Redesign of the High-Tech Human Touch Minor From Idea to Prototype

My name is Kostas Nizamis and I am an engineer by profession. I experienced multiple educational programmes as a student (studied electrical and biomedical engineering) and also the educational systems of two countries (I studied for my first bachelor and master in Greece and for my second master in the Netherlands). Currently I teach mainly mechanical engineering students. My former experiences made me realize that teaching is an essential and also rewarding responsibility of any modern academic. Unfortunately, not realizing the weight of this responsibility can lead to many foreseen or unforeseen consequences for the society. Additionally, as I am myself juggling different disciplines, I firmly believe in the added value of multi-/inter-/trans-disciplinary education. I have noticed that research and education are some times treated as two parallel things that never meet, however my experience showed me that they are intertwined and in dire need of each other. If education wants to stay relevant it needs to stay close to research developments and if research wants to continue being successful, it needs to be fueled by competent individuals that followed a high-level education. Maintaining a high-level on both those components, a University ensures relevance, success and proper upbringing of the next generations. It is therefore not only a responsibility, but also a great honor to be an educator. I currently have the luck to be involved as a teacher to three University of Twente programmes and 2 High-Tech Human Touch (HTHT) minors that integrate all the current programmes at the University of Twente1. The HTHT minor From Idea to Prototype presented as a case study in this portfolio will attempt to highlight elements of interdisciplinarity and close collaboration between research and education as well as my personal vision on education and how that aligns with the current values of the University of Twente (UT). Besides teaching at the UT, I am also participating on the Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) working group as one of the first teachers applying CBL.