Course Design Studio 2025 A week dedicated to designing or redesigning your course with expert guidance and support
Many course coordinators and course planning teams do not find the time, resources and/or space to (re)design parts of their courses the way they’d really want to. Changes often occur based on own experiences, student feedback forms or conversations with colleagues. Even though these are valuable sources, we invite you to dig deeper during our first ever “Course Design Studio” at EDLAB.
Join us and go back to the core of course design while also looking ahead and adapting your course for more current or even future challenges like the continuous developments related to Generative Ai.
The Course Design Studio 2025 aims for the following structure and set-up:
Both individual course coordinators as well as additional course planning members (hereafter the course planning team) are welcome to join. All participants should register individually below.
Course Design Studio takes place at EDLAB from 7 to 10 July 2025, and participation is free of charge.
Each day we start at 09.00 with coffee/tea and a session that focuses on “the topic of the day” (see week overview incl. trainers below)
After lunch (organised by EDLAB) in the EDLAB building, materials and trainers with coordination and/or “topic of the day” experience are available to you to support your course redesign process in your own group or by yourself.
On the last day of the week (Thursday 10 July), through a short wrap-up, each course coordinator/planning team shares their main takeaways, inspirations and changes made to the course. Afterwards we have a closing lunch.
This activity may count towards your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) if relevant to your situation.
By the end of this workshop, participants will:
Have received information about themes and topics relevant for course design anno 2025,
Have (re)considered aspects of the courses that may need improvement,
Have redesigned parts of their courses that will benefit the course in the future,
Have presented their key takeaways, inspirations and changes made to the course in a wrap-up presentation at the end of the week.
Course Design Studio is organised by EDLAB professional development for teaching and learning colleagues Donna Carroll, Dominique Meyers & Eveline Persoon in collaboration with various UM “topic of the day” experts (to be confirmed later).
Week overview (incl. trainers)
Day 1
Day 1 will focus on Constructive Alignment as the foundational principle of instruction design on course level, with a workshop by Elissaveta Radulova (FASoS).
Elissaveta Radulova is an Associate Professor at FASoS, where her area of expertise is Public Policy and Good Governance. Since 2011 she is heavily engaged with educational management and organizational affairs most notably as Chair of the Board of Examiners (2012-2018), Ed-Lab Liaison (2016-2017), Employability Coordinator (2018-2019), and Programme Director of the BA in European Studies (2019-2022).
Day 2
On day 2 we will focus on an important, specific aspect of course design: student assessment. The workshop will look at both formative and summative assessment and debate how to balance these in your course. The workshop is held by May Lee (FSE) and Sylvia Heeneman (FHML).
Sylvia Heeneman is a Professor of Medical Education at FHML where she is also programme coordinator of the Bachelor programme of the International Track of Medicine. She has also been the chair of the Board of Examiners of the Biomedical Sciences programme since 2017.
May Lee is an assistant professor of science education at the Maastricht Science Programme (MSP). Her experience is extensive in various areas including assessment and science education. She will introduce different theories behind designing alternative assessment strategies and provide insight in how to apply those strategies to your own course assessments.
Day 3
Day 3 will focus on current developments in the educational sector, in particular the topical issue of GenAi in course design. The impact of GenAi is vast and makes a lot of course coordinators reconsider elements of their courses. During this week a workshop by Donna Carroll (EDLAB) and Phil Brüll (FPN) aims to shed more light on the topic and how you can navigate this GenAi revolution.
Donna Carroll is a former physics lecturer and assessment expert, who has worked at various colleges and universities in the UK and the Netherlands. Donna is currently responsible for Professional Development for Teaching & Learning at EDLAB. Donna loves learning new things in all avenues of her life, it brings new perspectives and fresh ideas, and to use her enthusiasm for learning to inspire others is her passion.
Phil Brüll is a seasoned teacher at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience. He draws on nearly 15 years of experience as an emergency paramedic before embarking on his academic journey at University College Maastricht in 2006. After earning his Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences, Phil continued his studies at Maastricht University, obtaining a Master’s in Cognitive Neuroscience and a PhD in Applied Psychology focusing on Behavior Change. Today, Phil coordinates various courses across different faculties and serves as the Assessment Coordinator and the Chair of the Workgroup AI at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.
Day 3 features the optional workshop “Creativity” by Arie van der Lugt (FPN) in the afternoon. This workshop is offered to provide an alternative view on teaching and designing education, especially now that we are grappling with the impact of GenAi on our course design. Join the workshop to get “unstuck” and break through fixed patterns of thinking.
Arie van der Lugt is a self-described “teaching animal” from the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN), Maastricht University. Over the last two decades, he has played a central role in teaching, teaching innovation and teaching management in the Psychology bachelor and master’s programs. His main educational interests are in enhancing creative, cooperative and critical thinking skills in the context of Higher Education.
Accessibility At EDLAB, we strive to make our activities as accessible as possible and do our best to make accommodations when possible. You will have the opportunity to indicate any accessibility requirements after registration.
Note about the costs EDLAB is currently offering all professional development activities free of charge. Please note, however, that we have paid to develop and offer this session together with the trainers, so if you sign up but cannot attend, we would greatly appreciate it if you could give us at least 5 days’ notice so that we can advertise your spot to others who may be interested. Cancellation without at least 5 days’ notice or failure to show up may result in your department being charged the full cost price.
EDLAB reserves the right to postpone this event should a minimum of 6 participants not be reached.
Activity full or can’t make this date? Then sign up for the waiting list, and we’ll let you know as soon as this event is scheduled again.
Notice of filming and photography When you attend this event, you enter an area where photography, audio, and video recording may occur. By entering the event premises, you consent to such recording media and its release, publication, exhibition or reproduction. Please let us know at the event, if you would rather not appear in any recorded media.
