“I was always the outsider, but I've found the role for me”

Vazquez describes himself as someone who is energized by doing a lot of different things. He is an engineer who not only enjoys taking an in-depth approach to a technical challenge, but who wants more. “Most of my colleagues didn’t understand why I wasn't focusing on my job to the exclusion of all else. I didn't fit into the standard notion of ‘the engineer’ and it took a while before I felt comfortable in the role. Don't forget that the people I work with did their engineering training twenty years ago on average. The skills the university is now asking of its graduates have certainly changed somewhat in that time.”

In his daily life Vazquez - alumnus of Automotive Technology at TU/e - is a consultant for TMC, an international high-tech consultancy company. In this role he works on hardcore technical solutions for various clients, such as DAF, ASML and HightechXL. “The variety is very enjoyable; working in this way allows you to get to know different companies.” But Vazquez is looking for more: “I have always done various things alongside each other. While working for TMC, for example, I've given workshops, presentations and training sessions on cross-cultural collaboration. In Mexico I spent some time working as a high-school teacher. I like presenting to groups, teaching others something.”

Here I'm using all my skills at once

Hybrid teacher Ignacio Vazquez

So Vazquez did not need to think twice when he was asked whether he wanted to become a hybrid teacher at TU/e innovation Space. “I like teaching, presenting to a group. It requires me to use all my skills at once: hardcore technical knowledge, coaching, motivating, being able to communicate across disciplines.” 

For three semesters now he has been the lynch pin between industry and education for students doing their bachelor's Graduation Project within innovation Space (ISBEP). Responsible lecturer Peter Ruijten-Dodoiu is the coordinator of the challenge-based course. Students are grouped to work on a real-life assignment drawn from industry. “For them, this is a path strewn with uncertainties. They have to learn a new language because otherwise they won't always understand each other, have to learn how to behave with stakeholders and ultimately to produce a design or prototype - a cut-down version of everything they will have to do when they start work,” says Ruijten-Dodoiu, summarizing. “And so I thought it would be wise to get someone from industry involved in this course. In his daily work, Ignacio is doing exactly what we want our students to learn.”

Psychology & Technology student Delano Gaasbeek values the fresh perspective Vazquez brings. “These are things you don't normally get. He gives a clearer perspective of how things are done in industry. How people join forces to work from a real problem towards a solution.”

Learning to communicate

Vazquez gives workshops in the ideation phase, on how to visualize and present your project, how to bring together disciplines within a project, and he coaches the groups when they face technical problems. Mechanical Engineering student Sophie van der Kallen says that Vazquez sees things in a very different way. “Like, he tackles problems in a fun way. He taught us the right way to communicate, for example with the hospital that provided our assignment. “He knows exactly the right degree of simplification you need to apply to complicated matters in order to communicate well. Whenever our planning went wrong, it wasn't hard for him to get us back on track. I found his contribution really useful.”

Vazquez tells that over time his role has changed. Whereas in the first semester of his involvement he acted mainly as a coach to the student teams, they are now experimenting with multiple coaches, among them student assistants. “Now my focus includes the teaching skills of the other coaches, so I'm the lead coach, as it were. If they cannot solve something themselves, they can always come to me.” And on the side he is also learning a thing or two himself: “I am learning about my style of leading and facilitating groups. My role is that of a bridge builder, my place is always between all the parties: engineers, marketing, software developers… Think of me as a sort of guide, bringing together people who know more about the subject matter than I do, helping them to cooperate.”

All my time is for the students

Hybrid teacher Ignacio Vazquez

He is also helping to envisage the future of challenge-based learning at TU/e. “It is really taking off, but how can you scale it up? You can't have fifty coaches ambling about the place. This is something else we are now experimenting with. Everything we do is all about the students. I don't give any grades and I don't have any administration to do. My time is for the students, I want to coach them and help them develop.” Every Friday Vazquez works for the course, but this does not mean that on other days he becomes He Who Cannot be Reached. “You can call Ignacio anytime,” says Mechanical Engineering student Luuk Evers emphatically.

After three semesters Ruijten-Dodoiu has a good impression of Vazquez's added value as a hybrid lecturer. “Ignacio gives our students the tools to work in the right way in the real world. We aim to add something to their toolbox every week. And I'm already seeing that the cooperation within the multidisciplinary teams is improving, that the output is improving. Everything is simply becoming that little bit more professional.”

Best of two worlds

“Thanks to this pilot I have the best of two worlds,” says Vazquez happily. “Apparently this combination is not yet that commonplace. This makes it difficult to find role models of your own and to plan your own development.” Not to mention the challenge of keeping all the balls in the air when it comes to his paperwork. He has six diaries and mailboxes to keep up with, because alongside his job at various companies and his hybrid lectureship, he is also taking the Master's of System Design and Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “MIT is like innovation Space, but on steroids. This program is for people just like me, people between fields of work. Between engineering and management.” In September he will be setting off for the United States, leaving not only TMC but also TU/e. “It's no easy decision, but this is simply something I have to do.” Responsible lecturer Peter Ruijten-Dodoiu fully understands why Vazquez is leaving. “We are now documenting how he designs his workshops, which tools he uses. So that soon we'll be able to take over his role.”