ACE Yourself App
Pablo Ortiz
Who are you and what project do you work on?
I’m Pablo Ortiz de Zaldumbide and I am from Colombia. I have recently been transitioning from Innovation Designer to Innovation and Technology manager at ErasmusX. I am currently the project lead of the Ace Yourself and the Game Based Learning projects at ErasmusX.
What does innovation mean to you?
Innovation is more human than nature driven. It’s the power that humans have to resignify their surroundings, their lives, their relationships, their practices and their beliefs. I believe Innovation happens when the things we thought we once knew as facts are transformed forever in our lives and in our minds. More than the means or the technologies used to make the change, it is the mentality shift itself that officializes the innovation. To innovate you need to be open for the mindshift, to ask more, contemplate different answers and dare to choose the one that will open yet more questions. Innovation is not inherently good or evil. So do no harm to any living organism or community during the innovation exercise and try your best to make innovation bring more benefits than disadvantages to its context.
What are three facts we wouldn’t know about you?
I worked in a jail as a designer back in Bogota and it has been one of the most impactful projects that I have ever worked on. I founded LATITUD, the Latin American Student Association from TU Delft together with other fellow students in 2016 and it’s still running with lots of frequent professional and community events promoting Latin American cultures in the Netherlands. I am fluent in 4 languages: Spanish is my native language, I learned French during my childhood since I went to a French school, I learned English in the French school (so if I wouldn’t get it, I would get the explanation in French) and I ended up learning Dutch while in the Netherlands (Faking it, until I made it to the C1 level a “heel netjes taalgebruik”)
What is your favorite innovative or futuristic piece of media?
As a game designer and a big role playing games fan, I got totally mindblown when I played Disco Elysium. It felt like a totally different experience, and a way more human experience than any other game I have played before. I believe the storytelling is revolutionary and gives life to many inner struggles that every human being handles on a regular basis. It portrays a future where we are in constant dialogue with our thoughts and emotions in social situations… It sounds simple but we’re far behind on THAT technology.
What do you do outside of work?
I play videogames, watch movies, draw A LOT of doodles with my fineliners whether it being for work or for recreation and I make cool geometric cardboard/polypropylene masks. I go for once a week along the Rotte river, I do some bouldering with friends (I am into it for the social aspect, I am not going to lie) and I meet with Spanish speaking friends every now and then to travel back home without moving. I also spend a lot of time with my wife and I keep in touch with my family.
Where will education be in 5 years?
I believe that most lessons come from beyond the classroom. We learn through interacting with our online and offline environments, from interacting with others as students, teachers, employees, teammates, heroes or anti-heroes. There is an infinity of interactions that can help us grow and it is up to us to explore. The future of education is interactive!
What can we come to you for?
Come to me if you want to explore ways to make a mind shift towards innovation in your life. On a more practical basis, come to me for matters related with design thinking, service design, game design, education technologies, UX/UI design, project management, creativity as a skill, videogames, movies and dogs.
get in touch with
Pablo Ortiz
Macarena Lara
Who are you and what project do you work on?
I’m Macarena Lara and I’m the Research Manager of the team. I work on the Ace Yourself and MyESL projects.
What does innovation mean to you?
Innovation is applying creativity to come up with original alternatives or ideas that could help solve relevant issues for society.
What are three facts we wouldn’t know about you?
I lived through a strong earthquake. I have been paragliding. I love milk chocolate (but not with sea salt).
What is your favorite innovative or futuristic piece of media?
I love Ted Lasso, it’s not futuristic but somehow it is innovative because it combines light comedy with deep life messages to highlight how empathy is key in our society.
What do you do outside of work?
I love music, dance, yoga, biking, and art in general.
Where will education be in 5 years?
Education will be more accessible, flexible, diverse, and dynamic around the world by taking advantage of new technologies, curiosity and unpredictable scenarios.
What can we come to you for?
A conversation to brainstorm about research ideas, field work challenges and methods to help you answer your research questions.
get in touch with
Macarena Lara
GOALS
To help students feel prepared for their university journey.
To help first-year higher education students grow more confident in their abilities.
To increase academic quality and mental health for incoming first-year students
Achievements
We combined user-centered research and scientific research to ensure scientific backing as well as student endorsement.
In July 2023, the pilot of the app was tested by over 700 students during the Pre-Academic Programme (PAP) of the school year 2023/2024.
Macarena Lara presented the results of a survey identifying the most relevant skills among high school and higher education students at the EDULEARN23 conference.
Macarena Lara, Martine Baars and Phoebe Dekkers presented their research that contextualises and led the successful development of the app at the ICERI 2022 Conference.
Partners & contributors
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