High Tech Human Touch. This means that technology, engineering and social sciences are consciously combined to respond to complex issues in practice and society in a thoughtful and innovative way.
One of these honours programmes is Processes of Change. In this programme, students not only learn what change entails, but above all how change actually comes about in organisations and systems. Change is examined at various levels: from society as a whole to the organisational level and the individual level. This layered approach is in line with the reality of innovation and reform, in which changes often take place simultaneously at multiple levels.
What value do we offer in accelerating your change?
Part of this honours programme is the course Consulting & Coaching. In this course, students work in groups of four on a concrete change or consultancy issue from practice. Under the academic supervision of university lecturers and with substantive input from experts in the consultancy field, they analyse your issue and explore possible interventions and change routes.
This process results in a fictitious quotation and project proposal: a clear and substantiated proposal for the desired change. This proposal provides insight into the issue, the approach and the intended steps. For you as an organisation, this provides a fresh, external perspective on your change task, translated into a concrete and applicable proposal. Students combine theory and practice, leading to new insights that can help accelerate and deepen your change process.
What do we ask of you?
- Draw up a case description (we can help with this).
- An online or live interview with the student groups on Wednesday 11 February 2026 or Monday 2 March 2026 during an evening lecture (6:15-8:00 p.m.) to gain a better understanding of the problem/challenge.
- Attend student presentations on Monday 30 March from 6:15-8:15 p.m.
- On 3 April, the students will submit their written “quotations” containing their plans for a change intervention to solve the problem/challenge (which will give you 4 to 5 proposals). These quotations will then be assessed by both of us, and a winning proposal will be chosen that best meets the needs.
- On Wednesday 1 April, we will ask you to provide feedback on the proposals and announce the winning proposal together with us. If desired, this can take place at your location.
- During the development period, students may (in consultation) approach some of your colleagues within your organisation to gather additional information to further develop their project proposal.
- If desired (when the proposal gives cause to do so and there is mutual interest), a group of students can also remain involved in the implementation of the advice. This can take place within the final course of the honours track and is comparable to the structure of a bachelor’s thesis project.
Which topics are eligible?
Various topics may be eligible. Some examples from previous years are:
- ‘How can we create more connection between central and decentralised departments?’
- ‘How can we put our challenging departmental strategy into practice?’
- ‘How can we further professionalise our volunteer policy?’
What are the benefits for you?
It may be useful to mention what you will not gain: namely, a ready-made solution to the problem you have outlined. The students are not yet experts. However, you will gain a fresh perspective on the problem you have outlined, which may lead to different approaches to tackling the problem. The report will consist of a comparison of the problem outlined with insights from the professional literature.
The working language of the project will be English.
If your company would like to know more or participate in this educational project, please contact Pam Huisintveld (p.huisintveld@novelt.com) or Tim Jongman (t.jongman@novelt.com).
