For the IB-Groep (the national Dutch body that handles all studentships, student loans and university registrations) we organised a half day workshop to explore and discuss new ideas and concepts for financial services for young students.
In their last year at high school and in their first year at university, many of these students are trying to figure out how to manage their personal finance. They have a high need for information and guidance, and they prefer the services of the IB-Groep to be available to them in an integrated way through multiple channels. Their actual usage of these channels may appear to be quite eratic, but our in-depth research into their experiences and motivations revealed that they are often quite intensly involved in learning how things work and developing their understanding further by discussing their situation with their social environment.
With a group of managers from various departments within IB-Groep we immersed ourselves in the personal experiences and perspectives of the participants in the research. We developed insights into the most important difficulties, wishes and concerns. Focusing on relevant strategic challenges and opportunities for the IB-Groep in this area, we generated ideas for potential new financial services the IB-Groep can offer these students, both on a short and a longer term.