Impact-driven education, the Erasmian way 

The Erasmus University Rotterdam is strongly committed to create positive societal impact by its core activities of research and education. As part of the Quality Agreements with the Ministry of Education, EUR invests the coming years substantially in its portfolio of impact-driven education. All faculties have committed themselves to develop forms of education that help students to have a real impact on society, now and in the future. The project “Impact at the Core” supports this development and works closely together with the project ErasmusX, aimed at accelerating innovations in our education.

Both projects share the ambition to develop and support initiatives aimed at developing or strengthening impact-driven education, to design them in cocreation with faculty staff and societal partners, and to evaluate and refine them. It is the ambition to organize the transition towards more impact-driven education in an evidence-based way, in which we systematically reflect upon the question which forms of impact-driven education fit in different (disciplinary, educational) contexts and how effective they are in teaching students how to create impact. By sharing this knowledge, this research project can further fuel the transition towards an impact-driven university. A community of learning will be developed to foster processes of learning and knowledge exchange.

To develop a strong knowledge base, to organize the cycle of developing, testing, evaluating and refining forms of impact-driven education and to make the step from exploration towards mainstreaming we are looking for two postdoctoral researchers.

Design Principles for Impact-Driven Education.

Impact-driven education is about teaching students to deal with societal issues, which are considered ill-structured problems. It builds upon the idea that students are able to take responsibility and to find out the most appropriate way to deal with the issue at hand. Designing this type of education asks for more evidence about how learning tasks (e.g., scaffolding), learners (e.g., student agency), and learning environments (e.g., collaboration) can be structured to create effective and impactful bachelor and master programs. The research project has to result in a set of proven design principles for impact-driven education.  

We look for a researcher who is able to combine active involvement in designing impact-driven education with a keen eye to analyze in a systematic way how it works and which principles can be discerned when it comes to design this type of education. He or she is committed to contribute to the transition towards impact-driven education, and to strengthen our knowledge base about this type of education. The researcher we look for:

• Has a Ph.D. in a discipline related to educational (design) research, innovation in education and teaching or learning sciences;
• Is able to work in a complex project environment, has a strong hands-on mentality, and is able to collaborate with people on various levels in our organization and from different disciplines;
• Has excellent research skills, and is able to conduct scientific research in an action-oriented and co-creative way;
• Is able to combine research activities with educational design activities and has the ambition to contribute to our mission to become an impact-driven university by developing best practices and strengthening the evidence-base of impact-driven education;
• Has a relevant network in this field and is able to mobilize it when necessary;
• Has excellent communication skills, in English. Dutch is considered a plus.

Fixed-term contract: 1 year employment.

We offer an employment contract for 1 year, with the possibility of a 2-year extension. Depending on your experience you will receive a competitive salary from a minimum of € 2.790,- to a maximum of € 5.127,- for a full working week of 38 hours in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement Dutch Universities (scale 10-11).

In addition, we offer:

• 8% holiday allowance;
• a structural year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent training opportunities and secondary employment conditions;
• flexible working hours and holidays can possibly be determined in consultation so that an optimal balance between work and private life is possible;
• excellent pension plan through ABP;
• 232 vacation hours, the option to purchase extra and good supplementary leave schemes;
• a flexible working time: the possibility to work a maximum of 2 hours per week extra and thereby to build up extra leave;
• a choice model to put together part of your employment conditions yourself, such as a bicycle plan.

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR)

The Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with an outspoken social orientation at the core of its education and research. EUR provides excellent education to students and is part of the international top in certain research areas. Erasmus University Rotterdam is not only an internationally oriented university, it is also well embedded in the city of Rotterdam and the region.

EUR, named after Rotterdam-born humanist and theologian Erasmus, is a research university with a strong international orientation and a pronounced social focus, both in its education and research activities. On the lively, modern campus, more than 28.000 students and scholars of more than 100 nationalities are constantly encouraged to develop their talents and meet their ambition. Our more than 2700 scientists and employees work together with all our students to solve challenges faced by global society, drawing their inspiration from the consistently dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. The academic education offered at our faculties is intensive, engaging and strongly focused on practical application. We increasingly perform our research in multidisciplinary teams, which are closely interwoven with international networks. In terms of research impact and the quality of its degree programmes, EUR can compete with the foremost universities in Europe, which is reflected in its consistent top-100 position in most major universities rankings. Erasmus University Rotterdam’s key values are daring, curiosity, social involvement, breaking new ground and striving for success. Please see for more information www.eur.nl.

The General Management Directorate (ABD)

The General Management Directorate (Algemene Bestuursdienst, ABD) is the central staff organisation responsible for the organisation and support of EUR’s policy and administration at the institutional level. ABD supports the Executive Board in fulfilling its responsibilities with regard to the quality, accessibility and financing of EUR’s education and research programmes. ABD handles the joint design of integrated policy, ensures the timely submission of policy within decision-making procedures and the implementation of the adopted policy measures and constantly monitors and evaluates developments in the interest of further improvement. ABD comprises the departments of Academic Affairs (AZ) including D&I Office, Corporate Planning & Control (CPC), Administrative Affairs (BZ), Legal Affairs (JZ) and the Chief Information Office (CIO). The independent university publication Erasmus Magazine also falls under ABD in organisational terms. The management directorate is headed by the Director of the General Management Directorate, who also serves as Secretary of the Executive Board.