Dutch University Transforms Engineering Education with Real-World Problem Solving
Eindhoven, Thursday, 1 January 2026.
Eindhoven University of Technology has revolutionized how future engineers learn by implementing Challenge-Based Learning across its programs, moving away from traditional lectures to hands-on collaboration with industry partners. The innovative approach now serves 4,400 students annually through 40 specialized courses, teaching them to tackle uncertainty and real-world problems. Alumni like Bas Verkaik, who founded battery technology company ELEO Technologies after participating in student teams, credit the methodology with developing their entrepreneurial skills and professional growth in the competitive tech landscape.
From Lecture Halls to Innovation Labs
The transformation at Eindhoven University of Technology began in 2015 when Isabelle Reymen was tasked with integrating Challenge-Based Learning into the curriculum [1]. By 2017, Reymen, along with Miguel Bruns and Rick de Lange, launched the first CBL courses through the newly established TU/e innovation Space, located in the Matrix building [1]. The growth has been remarkable - from facilitating approximately 1,600 students per year initially to serving 4,400 students annually through 40 CBL courses and over 40 student teams as of 2023 [1]. The program secured significant institutional support when its business case was approved in January 2020, providing five years of funding [1].
Industry Partnerships Drive Real Solutions
The CBL methodology places students at the center of solving genuine industry challenges, with 650 students currently working alongside 700 partners and sponsors [1]. Associate Professor Dirk Fahland, who developed the Data Challenge course approximately seven years ago in the Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, exemplifies this approach [3]. His course presents third-year undergraduate Data Science students with open problems from companies and public authorities, requiring them to work independently in groups using real datasets [3]. Fahland emphasizes the learning process, noting that students “not only learn how to look at the data files but, more importantly, they learn to think carefully and search for what the problem really is” [3].
Alumni Success Stories Validate Approach
The practical impact of CBL becomes evident through alumni achievements like those of Bas Verkaik, a Sustainable Energy Technology graduate who founded ELEO Technologies [2]. Verkaik’s journey began in 2012 when he joined student team STORM, which built an electric touring motorcycle and traveled 23,000 kilometers through Europe, Central Asia, China, and the United States [2]. After graduating, he co-founded SPIKE Mobility with Jeroen Bleker and Bram van Diggelen, which later became ELEO Technologies, now designing modular battery systems for industrial construction and agricultural machinery [2]. The company’s significance was underscored when King Willem-Alexander opened their new building on the Automotive Campus in Helmond in January 2025 [2].
Strategic Vision for Engineering Education
TU/e’s commitment to CBL extends beyond individual courses to institutional strategy. In September 2023, the university launched Bachelor College 2.0, with CBL playing a central role in the redesigned curriculum [1][2][3]. This initiative falls under the university’s Strategy 2030, specifically within the Talent theme, aiming to offer small-scale, personalized education by 2030 [4][6]. The approach has gained national recognition, with TU/e innovation Space winning the Dutch Higher Education Award in 2021 and receiving a Comenius grant for educational innovation in 2020 [1]. As Reymen explains, CBL represents a fundamental shift: “Student teams are the most radical version of CBL,” emphasizing that students “enjoy helping to solve the problems; it gives a sense of fulfillment” [1].