In this paper, the success of students during their first year at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences at the faculty of Communication and Creative Business (formerly called Media, Information and Communication) will be compared prior to Covid-19 and during Covid-19 in the first year. With the purpose to determine the influence of the transition from offline to online education on student success. Student success is defined in two ways. First by the general average grade point (GPA) of all the exams in this first year, which in the Netherlands is the preliminary examination (propedeuse diploma issued after the first year of studies in the Netherlands). Second, the time it takes to pass all first-year exams and earn the propedeuse (diploma of the preliminary examination). Furthermore, the mandatory student choice test (SCT), taken prior to the entrance of the University, is compared with the success of the students and examined on its predictive value. This will ultimately provide insight in the implications of a year of emergency remote teaching and enhance the knowledge about influences of online education upon student success in higher education.
In this paper, the success of students during their first year at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences at the faculty of Communication and Creative Business (formerly called Media, Information and Communication) will be compared prior to Covid-19 and during Covid-19 in the first year. With the purpose to determine the influence of the transition from offline to online education on student success. Student success is defined in two ways. First by the general average grade point (GPA) of all the exams in this first year, which in the Netherlands is the preliminary examination (propedeuse diploma issued after the first year of studies in the Netherlands). Second, the time it takes to pass all first-year exams and earn the propedeuse (diploma of the preliminary examination). Furthermore, the mandatory student choice test (SCT), taken prior to the entrance of the University, is compared with the success of the students and examined on its predictive value. This will ultimately provide insight in the implications of a year of emergency remote teaching and enhance the knowledge about influences of online education upon student success in higher education.
Energy transition is key to achieving a sustainable future. In this transition, an often neglected pillar is raising awareness and educating youth on the benefits, complexities, and urgency of renewable energy supply and energy efficiency. The Master Energy for Society, and particularly the course “Society in Transition”, aims at providing a first overview on the urgency and complexities of the energy transition. However, educating on the energy transition brings challenges: it is a complex topic to understand for students, especially when they have diverse backgrounds. In the last years we have seen a growing interest in the use of gamification approaches in higher institutions. While most practices have been related to digital gaming approaches, there is a new trend: escape rooms. The intended output and proposed innovation is therefore the development and application of an escape room on energy transition to increase knowledge and raise motivation among our students by addressing both hard and soft skills in an innovative and original way. This project is interdisciplinary, multi-disciplinary and transdisciplinary due to the complexity of the topic; it consists of three different stages, including evaluation, and requires the involvement of students and colleagues from the master program. We are confident that this proposed innovation can lead to an improvement, based on relevant literature and previous experiences in other institutions, and has the potential to be successfully implemented in other higher education institutions in The Netherlands.
Carboxylated cellulose is an important product on the market, and one of the most well-known examples is carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). However, CMC is prepared by modification of cellulose with the extremely hazardous compound monochloracetic acid. In this project, we want to make a carboxylated cellulose that is a functional equivalent for CMC using a greener process with renewable raw materials derived from levulinic acid. Processes to achieve cellulose with a low and a high carboxylation degree will be designed.
Size measurement plays an essential role for micro-/nanoparticle characterization and property evaluation. Due to high costs, complex operation or resolution limit, conventional characterization techniques cannot satisfy the growing demand of routine size measurements in various industry sectors and research departments, e.g., pharmaceuticals, nanomaterials and food industry etc. Together with start-up SeeNano and other partners, we will develop a portable compact device to measure particle size based on particle-impact electrochemical sensing technology. The main task in this project is to extend the measurement range for particles with diameters ranging from 20 nm to 20 um and to validate this technology with realistic samples from various application areas. In this project a new electrode chip will be designed and fabricated. It will result in a workable prototype including new UMEs (ultra-micro electrode), showing that particle sizing can be achieved on a compact portable device with full measuring range. Following experimental testing with calibrated particles, a reliable calibration model will be built up for full range measurement. In a further step, samples from partners or potential customers will be tested on the device to evaluate the application feasibility. The results will be validated by high-resolution and mainstream sizing techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Coulter counter.
