After its first and second editions that saw the number of students double from 25 to 50, this year, a record-breaking 71 students enrolled. The course is now anchored in a true entrepreneurial pathway developed within the Circle U. InCU.bator platform.
Train the trainers
The journey started with a two-day workshop, called the “InCU.bator Coaching Lab” in Louvain-La-Neuve. 11 aspiring coaches, alumni of former editions of the Entrepreneurial Changemaking Course, were introduced into the secrets of team management and facilitation a problem- and project-based learning environment by their two head trainers, Viktoria Nagy (UCLouvain, Louvain Learning Lab) and Amélie Jacquemin (UCLouvain, Louvain School of Management).
The newly trained coaches will now put their pedagogical skills into practice within the Entrepreneurial Changemaking Course, where they’ll accompany student teams on their project-building journey.
Parallel to the students’ course, the coaches follow their own self-reflexive and -critical journey with the help of a weekly pedagogical logbook created by the two head trainers, which will allow them to receive their certificate as entrepreneurial coaches.
Their enthusiasm is motivating for us and shows just how important it is to create genuine learning paths within the multidisciplinary and intercultural space that is Circle U.!
- Amélie Jacquemin
“Adding a ‘train the trainers’ module upstream of each of our activities is a strong sign that our platform has reached a new level of maturity. We're professionalizing the pedagogical approach and student support, which is important when this support is entrusted to other students with very diverse backgrounds. This is also in sync with the idea of student empowerment,” says Viktoria Nagy.
Amélie Jacquemin adds: “We trained alumni from the first two cohorts of students who had taken the Change-makers course. They were very enthusiastic about the idea of participating in pedagogical training and returning to the course as coaches. Their enthusiasm is motivating for us and shows just how important it is to create genuine learning paths within the multidisciplinary and intercultural space that is Circle U.!” “Another milestone of the program is that it’s been created as a collaboration between two platforms, the InCUbator and the CU.til,” add the two trainers.
Next stop: Vienna
For the most promising student projects emerging from the course, University of Vienna will organize a Cross-InCUbation Week in February 2025, so that student entrepreneurs from partner universities can meet up and cross-fertilize their skills and ideas. After three inspiring stages, the entrepreneurial journey will come full circle for all these change-makers!
Contact
- Amélie Jacquemin, amelie.jacquemin@uclouvain.be
- Viktória Nagy, viktoria.nagy@uclouvain.be
