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Inchainge Connect Educator Conference 2021

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The Inchainge Connect Educator Conference took place for the first time as an exclusive global event on April 14th. The theme was ‘The Evolution of Integrated Learning – Reshaping Value Chain Education’. It was such a great experience! We welcomed a total of 300+ participants and speakers in our online platform, Scoocs. It’s an online events platform where you can easily create and manage engaging and immersive online event experiences. 

After much preparation, we held an extended 3-block program (morning, afternoon & evening) accessible to all time zones filled with (keynote) speakers, track chairs, networking activities and more. Participants got the unique opportunity to connect with their peers from all over the globe using our networking tables or match roulettes.

Our keynote speakers

We had several world-renowned Keynote speakers who presented very interesting topics: Prof. Dr. Jan H.G. Klabbers, Prof. Dr. Wayne Visser, Eveline van Zeeland, and Kay Peterson.

Prof. Dr. Jan H.G. Klabbers, author of “The Magic Circle: Principles of Gaming & Simulation.”

Prof. Dr. Jan H.G. Klabbers, unfortunately, had to cancel his live attendance to the conference for personal reasons, but instead, he recorded a session especially for Inchainge Connect about ‘The Magic Circle and principles of game-based learning’. To make it interactive, Birgit Zürn and Hans van der Drift joined the session as speakers to share their insights and experiences with the audience. Both of them are connected to Prof. Dr. Klabbers plus they are experienced with the magic circle. It was a very inspiring session!

Prof. Dr. Wayne Visser, one of the world’s Top 10 most influential faculty thinkers and a top 100 sustainability leader presenting ‘Closing the Loop’.

Prof. Dr. Wayne Visser is a driver of sustainability and circularity for many years now, inspiring students and professionals alike to take action for change. Most recently, he shot the documentary “Closing the loop” and he presented the audience with the experience he went through when interviewing the different stakeholders for the documentary. The main message was to start speaking a lot more about solutions and not only about problems, so that’s what Prof. Dr. Wayne Visser did at Inchainge Connect. He presented several inspiring and high-impact showcases of solutions that are being developed across the globe.

Inchainge Connect was also the place where the first two copies of the textbook Mastering the Circular Economy were handed over to the authors Ed Weenk and Rozanne Henzen by no one else than Prof. Dr. Wayne Visser. In an “online handover”, he had the pleasure to get this textbook started.

In an interactive Q&A session, the audience was able to ask their questions and interact with Prof. Dr. Wayne Visser, the book authors, and Noah Schaul, a contributor to the book. During this interactive part, the panel and the participating educators shared and discussed best practices on teaching circularity.

Eveline van Zeeland, Ph.D. neuroscience – Industrial Marketing and best-selling author, presenting ‘The neuroscience of game-based learning’.

Eveline van Zeeland hosted a very interactive session where she disclosed the world of The neuroscience of game based learning. She showed us how game based learning (GBL) ‘fits’ not only with the sensing-thinking-doing functioning of the nervous system but also with the natural ‘needs’ of the brain: to be in control, to feel good and to make things logic and congruent. She also answered the question: ‘Is game based learning better than other ways of learning?’.

The answer was from a neuroscientific perspective and she argued that it depends:

  • There has to be a balance between receiving and using knowledge.
  • The results of GBL also depend on the context in which a game is played.
  • System failures may kill the positive attitude of students towards a game. 
  • In GBL, there’s no ‘one size fits all’. Not each challenge works for each student, also because of the variety in learning styles.

Kay Peterson, Founder, and CEO of the Institute for Experiential Learning (IFEL) and author of “How You Learn Is How You Live”, by Kay Peterson and David A. Kolb.

In her session, Kay Peterson (founder and CEO of the Institute for Experiential Learning), concluded the Inchainge Connect Educator Conference with her thoughts on and experiences with Experiential Learning for Team Success in Business. “The Way We Learn Is The Way We Live”.

She presented three steps towards team success in business simulations:

  1. Establish conditions:
    • Develop individual and team awareness of the learning process to guide decision-making and ensure learning occurs
    • Use Kolb Experiential Learning Profile and/or the Team Learning Report to increase awareness of team members’ individual preferences, strengths, and challenges
    • Encourage learning culture by creating a shared language and conditions of psychological safety
  1. Follow the process:
    • Use the Learning Cycle process intentionally at the team level
    • Acknowledge learning preferences and amplify strengths of the team while managing gaps
    • Negotiate a clear team purpose
  1. Create positive outcomes:
    • Develop agile, innovative teams with members who share a language and process of learning
    • Link team learning to organizational learning to learn faster than the rate of change
    • Achieve simulation success and empower participants to take charge of their performance, learning and development long after the simulation ends

Many interesting topics with great speakers!

Apart from keynote speakers, we had many more inspiring sessions on a wide variety of topics during Inchainge Connect, such as internationalization at home, supply chain finance, supply chain education, data analytics, supply chain resilience, supply chain risk management, experiential learning, integrated learning approach and more.

We could make a never-ending article if we were to highlight all of them, but we would like to thank all speakers, track chairs, and moderators for making this a great event! 

It was amazing to see educators from all over the globe networking, sharing best practices and experiences with each other during each session.

Participant testimonials

After 14 hours of conference, I am so inspired by all the wonderful people that are part of the Inchainge community, including my own colleagues, who showed no fear of getting into this exciting adventure. I am grateful that our first online Global Inchainge Connect Educator Conference 2021, covering three time zones, to serve our global customer base, and our potential community members, has been a great success! 

– Corine Van der Sloot – Global Director of Education at Inchainge

I’ve just attended the Inchainge Connect Educator Conference for the very first time and I will definitely do it again! Not only did the speakers provided very high-quality conferences, but the topics addressed are a good reflection of the issues we’re currently facing in Supply Chain. The outcome will definitely help us raise our minds and therefore, our students. I also really appreciated the diversity of people attending the conference and the ability to easily meet new people and, at the end of the day, increase our network.

– Elsa Beauvy, Global Supply Chain Project Manager in Reverse logistics at bioMérieux 

The Inchainge Connect Educator Conference was a very insightful conference with a lot of recognized speakers and great topics that addressed many current challenges. It was also a great networking place and the whole organization was more than professional, especially considering that it was an online company project that succeeded in attracting so many participants.

– Georgics Vousinas, Doctoral Researcher at National Technical University of Athens

Great thought provoking sessions. Brilliant knowledge sharing from Inchainge fraternity. My appreciation is for Inchainge management. Bravo and keep doing superb work.

– Farrukh Iqbal, Assistant professor, UCP Business School 

Conclusion

We hope that this conference was of value to all those who participated. Now the question is to them: What did you take back to prepare your students for the future?

Here are some resources or events that were announced during the conference:

  • Coming soon – The Integrated Learning Approach whitepaper. Pre-register here.
  • Check out the textbook ‘Mastering the Supply Chain’ by Ed Weenk.
  • Ed Weenk and Rozanne Henzen also recently launched the textbook ‘Mastering the Circular Economy’. Check it out now.
  • Check out our webinar page and (re)watch the sessions you find interesting at your own convenience.

Once again, a big thank you to all of the keynote speakers, track chairs, speakers, moderators, and participants for making our first online edition a success!