Children's university

The year 2005 saw the launch of the Children’s University, organized by the then Information and External Relations department to familiarize children with science and the university at an early age. The first series of lectures dealt with topics such as regret, justice and commercials. Right from the word go, the interest in six lectures was overwhelming, with well over 2,400 applications for 960 available seats. National media ‒ including five camera crews ‒ were also greatly interested, as the phenomenon of the Children’s University had only been known in Germany up to that moment.

Tilburg University Junior,with crown princess Amalia during a a mini class by professor Eric Postma in 2017, in the city centre, on love between robots. The princess visitied Tilburg because of Kingsday.

One-hour lectures

The Children’s University was the substitute of the annual Science Day, a national event that in Tilburg never quite managed to generate the interest it deserved. Through their children, the Children’s University also reached the parents, who were initially able to witness the lectures on-screen in an adjacent room in the Dante Building. In 2017, the one-hour lectures were held in the Auditorium, with the parents taking back seats and the children taking front-row seats. These lectures are generally held on Wednesday afternoons, and admission is free. They are open to all children aged 10-12. In 2007, the Children’s University was organized in collaboration with the Eindhoven University of Technology and dealt with topics such as robotics, gaming and sewerage from technical, historical and behavioral perspectives. The lectures were given simultaneously at both Universities, with two professors discussing these topics and interacting through an online connection. High expenses caused this initiative to be terminated after a number of runs.

Books

Between 2007-2014, the Tilburg Children’s University produced five informative children’s books, three of those in collaboration with Inmerc publishers and two with Zwijsen. The fourth children’s book, entitled Me! Who’s that? and encouraging children to think about “what it is that makes you YOU,” was the winner of the 2011 Zilveren Griffel award for being the most informative children’s book. On the occasion of King’s Day 2016, when the royal couple visited Tilburg, the University put on a special edition of the Children’s University, with the princesses Amalia, Alexia and Ariane taking part. Pictures of the princesses made international headlines and, for a little while, put the Children’s University on the global map. Twelve years on, the Children’s University continues to be a sold out event; lectures continue to be introduced with a knowledge quiz or a stage performance and concluded with a question round, showing that children continue to be as interested and curious as ever.