One of the focus areas in our trajectory within the Accelerate Future HEI project is to encourage an attitude of entrepreneurship and innovation within our student population at UCLL. We mainly targeted Business and Management students for this, but word of mouth has brought us to deliver a workshop on entrepreneurship & innovation with Midwifery students at our campus in Leuven.
We welcomed an international group of midwifery students in the context of an international project week centred on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the session, we introduced students to the concept of Arts-Based Research (ABR) as an innovative and entrepreneurial methodology for exploring complex societal challenges. After a brief theoretical framing, we encouraged the students to connect midwifery-related issues, such as poverty, access to safe childbirth, and birth planning, to the broader SDG agenda. This interdisciplinary approach supported them in thinking beyond traditional clinical frameworks and considering the social, cultural, and environmental dimensions of their future profession.
Working in six small, diverse groups of three to five participants, the students applied ABR methods to co-create meaningful responses to the chosen challenges. Through creative processes such as visual storytelling, performance, and prototyping, each group developed a tangible concept addressing their selected issue. By the end of the week, all groups presented their prototypes, demonstrating not only their understanding of the SDGs but also the value of creativity in research and healthcare innovation.
The workshop highlighted the potential of Arts-Based Research to empower future midwives to tackle real-world challenges with empathy, collaboration, and a broader systems perspective.
