Nominated teams UU Team Award for Education 2026

To stimulate and reward cooperation in the field of education at UU, the UU Team Award for Education has been awarded for several years to a team that has made an exceptional contribution to education at UU. Important in this is the cooperation within the team and how this has contributed to the special achievement. It may be a permanent team or an occasional team. Team performance is thus an important element and is in line with the UU vision of recognition and rewards.

Nominations

Every faculty could put forward a faculty team, and, as secretary, an interfaculty team. A jury assessed the teams that were put forward and nominated three teams. The three nominated teams will be invited to give a short pitch during the jury meeting.

The nominated teams are:

Faculty Implementation Coordinators (FICOs) Brightspace

After using Blackboard for over 20 years, Utrecht University has switched to a new Learning Management System (LMS): Brightspace. This major change has had a significant impact on all teaching at Utrecht University. Over the past two years, preparations have been made for the system to go live in September 2025. All (more than 4,000!) UU courses have been transferred from Blackboard to Brightspace, lecturers have been trained and support has been arranged. The FICOs, which, among other things, manage the Faculty Implementation Teams and advise lecturers on the role of Brightspace in educational innovation, have steered this process in the right direction, ensuring that this major change has gone almost seamlessly.

Interdisciplinary Master's Programme in Medical Humanities

The Master's Programme in Medical Humanities originated from an extra-curricular Master's course developed in 2017: What is it like to be a patient? Narratives in medicine and the humanities. Clinicians and lecturers in (bio)medical sciences, (art) history, linguistics, ethics, communication science, interdisciplinary research skills, philosophy and global & planetary health developed courses together and taught in pairs; students from different faculties and professionals from diverse backgrounds worked together and inspired each other. This resulted in a programme that allows students to develop an open mind about the health domain and solve complex problems from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Playground / Utrecht Centre for Entrepreneurship

In early 2025, following the expansion of the UtrechtCE team, the Playground was opened: a physical space where innovative education can experiment and students can make a further impact. Teachers and students can visit the Playground for the most interactive parts of the curriculum: hackathons, pitches and ideation sessions. Students can become part of the community and interdisciplinary focus groups. They can apply for Playgrants to develop ideas and sign up for coaching from entrepreneurs, who help them further develop those ideas. The Playground allows students and teachers to experiment in the space between Utrecht University and social impact, making it an important driver of innovation. 

Lili's Proto Lab

Since its opening in March 2023, Lili's Proto Lab has been an important cornerstone for hands-on, creative education at Utrecht University. Together with lecturers, the team works on education in which students can test creative ideas and develop those ideas into prototypes. The work of students in Lili's Proto Lab has already led to awards and publications. The lab started as a wish from more technical programmes, but is now also used by several other programmes within the Faculty of Science. Lili's Proto Lab thus provides a safe environment in which both lecturers and students from different disciplines can experiment. 

Award and ceremony