Our CEO Serge took centre stage to kickstart the day with a candid and captivating interview with our one and only Lisa. Lisa’s questions allowed Serge to think deeply, and share some personal and professional insights into his career journey which inspired us all! The first part of the morning was packed with inspiration and some self reflection, and not forgetting a few more light hearted questions from our online interview panel made up of colleagues children. The tone for the day was well and truly set and we couldn’t wait for the rest to unravell.
Bart Flos. A renowned motivational speaker and author was next to ignite the spark within us, taking us on an exhilarating journey through the world of organisational change, and teaching us how to embrace it. His animated gestures, and hilarious jokes had us rolling with laughter; The buzz of his enthusiasm left us feeling energised and ready to conquer new horizons and seize change!
Next up, it was time for us to channel our inner Picasso and get artsy, the mission? We were challenged to create mood boards to capture our skills, personality traits, interests and values. Using magazine cut outs, and armed with glue sticks, glittery pens and endless creativity we collectively found clarity and a renewed sense of purpose. This opportunity to self reflect guided us greatly, and brought us closer to understanding our career aspirations.
Then came the moment for us to visualise our career paths. We drew detailed roadmaps, mapping out our career paths from the very beginning to where we currently are. We focused on the skills and critical experiences we can utilise, build on and acquire to reach our dream roles. Not only did this exercise provide a tangible visualisation of our goals, it also equipped us with a clear roadmap and mindset for future career success and development.
Of course, no study day would be complete without a delicious lunch to refuel and connect with colleagues. Engaging in meaningful conversations over a tasty meal with the Futurewhiz family reiterated the sense of community and camaraderie amongst us all. By the end of the day, the atmosphere was buzzing with positivity and innovation, and the relaxed environment meant that we could share a drink together, further reinforcing the collaborative spirit that defines Futurewhiz.
This unforgettable experience served to remind us all that we each have incredible potential, coupled with amazing support and guidance from Futurewhiz to exceed our career goals, whatever those may be. Stay tuned for our next adventure because at Futurewhiz the (learning) journey never ends!
On December 1st 2010 Lex walked into our offices, which, at that time were made up of no more than 1 room in a co-working office at the Panamalaan in Amsterdam. His journey began as our first developer. Fast forward 12 ½ years and the team has certainly grown, along with the reach of our products.
From a platform for 3 grades (group 6, 7, 8) in a couple of subjects, we’ve grown to an edtech platform for primary and secondary school children in all subjects! We’ve also expanded into different countries and have seen many different colleagues come and go, though Lex has always remained!
Lex has been our constant beacon of brilliance, navigating the ever-changing edtech landscape with his magical keyboard. From the lands of Squla to the daring adventures of WRTs, Lex has sprinkled his coding prowess across all our brands, leaving a trail of amazing work thanks to his reliability and dedication.
For 12 and a half years, Lex has been an integral part of our edtech family, shaping our brands, weathering office relocations, and using his easy going, smart approach to always help others out. whether that help has been in the form of mentoring and onboarding new development teams, playing ping pong, or joining hackathons and events, he’s been a part of it!
In short, Lex is a Futurewhiz Legend, so from all of us, a huge thanks for 12 and a half years of commitment – you have made such an impact both inside and outside of the company. We’re all eagerly awaiting the next chapter of your extraordinary journey at Futurewhiz!
Under the direction of a board, Fadma sails and sails with 2 employees and a club of 25 volunteersStichting Leergeld Parkstad (this includes 7 municipalities: Beekdaelen, Brunssum, Heerlen, Kerkrade, Landgraaf, Simpelveld and Voerendaal). “Very proud and grateful that there are still people who sign up with us to do volunteer work. We can use them in the office, as intermediaries, but also as board members.” Leergeld helps children from 4 to 18 years old with bicycles, birthday presents, sports lessons, Squla and WRTS. This way they ensure that all children can participate. When a new family submits an application for support, an intermediary makes a home visit. The intermediary then maps out the wishes and needs of the family. They also refer to other facilities such as the Food Bank and Clothing Bank. After the home visit, the application is assessed by the practitioner and an income test is carried out. Leergeld tries to offer customization where possible.
Leergeld has been offering Parkstad for a number of years Squla on and since this year too WRTS. Leergeld buys the products from us at cost price and then passes them on free of charge to the families who apply for them. Squla gives the children fun in learning and extra support for all subjects, WRTS offers a nice alternative to tutoring. Both are welcome in families where the parents can’t always help with schoolwork.
“There are people who really need us, but don’t ask for help out of shame ,” says Fadma. Where previously payment had to be made with checks, the school stuff card has recently been developed. This is a card with money on it. This allows parents to pay directly, for example for school supplies at Hema and Bristol. This makes its use more practical, more anonymous and moreover much more efficient for Leergeld Parkstad.
We briefly look at the future: “ Learning money has a policy plan and every year we review what we will prioritize. I don’t believe we can cure poverty, but I do believe we can do our utmost to help as many children as possible.” The requests are manually reviewed and approved or rejected. While the main goal is to help all children, it is also important to Fadma that the people who do it have fun at Leergeld. There is a paradox here: more applications also mean more work pressure. Fadma does believe in plans for the future, but also emphasizes that today is just as important, especially now that the application pressure is high. “That is where our focus is now, to solve that and to support as many children as possible.”
Leergeld Parkstad works closely with the Nationaal Fonds Kinderhulp, Jarige Job and the Jeugdfonds Sport en Cultuur. Thanks to them, they can support children in four areas: Education, Welfare, Sport and Culture. Do you want to contribute something to Stichting Leergeld Parkstad? Take a look here to see what you can do, or send an email to info@leergeldparkstad.nl.
Are you curious about possibilities for a collaboration with Squla or WRTS? Then send an email to lisa@squla.com.
First things first, let’s set the stage.
Day one: the air was buzzing with excitement, along with the smell of croissants and coffee. Our Futurewhizzers were divided into 14 formidable teams, each embarking on a mission to revolutionise our platform using AI. Armed with laptops, caffeinated beverages, and an arsenal of snacks, the stage was set for an intense battle of innovation.
The hours ticked away rapidly, as the office transformed into a vibrant hive of activity, from engineers to designers, everyone had a part to play. The coders were feverishly typing lines of code, and the data scientists crunching numbers at the speed of light. Late night brainstorming sessions gave birth to even more new and ambitious ideas, some more far fetched than others. The atmosphere was a unique blend of focused determination and contagious excitement.
Day two quickly rolled around. With those early morning rays of sunlight creeping through the office windows, teams were greeted to a new day of bleary-eyed enthusiasm. Sleep deprived but motivated, they soldiered on, fueled by another delicious team breakfast – the smell alone was enough to awaken everyone’s creativity! With a ticking clock the teams rushed to finish their pitches before the deadline of 12.00. Time for a well-deserved lunch break! Eventually, the moment of truth arrived, as each team got the chance to showcase their final innovation, and there were some truly great ideas.
Now, let’s talk about the true heroes in this epic tale – DonkAI Bridge, who certainly took the spotlight to be crowned winners of the Hackathon extravaganza! In the new age of tik toks (and short attention spans) the team wanted to come up with a catchy, creative way for children to memorise difficult words they have trouble with. Their idea? Using AI, the children will be able to generate a songtext that will help them remember the difficult terms. AI is then also used to create an actual song out of the songtext, so that the children can listen (and learn) on repeat!
Their quirky name, and infectious energy, as well as hilarious pop culture references won the hearts of everyone present. Not to mention a certain donkey costume which rumour has it took 2 hours (!!) of driving to collect – if that’s not dedication, we don’t know what is!
Fostering Innovation and Creativity
Other teams also pitched great innovations. Some examples: “the finger counters” to help kids with math, a memorising model with spaced repetition, an FAQ Whizard, a personal AI learning buddy, “the storytellers” to learn with stories like Harry Potter or Mario, “Airis” that let you speak with historical figures… and many more great ideas!
The Futurewhiz AI Hackathon was not just about coding and competition, it was about fostering innovation and creativity, as well as great camaraderie between our colleagues. The event has highlighted the incredible potential that AI has to empower students even further. DonkAI Bridge’s triumph showcased the power of humour and imagination in engaging learners, and their victory serves as a reminder that learning should be fun, captivating, and tailored to each individual’s needs. As we move forward, and reflect on our epic hackathon, we will continue to support and nurture such groundbreaking ideas that will continue to shape the future of education.
So, raise your pizza slice to DonkAI Bridge, the tireless organisers who made the hackathon happen, and of course, to all the incredible teams that participated. Together, we are creating a brighter, smarter and more entertaining future of learning for our children.
