Mandy Koenraads: ‘We can really fortify the links between practice, research, and policy’
The Scriptiewerkplaats (thesis workshop) is an initiative of Leiden University, TU Delft, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and the municipality of The Hague. Students conduct research based on issues that are currently happening in The Hague South-West. We interviewed Mandy Koenraads, Scriptiewerkplaats Coordinator. She talked about the past 1.5 years and the plans for the future: ‘We’re growing nicely, because of all the interest in collaborating from both the study programmes as well as the stakeholders.’
How did the initiative for the thesis workshop came about?
Mandy: ‘It’s an initiative from the municipality of The Hague really. They wanted more help dealing with ongoing issues in certain neighbourhoods in The Hague. We, as a university, wanted to work more closely with the city. The municipality met up with Wim van den Doel (Dean LDE) and that’s how the thesis workshops came into being. It really is a win-win situation: the municipality and other stakeholders provide cases, and our students look at them from an academic perspective and actively interact with the city. We started out as a thesis track, but now it’s turned in to so much more. This really allows us to fortify the links between practice, research, and policy.’
Can you elaborate on that?
‘Last year, we started experimenting with offering courses. We collect issues from stakeholders in the neighbourhood, both from inhabitants as well as professionals. Those issues aren’t always suited for a thesis but could be used in a course. Apart from their thesis, students can now take part in courses that tie-in with issues that are currently ongoing in The Hague South-West. Students work in groups to address these issues from different perspectives.’
Can you name a few issues that you have been working on?
‘Students from the TU Delft, for instance, worked on a project for housing corporation Staedion to find out whether there is a need for temporary meeting places in South-West. This resulted in eight concepts that Staedion has actually taken on board. These ideas are now being used as inspiration and starting points for discussions with inhabitants.’
‘We also try to make sure that students can discuss their policy recommendations, that are usually based on their thesis, with policy officers from various organisations. Policy makers often ask to see the thesis or invite students to present their recommendations within their organisation. We support students in all of this. We offer various workshops, teaching them which tools they need to communicate their information clearly.’
What is it that makes the thesis workshop so interesting for students?
‘I believe that for many students it’s good to become more involved in the city and ‘step out of their bubble’. The Hague is more than just the city where the faculty’s located. It feels good to be able to bring students into contact the daily practice. Students look at certain things from their own perspective. Based on their study background. Someone enrolled in a technical programme will look differently at a certain case then someone who’s studying here at the faculty. That’s really an advantage.’
Can you tell us more about the future of the Scriptiepwerkplaats?
That’s a good question! At the moment, the Scriptiewerkplaats purely focusses on South-West. If we decide to expand our operation, we need to explore whether we want to include other areas in The Hague or elsewhere in the thesis workshop. If we find there’s a need, then it’s important to have a discussion about it and explore the possibilities. We’re growing nicely, because of all the interest in impact driven education. That’s largely due to the courses we are now offering in addition to the thesis workshops. We’ve been able to take the next few steps a bit earlier than expected. That’s also because we now have a new physical location in the actual neighbourhood.’
Is that something the recently awarded grant from the municipality can contribute to?
'Because we received a grant from the municipality, it has become clear that there is support for our initiative. The grant will allow us to connect with the neighbourhood even better. It has given us more space to communicate with the neighbourhood and create more visibility. It also boosts our new location on Jan Luykenlaan in Moerwijk. The location increases the university's visibility in the neighbourhoods, and indirectly its accessibility to its residents and stakeholders.'
Can you tell us more about the future of the Scriptiepwerkplaats?
'That’s a good question! At the moment, the Scriptiewerkplaats purely focusses on South-West. If we decide to expand our operation, we need to explore whether we want to include other areas in The Hague or elsewhere in the thesis workshop. If we find there’s a need, then it’s important to have a discussion about it and explore the possibilities. We’re growing nicely, because of all the interest in impact driven education. That’s largely due to the courses we are now offering in addition to the thesis workshops. We’ve been able to take the next few steps a bit earlier than expected. That’s also because we now have a new physical location in the actual neighbourhood.’