UOC & TU Delft: Sustainable and Future-Proof Education

University of Curaçao & TU Delft: United for Sustainable and Future-Proof Education

Last Monday, Dr. Stella van Rijn, Rector Magnificus of the University of Curaçao, paid an inspiring visit to TU Delft. The day was filled with open and constructive conversations between colleagues, project members from Even Groene Vrienden, collaborating partners, and students. Together, we reflected on shared ambitions and explored concrete steps toward more sustainable and future-oriented education.
One of the highlights was the progress made within our Sustainable Environments Curaçao Learning Community. Students presented their projects and engaged in valuable dialogue, sharing ideas and feedback. We also discussed how sustainability themes can be used to drive educational innovation across different contexts.

In addition to reviewing ongoing initiatives, exciting new projects were introduced. These included electric aviation in collaboration with MBO Amsterdam, sustainable healthcare, hydrogen innovation, the Plastic Bay project, and plans for an open-source knowledge platform. We also explored successful citizen science initiatives such as KIN’s project and the Dutch SustainaBul network.

Dr. Van Rijn emphasized the power of collaboration between our countries and expressed her commitment to actively contribute to the further development of Learning Communities. The visit also included a tour of the Dream Hall at TU Delft and the Beta Factory at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. And of course, there was a warm meeting with our Vice-Rector Magnificus, Hans Hellendoorn.

This visit laid a strong foundation for future collaboration. The University of Curaçao and TU Delft are excited to continue working together on pressing themes such as climate, health, and educational innovation, with students, educators, and researchers at the heart of this mission.