For the past years I've been working as Lead of the Interaction Design progamm at HAN UAS. In the last 30 years all kinds of didactic concepts based on the constructivist paradigm have been put into practice. Although Competence-Based education and Problem-Based Learning are very common today we found that these approaches have their limitations in the present time when developments are rapid and solutions not readily available.

We wanted our learning environment to be able to handle these rapid developments. By taking a Design-Based Learning approach, all stakeholders involved get a chance to learn by working together. Through consequent assessments of learning outcomes, all stakeholders iterate on their learnings and get to specify their next learning needs and to define the steps to get there.

This required a new approach for my team who now takes more of a mentor-role and provides just-in-time Interaction Design knowledge and theory in the form of workshops, masterclasses and the occasional lecture.

Students are coached individualy based on their progress and interests. By working on real life projects for premiere companies and agencies they build up a formidible portfolio and professional network before they have even graduated. We coach and help our students based on their needs and interest and introduce them to the right agencies for internships and graduation assignments.

We strive to constantly evolve our definition of interaction design through the evolving nature of our curriculum. Through a 'learning by doing' philosophy and a people-oriented approach, we encourage participants to explore different topics before generating ideas. These concepts are then prototyped in a lab and workshop environment.

Through our holistic approach to education this program teaches fundamental skills, methods and tools related to digital product design, service design, design futures and design realities.

Within our educational model of the Interaction Design Profile, we aim to be relevant to both academia and industry and society. Through agency partnerships and industry focused projects, students are exposed to a wide variety of topics and real-world contexts. The central focuspoints in these projects revolve around questions of how digital product solutions and product thinking mindsets can help tackle current and foreseeable challenges.

Our semesters are developed in collaboration with the professional field and our workshops are built to give students a boost in your knowledge, skills, network, and career prospects. Based on the principle of human-centered design and prototyping, our we focus on designing real-world applications and developing strong professional skills. Participants work closely with fellow students, teachers and clients through a combination of lectures, exercises, master classes and short projects. Itlies within our ambition to generatie third-party-funding for our educationl programs.

Using an intensive curriculum, we train participants to identify opportunities and create new applications for technology - but more importantly, to humanize technology - by creating meaningful, pragmatic and socially relevant concepts. To this end, we promote a design process that is not only about solving problems, but above all about generating solutions that have a valuable impact. As a participant you will learn to apply technology in everyday life by designing for the 'near future'. In our projects we stimulate a speculative / conceptual way of thinking that is always grounded in reality.