“Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” - Wenger-Trayner (2015).

The community can be described as a group of people who:

We want to create our community of practice, also known as the Mechanics Teachers Social Club, based on:

• Autonomy & Agency: teachers are encouraged and supported in their initiatives.
• Relatedness: teachers have shared values, views, goals, interests, experiences and problems.
• Competence: teachers are welcome to share their knowledge and best/innovative practices and learn from each other. The PRIMECH team supports this through organizing workshops and other events, bringing outside expert knowledge when necessary/requested.

These key points are based on the principles Self Determination Theory (Niemiec, C.P. and Ryan, R.M.,2009. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and research in Education, 7(2), pp.133-144).

Right now, there are more than 70 talented Mechanics teachers scattered around the many TU Delft faculties. We believe that teachers have an essential role in improving students' learning, being the ones not only teaching the subject content, but also structuring the course they deliver, deciding the learning objectives and choosing the learning activities.

For this reason, we think it is indispensable to co-develop educational innovation with teachers and by bringing these teachers together, we can unlock a tremendous potential to tackle the educational challenges we are facing. Have a look at the interactive graph of the courses taught by the teachers in PRIMECH.

The PRIMECH Advisory Board plays a crucial role in shaping and guiding the strategic direction of the program. Tasked with ensuring the continuity of PRIMECH, the board develops long-term plans that align with the program's mission and goals. Additionally, the Advisory Board provides valuable feedback on execution plans formulated by the Core Team, ensuring alignment with overall objectives.

The board includes members from every TU Delft faculty, along with representatives from the Teaching Academy and the Central Student Council, fostering diverse perspectives and comprehensive oversight.

Currently, the point of contact for the PRIMECH Advisory Board is Tom van Woudenberg. You can reach Tom by emailing to t.r.vanwoudenberg@tudelft.nl.

By Mechanics we refer to the disciplines that study the effects of loadings on physical bodies and structures. Mechanics subjects such as Statics, Dynamics and Mechanics of Materials are present in almost all bachelor curricula at TU Delft.

At the moment we are focusing on Solid Mechanics, but in the future we are planning to extend the community to Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics teachers. Have a look at the interactive graph of the courses taught by the teachers in PRIMECH.

The project has been initiated by the Central Student Council (lead by member Marijn Roelvink, mainly inspired by PRIME) and supported by the Pro Vice Rector Joint Education (Hans Hellendoorn). After receiving funding from the Student Councils' investment fund and NPO funds, it officially started on 1st October 2021.

The first step we took has been an explorative analyses,in order to get a good understanding of the context and align with the stakeholders’ expectations. In this phase, interviews with more than 30 stakeholders were conducted and an analysis of the TUD structure, educational vision, policies and other educational projects was performed. Find out more about PRIMECH first steps in the paper we presented at the 19th International CDIO Conference in 2023 at NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.