Sam Riedijk, program director of the research master Genomics in Society, has received one of the two TU Delft Education Fellowships 2025-2027. Her project is part of the Healthy Start program of the Convergence.
“I feel honored to be trusted with the task of embedding transdisciplinary education in our Convergence initiative.”
The TU Delft Education Fellowship recognizes and appreciates the efforts of lecturers for educational innovation and boosts the impact on educational reform and development. Therefore, they award a two-year grant (€25,000 per year per fellow) to carry out a project on innovation in education1.
Healthy start
Within Healthy Start, Erasmus MC, TU Delft and Erasmus University Rotterdam collectively explore the early-life origins of disparities in health and wellbeing from a transdisciplinary perspective. This way they can identify early-life opportunities and co-create innovative preventive strategies that will lead to better health, wellbeing and participation for future generations2.
Transdisciplinary teaching programs
In line with the Healthy Start program, Sam's proposed project focuses on transdisciplinary teaching programs: ‘While the potential merits of transdisciplinary education are evident, currently, transdisciplinary teaching programs are scarce, and the organizational structures of universities are not ready for hosting transdisciplinary educational programs.’ With her fellowship, she aims to pilot a transdisciplinary education service; an architecture within the Convergence to develop and host transdisciplinary education and connect it to transdisciplinary research.
Sam: ‘This Fellowship furthermore focuses on the financial viability of the transdisciplinary educational service, as we recognize that financial independence is a prerequisite for being able to complement our transdisciplinary research as well as our more traditional educational programs with transdisciplinary education.’ This project works towards becoming one of the pillars of the Convergence, firmly placing education within the heart of where new knowledge is generated and needed.
Sources:
1. Education Fellowship (tudelft.nl)
2. Healthy Start - Convergence
