Education professionals discover the power of TATOE during test days

On 13 March and 18 March, education professionals, young people and employers from Flanders and the Netherlands were given a look at the developments around TATOE, the Talent Studio of the Future. The two ‘test days’ were organised to check with the different target groups whether the project is on the right track.

The Discovery Factory in Eindhoven welcomed, among others, 10 pupils from SUMMA-college, accompanied by their enthusiastic and dedicated teacher Wiebrig de Zwart. They look back on a successful first test day: “we found out that some things don’t work well yet and quite a lot still needs adjusting. And the concept of discovering your interests through hands-on activities turns out to work really well!”

In Flanders too, at Groep INTRO in Kortrijk, the reactions are positive. One of the education professionals says: “during the test day I saw some pupils excel at tasks I wouldn’t immediately have linked to them. Some showed more leadership, others excelled in creativity. It’s lovely to see how their talents unfold in a different context.”

Why TATOE?
The world is changing fast. Big challenges are coming our way, such as AI and robotisation, and geopolitics plays a role too. The world lies at the feet of our young people, and that brings challenges as well. Everyone has talent and every talent is valuable, but how do you, as a young person in these rapidly changing times, make the right choices? This also calls for the involvement of an education professional, careers adviser or parent/carer. They face the challenge of guiding young people in their career development, especially in a world where innovation and ‘21st Century skills’ within STEM are becoming more and more important. TATOE is a European Interreg project in which seven renowned partners from Flanders and the Netherlands work together to develop practical tools. Think of inspiring studios, online e-learning modules and guidance that meet the needs of pupils and of secondary education.

With TATOE you encourage pupils to discover their talents through inquiry-based and design-based learning. Through role models, storytelling and cross-curricular programmes, among other things, young people get a broad view of what is possible.
Children, education professionals and carers gain better insight into the child’s talents and interests, so the child can make a good choice of study or career.

For more information about TATOE, send an e-mail to Anne-Linde Jansen,
a.jansen@brainportdevelopment.nl