Coach innovation space TU/e

Job Title: TU/e innovation Space Coach

 

Location: TU/e innovation Space, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), primarily on-site at TU/e with variable hours depending on where allocated in curricular and extra curricular education.

Appointment: Part-time (8 hours/week for 1 year)

Professionalisation: approx. 44 hours (included in the job)

Team culture and attitude: Collaborative, reflective, and growth-oriented

Contact: Loes van de Kimmenade (l.v.d.kimmenade@tue.nl) & Chantal Brans (c.brans@tue.nl)

Application open until 1st of August 2026.

 

About TU/e innovation Space and working as a coach at TU/e

TU/e innovation Space is the center for Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) and student entrepreneurship at Eindhoven University of Technology. It is an open, interdisciplinary learning hub where students, researchers, educators, industry partners, and societal stakeholders co-create innovative, responsible solutions to real-world challenges. As a driving force behind educational innovation at TU/e, innovation Space promotes hands-on, collaborative learning that mirrors real-life complexity.

 

The TU/e innovation Space Coaching Pool – Ethos and context

Joining the TU/e innovation Space Coaching Pool means becoming part of a professional community dedicated to learning, experimentation, and growth—for students and coaches alike.

 

Coaches work in educational curricular (courses in the Bachelor and Master curriculum) and extracurricular (e.g., Honors Academy, Student Teams) settings that embrace Challenge-Based Learning: environments defined by open-ended, real-world problems, team learning, and engagement with external stakeholders. These contexts are inherently uncertain, and students must learn to navigate ambiguity, collaborate across disciplines, and define their own learning goals.

 

As a coach, you are not only a guide but also a co-learner. You will work closely with fellow coaches, teachers, and student teams to co-create a safe, inclusive, and trust-based learning environment. You will coach individuals and groups, helping them grow into self-directed learners and capable engineers, while you yourself develop through our structured professionalization program.

 

Job Summary

As a coach, you will support students working in teams in navigating complex, interdisciplinary challenges. Your work will take place both within courses and students who work in honors track. This means you will be mainly coaching groups/teams, mentoring individuals, and facilitating classroom or workshop sessions. You’ll use a variety of educational roles— team coach and facilitator (approx. 50% of the time), teacher (approx. 25% of the time), and mentor (approx. 25% of the time)—depending on what each situation calls for.

 

You will also participate in a tailored Professionalization Program, designed to strengthen your own coaching skills, deepen your interdisciplinary understanding, and build community with other educators at TU/e.

 

Year planning

The academic year is divided into 4 quartiles. Each quartile is divided in 10 educational weeks (excluding holidays), the last 2 weeks of each quartile are Exam weeks, so no coaching is expected then.

 

Q1: from September to November

Q2: from November to February

Q3: from February to April

Q4: from April to July.

 

In Q1, from September to November you will be able to attend all the trainings and to join one curricular course, next to be allocated to extracurricular student teams (Honors Academy and/or Student Teams).

Next to that, you will be matched with an experienced coach who was in the pool the year before as your buddy. You can join the buddy in some of their coaching sessions.[BM1] [TC2]

 

In Q2, Q3 and Q4, you will be coaching both in curricular and extracurricular education. Important: the workload goes in peaks and lows. Sometimes students demand more attention in certain periods than others. Particularly Q4 (from April to July) a lot of coaching is in need, due to many courses being CBL.

 

Key Responsibilities

 

·       Guide and support students in setting team goals and achieving them.

 

·       Guide and support students in setting and achieving personal and professional learning goals and to reflect on them through their Personal Development Plans (PDPs).

 

·       Coach teams and individuals through interdisciplinary projects.

 

·       Facilitate workshops, knowledge sessions, and career-focused conversations.

 

·       Mentor students in aligning project work with long-term aspirations and industry perspectives.

 

·       Become a team with teachers and coordinators and support them in assessment, provide feedback on reports, project outcomes, and presentations.

 

·       Participate in kickoff/plenary sessions, symposia, and team assessments, demo days etc.

 

·       Attend bi-weekly intervision sessions at TU/e innovation Space with other coaches.

 

Note: when coaching in courses, the coaches are expected to provide their sessions within education timeslots (e.g., a course can run for 10 weeks, with education happening every Tuesday morning and Friday afternoon: the coach is expected to organise the sessions within these times).

 

Coaching Approach

At TU/e innovation Space, coaching is grounded in:

 

·       Disciplinary humility – Respecting diverse ways of knowing and promoting inclusion across disciplines.

 

·       Situational leadership – Flexibly adapting your educational role (coach, teacher, facilitator, mentor) based on context.

 

·       Trust & psychological safety – Creating an environment where students feel safe to explore, fail, and grow.

 

·       Team & self-regulation – Helping students master collaboration tools and navigate group dynamics (e.g., Scrum, Agile).

 

·       Career mentoring – Supporting students beyond the classroom, connecting learning to future ambitions.

 

Candidate Profile

You are:

 

·       A reflective, self-directed professional who thrives in uncertainty and dynamic environments.

 

·       Experienced in coaching, teaching, or mentoring individuals, teams, and/or large groups.

 

·       Familiar with or eager to apply situational leadership principles.

 

·       A pi-shaped professional: combining deep disciplinary expertise with broad interpersonal, communication, and leadership skills.

 

·       Committed to lifelong learning and personal development.

 

·       Excited to engage with interdisciplinary student teams and help them grow.

 

·       A team player willing to join academic staff in delivering the highest quality education for students.

 

Qualifications

·       WO level working and thinking

 

·       2–5 years of experience in a design and/or engineering field.

 

·       Preferred: Design & Research Processes – Especially within STEM domains.

 

·       Preferred: Team & process facilitation – Familiarity with team dynamics and coaching frameworks.

 

·       Preferred: Career & personal/professional identity development – Coaching that links academic learning to lifelong career growth.

 

·       Fluent in English (written and spoken).

 

Coaching Professionalization program

As part of the role, you will join a structured development program, including:

 

·       Intro to coaching in higher education (4 hrs contact + 2 hrs self-study)

 

·       From teaching to coaching in CBL (4 hrs contact + 2 hr self-study)

 

·       Facilitating Interdisciplinary Teams (4 hrs contact + 2 hrs self-study)

 

·       Career Coaching and Mentoring (4 hrs contact + 2 hrs self-study)

 

·       Approx. monthly intervision sessions (16 hrs/year)

 

·       Case contributions for intervision sessions (4 hrs/year)

 

 

 

Ready to Apply?

Are you passionate about shaping the engineers and innovators of tomorrow? Do you thrive on coaching in complex, real-life contexts? Join us at TU/e innovation Space and help redefine how students learn.

 

Brainport Development will process the applications, and you will be invited for an interview with the leaders of the TU/e innovation Space Coaching Pool: Loes van de Kimmenade & Chantal Brans

 

 

[BM1]For HA this will not be ideal, as you would like to couple a coach to a team from te start
[TC2]Ah you are right, I need to make clear that they will be matched in extracurricular as well from Q1