Engaging Databases for Data Systems Education

Querying a relational database is typically taught in practice by using an exercise database. Such databases may be simple toy examples or elaborate and complex schemas that mimic the real world. Which of these are preferable for students is yet unknown. Research has shown that while more complex exercise databases may hinder learning, they...

Design, one piece of the puzzle: A conceptual and practical perspective on transdisciplinary design

Transdisciplinary research is claimed to be essential in tackling today’s complex societal challenges. Transdisciplinarity includes collaboration and integration across academic disciplines, non-academic ways of knowing, and the ‘real world’ of citizens, professionals and other stakeholders. Design can contribute to transdisciplinarity by...

Higher Education and Wicked Problems: Students Engaging with Complexity and Uncertainty in Sustainability Transitions

The challenges we collectively face, such as climate change, are characterized by more complexity, interdependence, and dynamism than is common for educational practice. This presents a challenge for (university) education. These sustainability transition challenges are often described as wicked or VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and...

Essential Skills for System Dynamics Practitioners: A Delft University of Technology Perspective

There is little consensus on the skills set required of a system dynamics practitioner. In this paper we use the teaching approach and learning goals of the system dynamics courses at the Delft University of Technology as a starting point to explore the development of system dynamics modeling skills. System dynamics is embedded in the curriculum...