News

On September 30 4TU-REDESIGN was present at the opening of the new Casimir Institute of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) focusing on future chips and high-tech systems. During the expo market of the opening event a sneak preview was given into the exhibition that is being prepared for the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven in October. One of the central elements in the exhibition is a ‘talking plant’ that is sharing the voices of different stakeholders in the food system. This resulting in many interesting conversations with the visitors of the event about our food system in place and helped in making the final adjustments to the exposition in October.

Work from Computer Scientists from the Ashok University (India) is found to closely link to 4TU-Redesign. Professor Lipika Dey and professor Partha Pratim Das use computer science to connect diets, production, and health.

4TU.Redesign members Donika Xhani, Gayane Sedrakyan, Anand Gavai, Renata Guizzardi, and Jos van Hillegersberg have published a new paper titled “The Role and Applications of Semantic Interoperability Tools and eXplainable AI in the Development of Smart Food Systems: Findings from a Systematic Literature Review” in the journal Intelligent Systems with Applications (ISwA).

As part of the 3rd consortium meeting of 4TU-Redesign, HAS students Bjel Vahsen, Esmee Blankestijn and Fiebe van Silfhout presented their findings on the potential of an attractive city greenhouse in Den Bosch. Their city greenhouse serves various purposes such as consumer education and health awareness. Overall, they stressed the importance of social functions over production functions.

We are excited to announce that the 4TU-Redesign consortium will exhibit during Dutch Design Week in October 2025. Our design team is working on an installation that highlights the wide variety of stakeholder interactions that together make up the functions of the complex system. Through this, we want to show how actors are inextricably linked in the Dutch food system and showcase the negotiations between them. 

4TU-Redesign consortium members Kathleen Guan and Caroline Figueroa start partnership with the Indonesian School in The Hague, on AI co-creation

4TU-Redesign consortium members Kathleen Guan and Caroline Figueroa organize Hackathon at Hoge School Arnhem

4TU-Redesign consortium member Caroline Figueroa awarded a Commonwealth Harkness Fellowship

4TU-REDESIGN at TU/e Expo to prepare for Dutch Design Week 2025

The future of data-driven food systems may not rely on traditional data-sharing models but on federated platforms—a novel approach that enables organizations to collaborate without exposing sensitive data. By leveraging privacy-preserving AI techniques, federated learning allows multiple parties to gain insights from decentralized data, enhancing decision-making in areas like food safety, supply chains, and sustainability.

Caroline Figueroa Speaks on AI Bias at FemData Panel at Pakhuis de Zwijger

We are proud to share that Maral Mahdad, a member of the 4TU-Redesign consortium, has been honoured with two prestigious awards at TU/e. She won the Best Teacher Award (MSc Industrial Engineering, “New Talent” category) in 2024, and also secured second place in the Education Innovation Award 2024–2025.

4TU members Caroline Figueroa, Kathleen Guan and Gayane Sedrakyan published a perspective on Health Recommender Systems (HRS) and their role in promoting health equity in JMIR Publications. They provide actionable recommendations on how to design more inclusive and impactful HRS by considering the multiple, nested levels of influence shaping individual health. https://www.jmir.org/2025/1/e60138

This initiative focuses on high blood pressure in peri- and postmenopausal women—a critical yet often overlooked health issue. The project will adapt the Blood Pressure Challenge, by the Healthcoach Program, to better fit the needs of women from diverse backgrounds. https://www.healthy-society.nl/news/opschalingsprojecten-binnen-het-healthy-society-programma

On the TU/e campus, Sophia, Oscar, Kathleen and Donika presented their proposals and how they relate to each other. Multiple ideas for cooperations emerged. For instance, for Kathleen it will interesting to see which percentage of youth and young adults can be reached with health apps in various ‘Hungry cities’ – as explored by Sophia. In turn, Donika‘s research on ontologies informs the design of these apps. Then, the overall feasibility and resilience of a connected, personalized and urban food system will be addressed by Oscar.