“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” John Dewey’s famous advice for educators, although over a hundred years old, seems more relevant than ever, as we find ourselves faced with a wide range of extremely difficult – even wicked – challenges like climate change, overpopulation, a pandemic, … to name but a few. At Thomas More, we take Dewey’s advice to heart and search for new ways to train our students for jobs that do not yet exist. ICE Cube, our entrepreneurial hub, is a good example of how we bring together future professionals of all backgrounds to work in multidisciplinary teams with a focus on creativity, backed by a strong business model and a result-driven attitude. Inspire and be inspired. Get (sh)it done and create impact. That’s ICE, that’s what we stand for.
We inspire, train and coach our students, lecturers, and partners to become daredevils in tackling small and major challenges and to create a positive social, ecological and/or sustainable impact in the world.
WE INSPIRE
We and our business partners firmly believe that inspiration is the key to tomorrow’s innovation. We inspire students with a wide range of entrepreneurial events and activities. One example is our ‘Night of the Entrepreneurial Student’, during which students take on a real-life challenge provided by a real company. After a long night of brainstorming, business modelling and pitching, students deliver their high-end solutions.
Another example is SOON: a full-blown digital/hybrid innovation festival with a focus on ‘Innovation for Humanity’. Inspiring keynotes, workshops, pitches and showcases demonstrate that there can be no future without innovation. In addition, we have a pitch contest for potential start-ups to give them an extra launch boost.
WE TRAIN
We build and foster entrepreneurial skills through training. We offer a wide range of electives, such as future sketching, speaker’s academy, start-up bootcamp, … that students can choose as part of – or even on top of – their study programme. Through our train-the-trainer sessions for teachers we facilitate the integration of ICE skills in regular courses. And finally, with our own ICE Tube and ICE Spotify channel, all ICE content is permanently available for all students, lecturers, and network partners, who can easily find tutorials on entrepreneurial topics such as tips for better pricing, business validation, influencer marketing, social entrepreneurship, and so on.
WE COACH
We coach our students, lecturers, and alumni. Get the real shit done! We want them to become real entrepreneurs, take control and create impact. ICE Cube is there for those students who want to go the extra (s)mile… for students who want to follow a specific Honours program, or for students who want to start their own business. We coach, provide tools, and offer a large and relevant network. We make them succeed and help them to rise above themselves.
COMMUNITY
In the spirit of ‘alone you go fast, but together you’ll get further’, our ICE community and ecosystem is vital. Everything within our ICE Cube is set up as a collaboration between students and (inter)national professionals. Our ICE team, ICEbassadors (lecturers) and Partners in Education (companies) bring specific expertise, while our students provide a refreshing perspective. This collaboration also transcends the boundaries of our entrepreneurial hub. It connects with our regular student projects and bachelor’s theses, and often leads to other opportunities as well. On the one hand in (local) ecosystems such as the cooperation between local governments (Geel and Mechelen), education (Thomas More and KU Leuven) and local youth organizations, with support from the European Union (EFRO) and the Flemish government (VLAIO). On the other hand, we collaborate with our cutting-edge research groups at Thomas More where more than 200 professional researchers tackle the world’s challenges of tomorrow.
If you want to be part of Thomas More’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, don’t hesitate to contact us so we can find out what we can do for one another!
Entrepreneurial regards
ICE Cube
