Capacity building
In the context of capacity building Dynamics of Youth will increase professional skills and qualifications of students, researchers, policymakers and practitioners in the field of youth development, thereby also contributing to a changing sector that recognizes and rewards talent in research, societal impact, knowledge exchange and education.
Educational activities
Utrecht University offers thematic education and training that fits within the theme Dynamics of Youth at all levels: Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes and courses, Minors and Summer Schools. Programmes and courses can be found throughout all faculties of Utrecht University.
Below are two examples of a UU- minor and master program that was designed on behalf of Dynamics of Youth.
DoY-minor
Many societal issues concerning children and youth are complex because a wide range of factors influence the development of children and youth. Therefore, these factors can’t and shouldn’t be studied separately.
On behalf of the strategic theme Dynamics of Youth this minor was designed. You learn in this minor to combine insights from different fields to study the development of children and youth. You’ll learn about fields such as biology, human geography, philosophy, pedagogy and economics.
With this minor you will gain knowledge and skills to work in an interdisciplinary team on questions such as ‘How can we motivate, activate and help youth from all countries to think about a more ‘green’ future’?, ‘What influence does nutrition have on the development of a child?’ or ‘How can we protect the rights of the child in conflict situations, ranging from home – divorce – to global , war situation?’.
DoY-master
The core team of one of Dynamics of Youth fields of expertise (‘Youth got Talent’) has taken the initiative to reform an existing master in such a way that it became an interdisciplinary master crossing different UU faculties: Youth Development and Social Change (YDSC).
This innovative master program starts in September 2023 and teaches disciplinary and interdisciplinary theories and concepts to students from different disciplines to understand and analyze youth issues by taking different perspectives and collaborate on societal challenges. Only by connecting science and society, different disciplines, perspectives, and methods can we conduct the innovative research that provides new answers to sometimes longstanding questions on youth development. Therefore, the YDSC Master program aims to train academic youth professionals to build bridges between professionals from different disciplines and connect research with practice. To do so, the YDSC Master has a strong emphasis on developing academic and interdisciplinary skills, such as critical thinking, collaboration, reflection and communication.
This pioneering work of the core team would not be possible without the expertise and support of the Educational Development & Training department of Utrecht University. The close collaboration between researchers from the faculties of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Law, Geosciences, and the Utrecht Medical Center with support staff trained in interdisciplinary teaching contributes both to developing a cutting-edge Master program for students as well as to the capacity building of the researchers from the core team. It empowers them to design a Master program that responds to the need for interdisciplinary skills that bridge research, education, and professional practice by developing and implementing new teaching and assessment methods.
Network & Inspirational sessions
Dynamics of Youth regularly organizes online inspirational sessions and network events for researchers linked to our strategic theme and UMCU Child Health Program. View the list with coming and former sessions below or view our agenda via: https://www.uu.nl/en/research/dynamics-of-youth/news-events
List of inspirational sessions:
16 February 2023 – 12:15 – 13:15 hours
Dynamics of Youth Inspirational session: ‘Collaboration in maternal, newborn and child health between the UU, UMCU and Anton de Kom University in Suriname’.
If you want to join this online meeting, please register here.
This inspirational session will focus on opportunities for collaboration between the UU, UMCU and Anton de Kom University in Suriname (ADEKUS) and aims to introduce ongoing collaborations related to maternal health by dr. Lachmi Kodan and economic impact of adolescent pregnancies by dr. Rosita Woodly-Sobhie. The session will be moderated by Prof. dr. Kitty Bloemenkamp and dr. Joyce Browne. All researchers and educators from UU, UMCU and ADEKUS with ongoing collaborations or interested to initiate these are welcome.
Former inspirational sessions:
Prof. dr. Naomi Ellemers – lecture on connecting science with society
As an academic, you divide your time between research, teaching and ancillary activities. But how can you contribute to society in other ways? What would this involve? Naomi Ellemers, Distinguished Professor at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences and head of the Organisational Behaviour research group, held a lecture on connecting with society for Dynamics of Youth researchers. Here are the highlights.