Did you know that nearly 40% of first-year university students struggle with the transition from high school due to a lack of soft skills? At Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), we’re addressing this challenge head-on with ACE Yourself, a web-based app designed to help students — in their final years of high school and their first year of university — develop essential soft skills for both academic and personal success.
The current version of the app, released in January 2024, encompasses 10 (of the total of 24) essential skills identified by the working group “Samen werken aan betere aansluiting” (Working together for a better transition). These skills include presenting, peer learning, and self-confidence. Following successful trials in the Pre Academic Programme , trials at two higher education institutions (InHolland and Hogeschool Rotterdam) and at five secondary education institutions (Emmauscollege, Sophianium Scholengemeenschap, Grotius College, and Comenius College), we are ready to launch the first classroom pilots within the EUR community.
A Collaborative Launch at Erasmus University Rotterdam
On 27th June, the initiators of the app, ErasmusX and EUR transfer coordinator Rowan Huijgen, hosted an exciting event to introduce ACE Yourself to the EUR community. The event brought together educational professionals from four faculties (ESE, ESSB, ESHCC, ESPHM) to explore the various benefits the app can offer in their classes and curricula.
The event aimed to familiarize the teaching community at EUR with the ACE Yourself app, and to pave the way for new pilots within our community in the upcoming academic year.
Rowan kicked off the event by discussing the necessity of the ACE Yourself app. She highlighted the gap in soft skills-education within the university context, where students are expected to possess these skills without them ever being explicitly taught to them.
Teacher & Student Testimonials: Real-World Success Stories
During the event, guest speakers Christine Postema (InHolland) and Freek van Puffelen (Hogeschool Rotterdam), two teachers involved in an earlier pilot of the app, shared their positive experiences using ACE Yourself.
They highlighted how the app provides tools to help students develop soft skills and initiate important conversations. Christine remarked: “The ACE Yourself app gave teachers the handlebars to figure out how to help their students develop soft skills.” Freek added: “Students know they have difficulties with certain aspects, but they don’t know how to express this or how to act on it. As a teacher, you can start the conversation with students and then give them the autonomy to help themselves.”
Georgiana Carp, Project Lead at ErasmusX, explained more about the background and development of the ACE Yourself app. She explained how students played a crucial role during the app’s development — as they played a part in every step of the process — and shared some of their testimonials gathered from the pilots.
One student said: “It was nice to have a clear picture again of how to have a positive self-image, and the app helped me get that straight again, which also helped me in certain situations, such as when I failed my exam.”
Another mentioned: “The Eisenhower matrix from the ACE app helps me schedule effectively, showing what to focus on. Now I’m more relaxed and retain more information when revising.”
During the event, attendees had the chance to try the ACE Yourself app for themselves during a hands-on session. Some explored the app individually, while others teamed up to discuss how to best use the app to support students in their learning journeys. This interactive session was helpful for us, as it provided valuable feedback and insights on the app’s possible implementation in the first-year university curriculum.
Passionate About Your Students’ Success? Join the EUR Pilots!
The next step of the process is incredibly exciting, and you can be a part of it! Pilots using the ACE Yourself app in the classroom will kick-off at EUR during the upcoming 2024–2025 academic year. If you’re interested in learning more about the app, understanding how it can benefit your students and classes, and joining the pilot program, sign up here.
If you have any questions about the ACE Yourself app, please feel free to reach out to Georgiana Carp (georgiana.carp@eur.nl)
