The Technology Drivers of 2022 are now in full swing. Building on the insights of their predecessors, they defined concrete projects to accelerate transitions with technological innovations within 5 important societal themes: Circular Economy, Digital Safety, Energy, Agriculture and Healthcare. Want to know what they are working on? We will give you a sneak preview.
Circular Economy - Material Passport
TU Delft students Sebastian Veerman and Boudewijn Göbel are joining forces to tackle the plastic problem. Much of the plastic waste is currently not fully recyclable due to the various types of plastics being used. And they are convinced that needs to change. That is why they are working on a Material Passport for plastic packaging. So that customers can see how recyclable the packaging of a product really is and have the option to consciously buy more sustainably.
Digital Safety - Closing the gap
Thyne Scholte of the University of Twente is working on the theme of digital safety. In a world where everything and everyone is dependent on digital systems, there is a threat of a huge shortage of suitable experts who keep organisations, the government and society digitally secure. The industry recognises a gap between graduates who want to work in cyber security and the actual practical skills required to do so. Thyne is going to bridge this gap in his project for the Technology Drivers. He will not do this alone; together with companies and experts, he will ensure a better match between students and the labour market.
Energy - Hydrogen challenges
Sophie de Hont and Gijs Mescher, both from Eindhoven University of Technology, focus on an important topic within the energy transition: hydrogen. To make the hydrogen goals from the Climate Agreement a reality, production will need to be scaled up considerably. But there are still a number of challenges to overcome. Sophie and Gijs highlight these challenges in a playful manner and invite politicians and the business community to experience the problems and possible solutions for themselves. By doing so, they provide a firm stimulus for these important players to make the right choices and to actually accelerate the hydrogen transition.
Agriculture - Agricultural innovations in the classroom
Where does our food come from? Why is our agricultural sector so important? And what technological innovations in agriculture are there to produce food in a sustainable way? These are the questions that Douwe de Jong (Wageningen University & Research) and Mustafa Agbaria (TU Delft) want secondary school students to to work on. In their project, they use education as a platform to help young people, who are on the verge of making their own (sustainable) decisions about their groceries. Not only do they make them aware of where our food comes from, but they also introduce them to the technological innovations that we currently have and will be needing to sustainably produce enough food for everyone.
Healthcare - The GP of the future
Keeping healthcare affordable, now and in the future. That is the mission of Niels van Herwijnen, student of Eindhoven University of Technology. In his project, he tackles an important topic to make this a reality: prevention. He will focus on a group of healthcare professionals who play a key role in driving prevention: general practitioners. Which technological innovations are already being successfully used by GPs and how does the focus on prevention contribute to a future-proof healthcare system? Niels will bring the GPs of the future together and put them in the spotlight.
Would you like to contribute?
The Technology Drivers are always looking for experts from science and practice who would like to contribute to their projects or share insights. Do you have expertise in one of the subjects that the Technology Drivers of 2022 will be working on? And would you like to contribute to accelerating societal transitions through technological innovations? Then please get in touch via aanjagersvantechnologie@4tu.nl.