Interdisciplinary perspectives for first-generation students

Our natural and social environments can be both complex and perplexing places. Nonetheless, upon completing secondary school, young students are expected to choose a university programme that not only matches their interests and skills but can also have a major impact on their career possibilities and life course.

This is a particularly difficult choice for first-generation university students. Focusing on the liberal arts and sciences, AUC’s diverse curriculum and focus on small-scale education offers a multifaceted and balanced approach that has the potential to be well-suited for those students with multiple interests or those who would like more guidance in the process of choosing courses for future studies or careers. Since AUC takes a broader, more interdisciplinary perspective, students are encouraged to explore various subjects that interest them and see how these interrelate before specialising in a certain subject.

Summer camp, projects and a Fall Festival

Using STEAM as a lens to introduce interdisciplinary studies, future first-generation university students will start with a kick-off Science and Arts Program in August in the AUC building. During this summer school, current AUC students will design workshops and host sessions for high school students to collaborate on interdisciplinary themes that span and connect subjects in the sciences and arts. After the first meetings in August, the secondary school students will then take on the task of creating their own STEAM designs under the guidance of AUC faculty and students. This will include weekly meetings to offer advice and feedback on their progress. The programme will then conclude with a Fall Festival where participants will be invited to present and discuss their projects, reasoning and subject choice.

Cooperation between AUC, Diversity Talks and secondary schools

Under the guidance of AUC faculty members Ydwine Zanstra, Forrest Bradbury and Lorenzo Galeotti, and in cooperation with the non-profit organisation Diversity Talks and Iris Weyer from Damstede Lyceum, AUC students will work together to pique the imagination and interest of younger students while aiding them in finding a higher education programme that suits their interests and ambitions.

At this time, Amsterdam area high schools are being approached to recruit possible participants. For further questions on the Science & Arts Program with a focus on STEAM, please feel free to reach out to Forrest Bradbury or Ydwine Zanstra.