PREMIUM Workshops
Mandatory Workshops (attend all 3)
Electives (attend at least 3)
Discover Your Competences
This workshop serves as the starting point of your professional development in PREMIUM. Additionally, it serves as a way to kickstart the coaching trajectory. In this workshop, hosted by UM Career Services, you will take a closer look at your strengths, weaknesses, ambitions, and more, in order to define a couple of competencies you would like to work on in PREMIUM. Together with your competence coach, you can then decide on the course you will take in your sessions together.
Preparation Assignment
To be well prepared for the workshop it is important for you to complete the assignments, which can access via the button below.
- Assignment 1: Assignment Qualities;
- Assignment 2: Work values test;
Please take the results with you to the training.
Your Workshop Host
UM Career Services
Please note that attendance at this workshop is strictly mandatory for all PREMIUM participants.
- Tuesday 17.01.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 18.01.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs;
- Thursday 19.01.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs;
- Friday 20.01.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs;
- Monday 23.01.2023, 09.30-12:30 hrs;
- Tuesday 24.01.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs;
- Monday 06.02.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 08.02.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs.
All “Discover Your Competences” workshops will take place at EDLAB’s Tapijn Building X unless last-minute Covid-19 restrictions require them to be offered online. All attendees will receive a reminder email with the exact location two days before the session.
Introduction to Project-Based Working
This workshop covers the major differences between the theory and practice of working on large-scale projects. Why is it that projects that seem properly organised on paper often run overtime? Why do project documents name a single client, yet in practice there are always many clients? Why do sound design requirements rarely result in a good finished product?
This workshop explores how people work together in practice, and how they overcome the difficulties and problems they encounter in their projects. The focus is on identifying and solving large-scale project problems, identifying why problems happen, and how to prevent them in the future. You learn the basics of project-based working and explore the cutting edge of the topic. The course is interactive, giving you the chance to focus on individual questions.
Please note that there are also advanced workshops related to Project Based Working as part of the elective workshops in PREMIUM.
Preparation Assignment
To prepare for this workshop, the trainer requests that you take a look at the Project-Based Working Checklist, and bring it with you to the session.

Your Workshop Host
Rene Hartman (Innovatiewerkplaats)
Please note that attendance at this workshop is strictly mandatory for all PREMIUM participants.
Available Sessions:
- Monday 23.01.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs;
- Monday 23.01.2023, 17:30-20:30 hrs;
- Tuesday 07.02.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs;
- Tuesday 07.02.2023, 17:30-20:30 hrs;
- Tuesday 14.02.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 15.02.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 15.02.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs.
The “Introduction to Project-Based Working” workshops will take place at EDLAB’s Tapijn Building X unless last-minute Covid-19 restrictions require them to be offered online. All attendees will receive a reminder email with the exact location two days before the session.
Teamwork & Functioning Optimally
You and your fellow team members have just started an exciting new project. In order to deliver good results, you will have to be able to collaborate together in a constructive way. Effective collaboration is a vital condition for team success. Apart from that: working together in a constructive way can be a satisfying experience. Looking back on a pleasant way of working adds up to the team success. These are two important reasons to invest in collaboration skills. When collaborating with your favorite people, you may not need to think too much about how you say and do things. But professional situations do not always involve favorite people. And good collaboration does not occur by itself. You might experience difficulties. Some of these difficulties stem from differences in personalities, communication styles, interests, and perspectives. This workshop focuses on how to identify and handle those difficulties.
This requires not only a good look on the other but also a clear image of your own way of working. The workshop offers a practical introduction to students who recognize the importance of collaboration skills, and are ready to extend the range of options they can choose from when faced with “difficult team members”.
Results
- The student is more aware of his/her own preferred way of
communicating and handling conflicts in a team setting. - The student is attentive to what reaction his/her behavior may cause in
other team members. - The student feels the importance of placing him/herself in the position
of other team members. - The student is aware of the range of options of communication when
the team is faced with conflict situations.
Your Workshop Host
Susanne Maris (Maris et al)
Please note that attendance at this workshop is strictly mandatory for all PREMIUM participants.
Available Sessions:
- Wednesday 18.01.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 18.01.2023, 17:30-20:30 hrs;
- Thursday 19.01.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 08.02.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 08.02.2023, 17:30-20:30 hrs;
- Thursday 09.02.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs;
- Thursday 09.02.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs.
The “Teamwork & Functioning optimally” workshops will take place at EDLAB’s Tapijn Building X unless last-minute Covid-19 restrictions require them to be offered online. All attendees will receive a reminder email with the exact location two days before the session.
Design Thinking: finding innovative solutions
The Double Diamond, as a method for Design Thinking, has become world-renowned due to being a clear, comprehensive and visual description of the innovation process. It is successfully applied for discovering opportunities and finding solutions for new products, services and processes. This Double Diamond framework for innovation also includes key principles and design methods, and the ideal working culture needed, to achieve significant and long-lasting positive change.
The two diamonds represent a process of exploring an issue more widely or deeply (discover & define) and then taking focused action (develop & deliver). The first part, on discover & define, is introduced during the PREMIUM workshop Project Based Working.
In this Design Thinking workshop, we will focus on the second part of the Double Diamond, which is all about developing innovative solutions and delivering them to your PREMIUM client. On how to find solutions for your client’s problems, finding ideas that are both surprising and feasible. The workshop will also help you finding ways on how to make impact delivering your solutions to your client.
Develop. In this phase the aim is to find as many options as possible for the (re)defined question of your client. You will learn methods for idea generation, how to find outside-the-box solutions for your PREMIUM problem or challenge. How to use new and attractive perspectives and how to combine small ideas into a larger solution. How to find ideas for short and for long term. Practical tips on how to organize your own brainstorm workshop (with your client).
Deliver. Once you have all the options, all these ideas from the Develop phase, it is time to select and elaborate the best idea into a feasible solution. How to make your solution realistic and surprising at the same time? ‘Deliver’ also involves testing different solutions at small-scale, rejecting those that will not work and improving the ones that will. The final part of the workshop is about how to present your solution to your client in such a way, that your advice will have a huge chance to be implemented.
Double Diamond by the London Design Council

Your Workshop Host
René Hartman (Innovatiewerkplaats)
Please note that this workshop is one of the electives PREMIUM offers. Attend a minimum of 3 elective workshops/masterclasses.
Available Sessions:
- Wednesday 01.03.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 08.03.2023, 18:00-21:30 hrs;
- Thursday 09.03.2023, 09:30-13:00 hrs.
All “Design Thinking” workshops will take place at EDLAB’s Tapijn Building X unless last-minute Covid-19 restrictions require them to be offered online. All attendees will receive a reminder email with the exact location two days before the session.
Sustainable Career Development
What are my career opportunities post-graduation? How will I navigate the job market in what seems to be a very unstable period of time for my generation?
Be it a classic career path, or the development of a personal brand, in this workshop, you will learn how to develop a sustainable strategy to map out your career steps post graduation, taking into account a healthy work-life balance.
Your facilitator in this process is Adina Petre, a Clinical Psychologist and High Performance coach with a decade of experience in entrepreneurship, education, human and business development. As a long term collaborator with UM, Adina has the experience to guide you in the process of discovering your work competencies, translating them into employable profiles and helping you design an actionable blueprint to help orient yourself in the work field, post graduation.

Your Workshop Host
Adina Petre (Insights)
I have always been deeply involved with the business community, the entrepreneurial life and the startup scene. I’ve offered workshops, trainings, and contributed to organizing events around the topic of entrepreneurship. I coached Enactus Maastricht for their first, second and third Dutch National Competitions. Meanwhile I was also working as project and community manager for LaunchBase – the first startup pre-incubation programme ever to be set up in Maastricht. I also worked for TedX Maastricht where I was part of the speaker liaison and story-telling coaches subteam. I’m always looking for interesting new projects, challenges and collaborations! But most importantly, I look for dedicated, passionate and interesting people that have a genuine desire to grow.
I am an English speaking psychologist and a high performance coach with my own practice in Maastricht, and through my work I promote personal development, empowerment and healthy autonomy for my clients.
Please note that this workshop is one of the electives PREMIUM offers. Attend a minimum of 3 of the elective workshops.
Available Sessions:
- Wednesday 29.03.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs (online);
- Thursday 20.04.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 26.04.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs.
All “Sustainable Career Development” workshops will take place at EDLAB’s Tapijn Building X, except for the one on 29.03.2023, which will take place via Zoom. All attendees will receive a reminder email with the exact location two days before the session.
Current Themes in Leadership
This masterclass is based on the experience of Eric Koenen as a leader and boardroom-consultant in complex national and international organizations and on the content of the books he wrote.
It will focus on the irrational processes and politics in organizations and teams and on how to cope with that in organizational change. Eric Koenen supports his insights with the help of art and film. He will also present a hot issue case and challenge the students to advise him what to do the coming weeks.
Please note that this is a masterclass, not a workshop, and will therefore be inspiring and educational, though not so much interactive.
Your Workshop Host
Eric Koenen (Doorwerthgroep/Academie voor Interventiekunde)
Please note that this masterclass is one of the electives PREMIUM offers. Attend a minimum of 3 elective workshops/masterclasses.
Available Sessions:
- Wednesday 22.03.2023, 13:30-15:30 hrs;
- Thursday 13.04.2023, 10:00-12:00 hrs.
All “Current Themes in Leadership” masterclasses will take place at EDLAB’s Tapijn Building X unless last-minute Covid-19 restrictions require them to be offered online. All attendees will receive a reminder email with the exact location two days before the session.
7 Habits of Highly Effective People
One of the most compelling books ever written by Stephen R. Covey, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, have empowered and inspired readers for over 30 years and played a part in the transformation of millions of lives, across all age groups and professions.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People aligns timeless principles of effectiveness with modern technology and practices.
No matter how competent a person is they will not have sustained and lasting success, unless they are able to effectively lead themselves, influence, engage and collaborate with others and continuously improve and renew their capabilities. These elements are at the heart of personal, team and organizational effectiveness.
During this workshop, students will be introduced to the 7 Habits via an intensive, practical workshop that fits the principles of effectiveness both for professional life and for personal development.
- Habit 1 “Be proactive”: Participants will focus and act on what they can control and influence, instead of what you can’t.
- Habit 2 “Begin with the end in mind”: Participants will define clear measures of success and a plan to achieve them.
- Habit 3 “Put first things first”: Participants will prioritize and achieve their most important goals, instead of constantly reacting to urgencies.
- Habit 4 “Think win-win”: Participants will collaborate more effectively by building high-trust relationships.
- Habit 5 “Seek first to understand then to be understood”: Participants will influence others by developing a deep understanding of their needs and perspectives.
- Habit 6 “Synergize”: Participants will develop innovative solutions that leverage diversity and satisfy all key stakeholders.
- Habit 7 “Sharpen the saw”: Participants will increase motivation, energy, and work/life balance by making time for renewing activities.
Please note that this workshop is one of the electives PREMIUM offers. Attend a minimum of 3 of the elective workshops.
Available Sessions:
- Monday 13.03.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs;
- Tuesday 14.03.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs
All “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” workshops will take place at EDLAB’s Tapijn Building X unless last-minute Covid-19 restrictions require them to be offered online. All attendees will receive a reminder email with the exact location two days before the session.

Stress Management
We all find ourselves in stressful situations from time to time. Whether at work, during our studies, or when life throws nasty surprises at you. This is normal. But, when does it become problematic? When are you in danger of stress becoming a danger to your health and what do you need to do to avoid this? This workshop will give you basic insights into what stress is, where it comes from, and its effects. You will also get to identify your stress sources and tips on how to better manage these stressors and how to ensure you have enough resources.

Your Workshop Host
Karolin Biewald (Key2advance)
Moreover, Karolin’s proficiency as a professional singer and musical actress has greatly influenced her work. Her education has equipped her with exceptional public speaking, presentation, and phonetic skills. By merging her analytical and creative strengths, Karolin helps individuals discover their unique voice and employ it as a potent tool for self-expression.
Furthermore, Karolin recognizes the interconnection between voice and body and works with her clients on integrating body language and movement into their communication. With her broad range of expertise and multidisciplinary approach, Karolin is an engaging trainer and consultant, enabling individuals to unlock their full potential.
Please note that this workshop is one of the electives PREMIUM offers. Attend a minimum of 3 of the elective workshops.
Available Sessions:
- Tuesday 09.05.2023, 17:30-20:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 10.05.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 10.05.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs.
All “Stress Management” workshops will take place at EDLAB’s Tapijn Building X unless last-minute Covid-19 restrictions require them to be offered online. All attendees will receive a reminder email with the exact location two days before the session.
Speed Reading
People spend a lot of their time reading: students and knowledge workers alike. Weird enough we are not aware of how we read, why we wander off and what we can do to read better and faster. The adult reads with a speed of 200 to 250 words a minute and comprehends approximately 60% of what he is reading. With some practical tools and insights it is possible to double the reading speed without losing any text comprehension.
In this workshop you get a better insight in your own reading and information processing skills and learn how to double your reading speed and increase text comprehension in a practical and effective way.
The main focus of this workshop is to:
- Get valuable insights in the attention process during reading.
- Learn efficient reading strategies and techniques.
- Gain insight in inhibitions and distractions during reading combined with effective ways to tackle them.
- Learn practical tools to increase your reading speed and text comprehension.
- Practice with exercise texts to increase your reading speed and text comprehension.
- Track progress in reading speed and text comprehension.
The only way to learn speed reading is by actually doing it. That is why practicing is the main focus of this workshop. Reading exercise texts, tracking your reading speed and text comprehension is therefore the main activity in this workshop.
Your Workshop Host
Patrick Stastra (TijdWinst)
I encourage organizations and their workers, entrepreneurs & students to work, collaborate, communicate and learn smarter. All done by workshops, inspiring talks & e-learning programs.
“My 3 hour workshops and 1 hour talks are full of practical exercises, ideas and tricks, always served with a hint of theory (e.g. Getting Things Done), scientific foundation and a lot of enthusiasm. All my efforts are focused on changing your behavior to work, collaborate, communicate or learn smarter from the next day on.”
Please note that this workshop is one of the electives PREMIUM offers. Attend a minimum of 3 of the elective workshops.
Available Sessions:
- Tuesday 21.03.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs;
- Tuesday 11.04.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs;
- Tuesday 09.05.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs.
All “Speed Reading” workshops will take place at EDLAB’s Tapijn Building X unless last-minute Covid-19 restrictions require them to be offered online. All attendees will receive a reminder email with the exact location two days before the session.
Time Management
If you want to excel it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to do more, quantity wise. It foremost means that you deliver better quality. However, of course you really excel when you can do more and do it better.
The problem with our brain is that it needs to be able to focus on the task at hand and that’s hard when there’s so much going on. If you’re stressed, lack a good overview, or your life is just an all-around mess, it’s probably hard to excel at anything.
In order to overcome this, you should:
- know how your brain works to steer it away from procastination, “multitasking”, and distractions (e.g. a pesky social media habit);
- know how your brain processes information;
- streamline all the work that is coming at you (emails, homework, assignments, papers etc.);
- plan ahead for the large tasks so that you don’t have to do everything at the last moment;
- keep a good overview of everything on your plate and decide what to focus on.
In the Time-Management workshop we promise you one thing: we are going to cover all of these subjects (and more) in a non-boring fashion. You will be provided with ready-to-use insights and practical tips on how to stay on top of things with the use of the latest insights and technology (you may expect many useful suggestions for how various specific apps can adequately support time management).
Your Workshop Host
Patrick Stastra (TijdWinst)
I encourage organizations and their workers, entrepreneurs & students to work, collaborate, communicate and learn smarter. All done by workshops, inspiring talks & e-learning programs.
“My 3 hour workshops and 1 hour talks are full of practical exercises, ideas and tricks, always served with a hint of theory (e.g. Getting Things Done), scientific foundation and a lot of enthusiasm. All my efforts are focused on changing your behavior to work, collaborate, communicate or learn smarter from the next day on.”
Please note that this workshop is one of the electives PREMIUM offers. Attend a minimum of 3 of the elective workshops.
Available Sessions:
- Tuesday 11.04.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 26.04.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs;
- Tuesday 09.05.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs.
All “Time Management” workshops will take place at EDLAB’s Tapijn Building X unless last-minute Covid-19 restrictions require them to be offered online. All attendees will receive a reminder email with the exact location two days before the session.
Contract Negotiation Skills
Congratulations, you’ve found a job! Your employer has invited you for a meeting to discuss your offer.
How do you negotiate your salary? Which aspects do you need to take into account when signing your labor contract? What are the ins and outs of such a conversation? Which fringe benefits, next to salary, might make up your contract? Do you immediately agree to the offer you receive? Does your contract include a notice period or non-compete clause? What does the pension scheme look like? And is your salary offer around the market rate?
These are all questions that will be addressed during the workshop Contract Negotiations. You will get a better overview of all possible aspects of your future labour contract.
Your Workshop Host
Bibiana Linssen (YUFE)
Be it as a coach for young adults, trying to find their way to the labour market. Or as a trainer, facilitating team dynamics and group learning. As a project consultant, co-ordinating tasks and getting things done.
Whatever I do, I like to question, to connect and co-create with colleagues, students and other stakeholders. I prefer to work based on principles of Design Thinking, Appreciative Inquiry and LEAN – always looking for result and added value.
As a trainer / facilitator I enjoy creating a light-hearted and safe environment in which change is not a threat, but a challenge that can be approached in a playful way.
Creating solutions for the ‘greater good’, breaking down silo structures and encouraging people to work together to find solutions, that’s how I like to spend my energy.
Specialties: Change management, (student) employability, coaching, team dynamics, and LEAN in service industries.
Please note that this workshop is one of the electives PREMIUM offers. Attend a minimum of 3 of the elective workshops.
Available Sessions:
- Wednesday 29.03.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 12.04.2023, 13:30-16:30 hrs;
- Wednesday 10.05.2023, 17:30-20:30 hrs.
All “Contract Negotiation Skills” workshops will take place at EDLAB’s Tapijn Building X unless last-minute Covid-19 restrictions require them to be offered online. All attendees will receive a reminder email with the exact location two days before the session.
Public Speaking
The goal of this session is to understand and practice the most important pillars needed to maximize one`s impact when speaking to an audience. Often we have the most difficulty understanding and interacting with audiences whose preferences are different to our own.
Recognizing these characteristics can help in developing strategies for personal growth and enhanced impact.
This workshop encourages participants to practice the delivery of motivational, serious and trust-building speeches. During these advanced sessions, a big emphasis is placed on emotional expressiveness, body language, and voice coaching.
At the end of the workshop, participants will have understood their communication style and gained awareness on how to connect with various audiences and leave a lasting impression.
Your Workshop Host
Mona Shair-Wloch (Key2Advance)
Your Workshop Host
Martine Alonso Marquis (Key2Advance)
As a business and executive coach, Martine has a developed a toolkit that combines negotiation and conflict resolution skills, as well as empathic and high impact communication. A passionate of theatre and signing, she also uses her acting training to develop powerful and entertaining workshops.
Please note that this workshop is one of the electives PREMIUM offers. Attend a minimum of 3 of the elective workshops.
Available Sessions:
- Monday 06.03.2023, 14:00-17:00 hrs;
- Tuesday 07.03.2023, 09:30-12:30 hrs;
- Tuesday 28.03.2023, 17:30-20:30 hrs.
All “Public Speaking” workshops will take place at EDLAB’s Tapijn Building X unless last-minute Covid-19 restrictions require them to be offered online. All attendees will receive a reminder email with the exact location two days before the session.
Workshop Registration SOS
In case you wish to change the timeslot for a certain workshop, or cancel a workshop registration completely, you need to contact this member of PREMIUM Central Management Team.