What is the Broader Mind Course?
The Broader Mind Course is an innovative course aimed at the personal and social development of undergraduate students. In the course, students from different studies and backgrounds engage with each other on various major social issues. In this way, students learn to look beyond their own studies.
The ambition of the Executive Board is to eventually make the Broader Mind Course compulsory for all Bachelor's students. Alternatively, programmes themselves may decide to make the course compulsory or bring it to the attention of their students themselves.
How can students participate in the Broader Mind Course?
Part of mentoring/tutoring/study and career guidance
The Broader Mind Course can be included as a compulsory component in a cross-curricular programme or learning line, such as mentoring, tutoring or study and career guidance. It is important that this is clearly communicated to students beforehand.
Attachment to an existing course
The Course can be included as a (compulsory) component in an existing course of the programme. It is important that this is clearly communicated to students in advance.
Encourage voluntary participation
Voluntary participation in the Broader Mind Course can be encouraged and supported from within the programme.
What does the training contribute to the Broader Mind Course?
The course does not need to provide staff to provide teaching during the course. The course is organised and coordinated from the A Broader Mind programme. During the course, students are accompanied by student guides, who are appointed and supported by A Broader Mind. Support from the programme in communicating to students is highly appreciated. This is especially true in the run-up to the course, when students need to be informed about the course. The A Broader Mind coordinator will provide materials for distribution to students.
What happens to the Broader Mind Course?
It is the BoE's ambition to eventually make the course compulsory for all undergraduate students. We are currently investigating ways to implement the course.
Practical information Broader Mind Course
- For whom: First- and second-year undergraduate students at VU.
- When: During period 4 and 5.
- Study load: The study load for the A Broader Mind Course is 40 hours per year.
- Language: The course is entirely in English.
- Certificate: On completion of the course, students will receive a certificate as proof of participation in the course.
Broader Mind Course programme
Broader Mind Course consists of 8 interdisciplinary themes divided into 2 tracks. Participating students are randomly distributed across the 2 tracks. Each student follows one Track:
- Track A: Success, Poverty, The Human Body, Rebellion
- Track B: Viewpoints & Worldview, The Digital World, Health & Happiness, Sustainability
Students are divided into interdisciplinary groups, which are a mix of different courses and years. These groups are guided by senior student guides (Student guides).
The overall structure of a Track is as follows:
- Introduction meeting: get to know your group mates and student guide.
- Start assignment "Ranking the themes": reflection on the themes covered in the course.
- Mid-term assignment "Make-up your mind": reflection on the first 2 completed themes.
- Concluding assignment "Formulate your personal challenge": formulate a personal challenge based on what was learned in the course and present it to group mates and student guide.
- 4 Themes, consisting of online activities and one meet-up per theme.
Each theme is centralised around a personal question and a societal challenge:
| Personal question | Societal Challenge |
| Health & Happiness | Which factors influence my happiness? | Follow your own path to happiness. |
| Poverty | How do I experience financial poverty? | How can we, as society, reduce the negative effects of poverty in someone's living environment? |
| Succes | How can I become succesful through learning of my failures? | How can organisations become succesful through learning of their failures? |
| The Digital World | How do I weigh the (ethical) benefits versus risk regarding digital innovations? | How to gain a thorough understanding of the requirements for and applications relating to digital innovations in healthcare? |
| Rebellion | What kind of rebel are you? | How far would you go with your own rebellion in respect to societal challenges we get introduced to in this course? |
| Viewpoints & Worldview | What makes me 'me' and what do I want to be seen by others? | How do people from so many different backgrounds manage to live together in the super diverse city of Amsterdam? |
| Sustainability | How big is my role in the cause, the consequence and the solution of the plastic problem? | Joint the quest and help to solve the waste plastic problem! |
| The Human Body | Who is the owner of my body? | What is the limit for biotechnical applications for human health? |
The course consists largely of online material, such as videos from various experts, text, assignments, quizzes and discussion forums.
There are 6 offline activities during the course, 3 of which in period 4 and 3 in period 5. The planning of the offline activities takes into account the regular exam schedule of VU Amsterdam.
Learning objectives
Upon completion of the first year Broader Mind Course you will be able to:
- explore and compare a range of perspectives on four themes based on the Sustainable Development Goals;
- reflect on your personal attitude towards societal challenges and responsibilities, and your experiences on the Broader Mind Course;
- reflect at a basic level on your personal qualities, pitfalls, ambitions, perspectives and personal wellbeing, both individually and in a group with fellow students;
- identify a personal challenge based on what you have learned in the Broader Mind Course and explore implications for personal and professional life, with specific reference to your university and study programme.
