Make education fun, challenging and meaningful

Every year, the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies (IIS) organises the UvA Create a Course ChallengeExternal link, in which you as a student can think along with us about how teaching should be organised, what courses should be taught, the kinds of methods that should be used and the roles students and lecturers should play. 

This Challenge invites you as a student to step outside the box and think about how education can be fun, challenging and meaningful. 

Special Edition: Future Change 

The world is changing and so is education. The future demands innovative solutions to current challenges. Therefore, for this special edition of the challenge, the focus is on contributing to the changes our society needs. Change is a broad concept that can be considered from many different perspectives, such as technological, economic, ecological, political, social, psychological and philosophical change. When developing your course, think out of the box and across disciplines.

How does it work?

The Create a Course Challenge consists of four rounds. First, submit the first draft of your idea before 10 October.External link 

Then you'll have time to develop your course in more detail using our Action Plan, which you'll hand in before 1 November. Our curriculum developers will select the best ten ideas, and all UvA students and staff may once vote for their top three between 8 and 15 November.

The five students with the most votes will pitch their ideas during the live finale on November 23. That evening, the jury will choose one winner. Together with the curriculum experts of the IIS, the winner will immediately start working on further developing the course.  The winning course will be offered as an IIS elective to the entire UvA community next academic year. 

Curious about the winning course from a previous edition of the Create a Course Challenge? Read the interview with Wytze Walstra en Sacha Brons about their course 'Food Forestry: Experiencing the Future of Nature and Agriculture'External link

Do you have an original idea for a new UvA course? This is your chance to realise your vision on education. Submit the first draft of your idea before 10 OctoberExternal link.