Testimonials

Master student, TU/e Contest participant and member of team HART

My name is Ivy van Dongen, and I am a first-year Master's student studying Industrial Design at TU/e. I came across TU/e innovation Space during my bachelor's degree when I participated in the TU/e Contest with the concept, HEXO. Although my team didn't win, the experience was an absolute blast! We had the opportunity to learn from and speak with partners, develop business models, and discover how to turn our idea into a marketable product. The entrepreneurial insights I gained from this experience were something I missed during my regular bachelor's program.

While reflecting on the great experiences I had with the Challenge-Based Learning approach of TU/e Innovation Space during the TU/e contest, I decided to join a student team in September as an additional challenge alongside my Master's studies. There were many interesting teams to choose from, but I ultimately selected Team HART as they were working in a domain (Human Augmentation) that was new to me, making it even more intriguing. The team is relatively small but really multidisciplinary team with students that are driven to reach beyond regular human senses to become more than human and achieve freedom of experience.

Since then, I've had the opportunity to do many exciting things, such as exhibiting at the Dutch Design Week, a bucket list item for many designers. However, the most intriguing aspect of

student teams is the dynamic in which each member brings particular skills or knowledge to the table, stemming from their studies at TU/e or other experiences, while also learning equally from others. During the past few months, I've learned both soft and hard skills that have already had a significant positive impact on my study/work projects and professional skills, while simultaneously achieving milestones with our team.

Master student, Student Assistant and TU/e Contest Participant

My name is Vijay Vivekanandan and I study MSc. Automotive Technology at TU/e. I initially came across innovation space during my application stages, and the concept of Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) was something that immediately caught my attention. I was really curious to explore the concept of CBL, and my first interaction was during the Master Kick-Off challenge day. I took part in one of the many themed inter-disciplinary challenges arranged, and our team went on to win in the category! The whole experience of brainstorming, ideating, defining, and pitching an idea to solve a real-world problem, as an interdisciplinary team, was very interesting and unique. 

With that being the starting point, I went on to attend multiple workshops that happen in TU/e innovation space constantly, such as ideation, pitching and problem definition. TU/e innovation Space is actually a place that really resonates and lives up to its name. The moment you walk in, you just get so inspired seeing everyone working ambitiously with so much enthusiasm – be it people working in the prototyping facilities, student teams, students and coaches in a CBL activity or a group of students just getting started on an idea!

The whole ecosystem is so vibrant and ambitious, and hence, when I got an opportunity to join as a Student Assistant in TU/e innovation space, I took it up with great excitement! The most unique thing about TU/e innovation space is that you are not bound by limits in terms of exploring an idea. If you have an idea and you are really motivated by it, you can get all the support from defining the idea to entrepreneurship. An even better thing is that you do not necessarily need to have an idea in the first place, as you get learning opportunities on how to identify problems and ideate. 

For example, the annually occurring TU/e Contest in TU/e innovation Space serves as a good launchpad whether you are in the ideation or prototyping phase, with many industrial partners who get on board as advisors and potential stakeholders. Fun fact is that I’ve registered for the 2023 TU/e Contest edition in the ideation phase, just to explore how viable and feasible my idea could be in the eyes of experienced entrepreneurs and coaches.

In summary, if you have a go-get attitude and an entrepreneurial spirit, it is all that you need to get started at TU/e innovation space, to create real-world impact with your ideas!