You may well have heard of the Smart Solutions Semester. Many students encounter it during their studies. But what exactly does this semester involve for students and how can you make it a success? Pien, intern by the Marketing & Communication Department, explains it all in this blog.
The aim of the Smart Solutions Semester
The world is changing rapidly. Tomorrow’s problems can’t always be solved using just one area of expertise. This has major implications for the labour market. This is why Saxion is offering interdisciplinary education through the Smart Solutions Semester. The Smart Solutions Semester prepares you, as student, for the future by making you more versatile and able to approach problems from different perspectives. During the semester you and your group combine the necessary theory and skills from your study programmes so you can work together in an innovative way. Innovation and creativity are key to making these collaborations succeed.
About Smart Solutions
During the Smart Solutions Semester you take part in an interdisciplinary collaboration to work on a private customer assignment lasting half a year. This involves finding solutions to existing problems faced by businesses or research groups. For more information on the Smart Solutions Semester visit: Smart Solutions Semester Saxion
SDGs
The SDGs are a key theme in the Smart Solutions Semester. These are Sustainable Development Goals. Saxion wants to contribute to a more sustainable world and this is one way it can help students become better acquainted with sustainability.
I was enthusiastic that I could do a school assignment on mental well-being, I think this is a very important but rather neglected topic and one I want to give my unsolicited advice on.
A quick look at my semester.
Instead of doing a private assignment for a client, you may also choose to join a learning community. That’s what I did. I chose the learning community ‘unsolicited advice’. In this Smart Solutions Semester you don’t start with a group, topic or client; this comes into being during the semester, largely in the first two kick-off weeks. These are two weeks of orientation with respect to the community. You get to know everyone and get a variety of topics offered to you. The groups are formed during these two weeks and you decide a topic together with your group. The accompanying study materials are intended to inspire you while choosing a group topic in the first two weeks.
We decided to choose the third SDG: ‘health’. Our topic was ‘mental well-being of Saxion students’. I was enthusiastic that I could do a school assignment on mental well-being, I think this is a very important but rather neglected topic and one I want to give my unsolicited advice on. For this project we did research at Saxion into the mental well-being of students. We did interviews with student counsellors about well-being at Saxion as well as speaking to contact persons about events that are organised regarding mental well-being. We also took part in activities organised by Saxion.
Furthermore we conducted research into well-being among students. This involved sending out questionnaires and doing research into obstacles to well-being. Along with looking into the relationship with Saxion, as an organisation. I found it an interesting and instructive half year. I learned how you collaborate in an interdisciplinary group, how to give unsolicited advice on a topic that you have devised from scratch and how you subsequently communicate your unsolicited advice.
During the Smart Solutions Semester our group was thrown in at the deep-end because nothing had been pre-set or was known in advance. This forced us to work together as a group to resolve this.
3 tips about the Smart Solution Semester:
Since I’ve already completed the Smart Solution Semester, I can give you 3 tips on how to make it a success:
1. Use the knowledge and skills you have gained during your studies.
In the first years of your study you will have already learned about your professional field. You have mastered the theory and have learned the necessary skills. You are now going to apply this during the Smart Solutions Semester. You can use the theory from your programme and projects to help you come up with your chosen Smart Solution. In doing so you can rely on your skills from your programme. Your input within the interdisciplinary group is valuable.
2. Take your specified preference seriously
What I experienced personally is that your preference determines your Smart Solution. So take your specified preference seriously and suggest themes that you find interesting or instructive. Saxion matches students based on their preferences and also takes account of the topics that you would rather not work on. Saxion tries to fulfil everyone’s wishes so you can work on a topic that interests you.
3. Take your responsibility if you get a lot of freedom.
This tip comes from my own experience which is why I want to pass it on. During the Smart Solutions Semester you are responsible for cooperation, allocating of tasks and planning with your group. If you consistently keep to agreements then you create more free time for yourself. Don’t forget that freedom always goes hand in hand with responsibility. In this semester you can learn a lot and at the same time experience a lot of freedom, as long as you work efficiently with your group.
I hope that this information and tips will help you during your Smart Solution Semester. Good luck!
