Sector group Engineering and Built Environment makes digital educational resources available for mbo sector 

Why this is important

Educational institutions, companies and other partners create and share many educational resources in various systems, for example Xerte and Wikiwijs. How do we ensure that these are also easily findable by subject area? And how do we make optimal use of the national IT infrastructure, such as edusources and SURFsharekit? “That is what we are going to explore together in this pilot,” says Menno de Waal, leader of Npuls’ transformation hub Digital Educational Resources. “By cooperating efficiently in this as the mbo sector, we are more flexible and can respond quickly to new developments.”

Why the sector group is betting on this

The challenges facing the sector group – climate adaptation, circular economy and energy transition – demand speed, agility and customisation from mbo institutions and (training) companies. ‘With staff shortages, being able to quickly provide appropriate digital educational resources is the solution and a challenge at the same time,’ states Janny Martens, training manager at Talland College. “By participating in the pilot, the sector group not only helps the mbo sector, but also contributes to its own goals. Like cooperation on the action line ‘hybrid technology centres’ from the Attack Plan for Technology, an initiative of the industry organisations and unions.”

A portal tailored to Engineering and Built Environment

During this pilot, the sector group and Npuls are working together to develop a portal tailored to the demand and need from the mbo sector. The aim is to gain insight into how existing facilities can be used for this purpose. Also, the sector group and Npuls are developing a working method by which the mbo institutions and stakeholders involved can continue to share digital educational resources sustainably. As a result, teachers, instructors and developers will easily find, reuse and share the right digital educational resources.

Collaboration is key

In this project, it is not only the cooperation between mbo institutions (united in the sector group) and Npuls that is important, but also the cooperation with Kennisnet, publishers, content suppliers, training companies, O&O funds and the business community. The pilot will run from January to June 2025. The project team is working on the technical and functional requirements of the portal. The team is also developing agreements on how to properly use and sustainably maintain the portal.

More information

For questions and more information about the pilot, please contact project leader Nadine van Houten nadine.vanhouten@npuls.nl or Menno de Waal m.dewaal@graafschapcollege.nl, leader of transformation hub Digital Learning Resources at Npuls.

*The sector group Engineering and Built Environment is one of the nine industry groups of the MBO Council. In this industry group, all mbo institutions and vocational colleges are represented that offer courses focused on construction, infra and protection techniques, installation, metal and electrical engineering, wood and furniture and process, operational and laboratory engineering.