Coming soon: the Playground

The Playground is intended for students and staff of Utrecht University.
 

• Teachers of all types of innovative education can take their students to the Playground for an inspiring learning environment that facilitates meeting and the development of impactful ideas;
• Students who then want to continue working on their ideas outside of their curriculum can come to the Playground for events, programmes and access to expertise;
• For small and large events that are about moving ideas forward, and creating output with a positive impact on society, the Playground is available to all UU staff. With 600+ m², flexibility in terms of layout and furniture, and adjoining rooms for lo-fi prototyping and workshops, (almost) everything is possible!
• Collaboration partners, entrepreneurs and colleagues are welcome to come and work in the Playground from time to time. The condition is, however, that you are open to sharing your expertise and experience with the other visitors (students).

The Playground is currently being built in the Vening Meinesz Building C, on the ground floor (rooms 0.20 to 0.25). You will get there via the entrance to the Vening Meinesz Building B. Once inside, turn left and walk through to the atrium. And then you'll be in front of the door....

Please note that this area is currently a construction site (not accessible to visitors).

The rooms must be remodelled first. The construction work has started in February 2024, so we hope to open in autumn 2024. Of course, we are dependent on the contractor and availability of materials for this.

We send out updates to keep you informed by e-mail, you can subscribe using this form.

The Playground consists of several rooms. There's a floor plan at the bottom of this webpage.
 

• You enter in the foyer (max. 70 people). Grab a coffee and sit down - here you will meet like-minded people and listen to talks by experts and experiencers. UtrechtCE staff organises regular activities and are always present to help you get started with your idea or project.
   
• An education/event space (up to 200 people; 100 seats / 90 (group) work stations). This is the heart of the Playground. The furniture and facilities are geared towards action-oriented teaching and small-group work. From hackathon to dance workshop, a 'College Tour' set-up or just short classroom instruction followed by lo-fi prototyping and presenting - it's all possible.
  At times that no teaching is taking place, students can also work (together) on an idea or project here.
   
• A Build Room (max. 24 people), suitable for lo-fi prototyping. Here you can 'build' a first version from LEGO or craft materials such as paper, cardboard or clay. Dirty hands? There is soap next to the sink (yes, there's a sink).
   
• A Workshop Room (max. 20 people) for active workshops. No tables and chairs, but carpet and footstools. There are various writable surfaces (chalkboard/whiteboard). And if you do need a screen, you can easily wheel it in.
   
• In the Board Room (max 10 people), you can present your idea/product/solution to potential customers, investors and other interested parties. It's a fully functioning hybrid meeting room, so people can also participate in the pitch or presentation online.
   
• Around the Playground you will find the offices of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and startup incubator UtrechtInc.

Yes, and no. Since we don't yet know when we can open (and everything works), we don't want to make promises we can't keep. In period 1 (2 September to 8 November 2024), we will definitely not be open yet.

With that being said, we are now starting to take 'reservations' from action-oriented education for the academic year 24/25 Period 3 and 4 (February 2025 onwards). We will pencil in the agenda and - as soon as we can - let you know whether your activity can take place in the Playground. So it is essential that you can stand a little uncertainty, and make sure you have a plan A.

 If you have a course or event* in mind that you would like to host at the Playground, please let us know by sending an email to playground@uu.nl providing the following information:

• Faculty: 
• Course name and code:
• Date and time:
• Expected number of students:
• Room(s) you would like to book (check overview in previous question)
• Please describe the session in a few sentences:
• Contact details of session host (name, mail address and phone number):

*Please note that:

• We are looking for courses or events that align with the Playground's vision to encourage students to go beyond their own discipline. Consider activities where students learn by doing, interactive activities, collaborative sessions with external stakeholders and sessions with active - and innovative teaching methods. If you are unsure whether your session meets these criteria, please do not hesitate to contact us at playground@uu.nl.
• You cannot book the Playground on Fridays. Fridays are reserved for Centre for Entrepreneurship events and students are guaranteed a place to do their group work.
• We are currently working on a first-come, first-served basis. Which does take into account the balance between different faculties.
• The Foyer can never be reserved, this space is always open for people to work or meet.
• It is not possible to book all sessions of a course in the Playground: consider which parts of your course will really benefit from this space.
• We see this first year as an entrepreneurial pilot. We are currently preparing everything as best we can, but take into account unexpected things that will come our way. So keep an eye out for possible changes in the process. If anything changes, we will of course keep you informed.

Contact us at playground@uu.nl!