Building engineering students’ adaptive performance through challenge‑based learning: A sensemaking perspective

Gabi Kaffka studied sociology at the University of Amsterdam and received her PhD in entrepreneurship studies from the University of Twente, the Netherlands. Currently, she holds a position as assistant professor at the Tilburg School of Economics & Management, Tilburg University in the Netherlands.

Her work focuses on social cognitive aspects of innovative and entrepreneurial professional teams and individuals. In the past, dr. Kaffka carried out postdoctoral research for the Strategic Alliance EWUU in the Netherlands. In 2020, her research won the prize for Best Empirical Paper at the Annual Academy of Management Conference (Entrepreneurship Division). 

She has also been affiliated to the HEInnovate project (European Commission and OECD) where she reported on best practices in entrepreneurial teaching and learning in higher education in Ireland and the Netherlands; and she has led an EU consortium on the design of the EPIC toolkit (https://heinnovate.eu/en/other-initiatives) which facilitates assessment of entrepreneurial and innovative competences of individuals. 

Yvette Baggen is an associate professor at Wageningen University & Research, specialising in entrepreneurial learning, adaptive expertise, and transdisciplinary learning in higher education and organisations. With her work she aims to empower students and professionals as change agents, equipping them to tackle real-world sustainability challnges. Via the 4TU.CEE and the EWUU Alliance (TU/e, WUR, UU, UMC Utrecht) she contributes to different research projects in developing, implementing and evaluating innovative learning trajectories for students and professionals. 

Jan van Tartwijk is a professor of education and vice-dean for graduate education at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Utrecht University. Jan has worked in various sectors within higher education, such as health professions education and teacher training programmes. 

In his teaching and research, Jan focuses in particular on teachers and the development of their expertise. Together with colleagues, he has been conducting research for many years into how teachers develop expertise in building positive interpersonal relationships with pupils. He and his colleagues are also studying the adaptability of teachers to changing or new circumstances and challenges. In Utrecht, Jan is one of the leaders of the university's Higher Education Research focus area, and together with colleagues from the universities of Helsinki and Oxford, he is currently editing a handbook on the results of research into higher education, which will be published by Routledge in 2026. 

Marieke van der Schaaf is an educational scientist and full professor in Research and Development in Health Professions Education at University Medical Center Utrecht. She directs the Utrecht Center for Research and Development of Education and the Life Sciences Education Research PhD program at Utrecht University. With over 25 years of experience, her research focuses on adaptive expertise, feedback, and faculty development. She has received multiple international grants and supervises numerous (PhD) students and projects in these areas.