Joined forces;
4TU inspires young people to pursue technical degrees
Client
TU Delft, Universiteit Twente, TU Eindhoven, Wageningen University en 4TU.Schools
The four technical universities of the Netherlands each cast their own fishing rod for students - but all in the same pond. While the sector actually benefits from a larger pond; more young people choosing technical follow-up studies.
We helped with a joint profiling that already starts in high school: 4TU.Schools
The challenge
The four technical universities – Eindhoven, Twente, Delft, and Wageningen – saw opportunities in a larger talent pool and had a clear goal: to get more young people enthusiastic about a technical study.
They just did not know how to profile themselves. Since Indall was founded by two engineers who discovered their passion for technology early on, we believe that technical talent lies within everyone. It is just a matter of sparking that interest in time.
The solution
That's where we came into the picture. Without technical talent, the world has a major problem. From sustainable (self-driving) cars to smart agriculture and climate solutions, everything requires clever minds. The only question is: how do you spark interest in technology?
You don't need to convince young people who are already involved in technology. Our focus was on activating the 'sleeping giants', the future heavyweights who will take the technical industry to the next level. Our target group was not the students themselves, but their science teachers. They play a key role in generating enthusiasm for technology. This is how the slogan was born: Strengthen Generation T.
4TU.schools
The idea of helping technical universities reach more students is rock solid. With the slogan and branding, we chose a clear direction. However, the question was how to make the plans concrete. The solution goes by the name of the '4TU.Schools' platform.
4TU.Schools is the missing puzzle piece that solves the problem of relatively low student numbers for technical university studies. The platform offers lessons of just under an hour on all kinds of technical topics, such as how generative AI works, photosynthesis, and saving the banana. These lessons can be used by science teachers, are interactive, and tickle budding techies in exactly the right way.
Visual positioning
One of our tasks was the communication surrounding 4TU.Schools: how do we effectively bring the wide range of courses to the attention of high school teachers? We started by sharpening the identity and developed a strong, recognizable logo. After all, recognisability is one of the keys to success.
Spread over several production days, we filmed pupils and students in technical environments and combined these images with graphic animations. The result: a distinctive visual positioning, from online films to physical infographic posters hanging in schools throughout the Netherlands. This is how we reach a broad group of teachers, and through them the future forces of tomorrow.
The result
The result is a strong visual positioning and a super successful platform full of inspiration and lesson modules for teachers, which is used daily in schools. 4TU.Schools has come to life thanks to its versatility, not only in themes, but also (and especially) thanks to the content.
A good example is the lesson on generating electricity from plants, developed with Wageningen University for upper secondary pre-university (vwo) students. Using photosynthesis and bacteria in the soil, students calculate whether they can charge their mobile phones with plant electricity.
With images and a poster about the main theme, students are challenged to think about technologies that improve the photosynthesis process. The accompanying lesson helps teachers to approach the subject from an exciting, future-oriented perspective. In this way, photosynthesis is no longer seen as a 'dry' subject, but as a potential career path.
Teachers happy, students happy, universities happy - and above all, a technical sector that gains clever minds. That is what we do it for.
