Innovation seems to be the most important element of activities of companies to stay vital in a very competitive international market. Innovation is the process of developing products or services in an organisation for a market. Especially small and medium-sized companies, for which it is difficult to invest in innovation research and development, need to be provided with young professionals to help them make the right decisions on innovation development. At the moment higher professional education in the Netherlands is not preparing students enough as future professionals in SMEs, for the task if initiating and to developing innovations in these SME's. Therefore it is needed that higher professional education comprehensively implement these innovation competences in its curriculum. At the Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, innovation has become an important element in teaching students innovation competences. In 2007/8 a pilot has been introduced the department of Engineering with first year students in a multidisciplinary and action-based setting. First year students of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in a 5-credit programme try to find new patentable products. The outcome of this first try-out was that students realized the importance of innovation for the profession and they were eager to work in this innovative setting. Some adjustments in the education will be made as there are: timetable and project settings to timetables and schedules will have to be made.
This paper describes a model for education in innovative engineering. The kernel of this model is, that students from different departments of the faculty of Applied Science and Technology are placed in industry for a period of eighteen months after two-and-a-half year of theoretical studies. During this period students work in multi-disciplinary projects on different themes. Students will grow to fully equal employees in industry. Therefore it is important that besides students, teachers and company employees will participate in the projects. Also the involvement of other level students (University and high school) is recommended. The most important characteristics of the model can be summarized in innovative, interdisciplinary and international orientation.
In the current discourses on sustainable development, one can discern two main intellectual cultures: an analytic one focusing on measuring problems and prioritizing measures, (Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), Mass Flow Analysis (MFA), etc.) and; a policy/management one, focusing on long term change, change incentives, and stakeholder management (Transitions/niches, Environmental economy, Cleaner production). These cultures do not often interact and interactions are often negative. However, both cultures are required to work towards sustainability solutions: problems should be thoroughly identified and quantified, options for large change should be guideposts for action, and incentives should be created, stakeholders should be enabled to participate and their values and interests should be included in the change process. The paper deals especially with engineering education. Successful technological change processes should be supported by engineers who have acquired strategic competences. An important barrier towards training academics with these competences is the strong disciplinarism of higher education. Raising engineering students in strong disciplinary paradigms is probably responsible for their diminishing public engagement over the course of their studies. Strategic competences are crucial to keep students engaged and train them to implement long term sustainable solutions.
Various companies in diagnostic testing struggle with the same “valley of death” challenge. In order to further develop their sensing application, they rely on the technological readiness of easy and reproducible read-out systems. Photonic chips can be very sensitive sensors and can be made application-specific when coated with a properly chosen bio-functionalized layer. Here the challenge lies in the optical coupling of the active components (light source and detector) to the (disposable) photonic sensor chip. For the technology to be commercially viable, the price of the disposable photonic sensor chip should be as low as possible. The coupling of light from the source to the photonic sensor chip and back to the detectors requires a positioning accuracy of less than 1 micrometer, which is a tremendous challenge. In this research proposal, we want to investigate which of the six degrees of freedom (three translational and three rotational) are the most crucial when aligning photonic sensor chips with the external active components. Knowing these degrees of freedom and their respective range we can develop and test an automated alignment tool which can realize photonic sensor chip alignment reproducibly and fully autonomously. The consortium with expertise and contributions in the value chain of photonics interfacing, system and mechanical engineering will investigate a two-step solution. This solution comprises a passive pre-alignment step (a mechanical stop determines the position), followed by an active alignment step (an algorithm moves the source to the optimal position with respect to the chip). The results will be integrated into a demonstrator that performs an automated procedure that aligns a passive photonic chip with a terminal that contains the active components. The demonstrator is successful if adequate optical coupling of the passive photonic chip with the external active components is realized fully automatically, without the need of operator intervention.
The postdoc candidate, Giuliana Scuderi, will strengthen the connection between the research group Biobased Buildings (BB), (collaboration between Avans University of Applied Sciences and HZ University of Applied Sciences (HZ), and the Civil Engineering bachelor programme (CE) of HZ. The proposed research aims at deepening the knowledge about the mechanical properties of biobased materials for the application in the structural and infrastructural sectors. The research is relevant for the professional field, which is looking for safe and sustainable alternatives to traditional building materials (such as lignin asphalt, biobased panels for bridge constructions, etc.). The study of the mechanical behaviour of traditional materials (such as concrete and steel) is already part of the CE curriculum, but the ambition of this postdoc is that also BB principles are applied and visible. Therefore, from the first year of the programme, the postdoc will develop a biobased material science line and will facilitate applied research experiences for students, in collaboration with engineering and architectural companies, material producers and governmental bodies. Consequently, a new generation of environmentally sensitive civil engineers could be trained, as the labour market requires. The subject is broad and relevant for the future of our built environment, with possible connections with other fields of study, such as Architecture, Engineering, Economics and Chemistry. The project is also relevant for the National Science Agenda (NWA), being a crossover between the routes “Materialen – Made in Holland” and “Circulaire economie en grondstoffenefficiëntie”. The final products will be ready-to-use guidelines for the applications of biobased materials, a portfolio of applications and examples, and a new continuous learning line about biobased material science within the CE curriculum. The postdoc will be mentored and supervised by the Lector of the research group and by the study programme coordinator. The personnel policy and job function series of HZ facilitates the development opportunity.
Eggshell particles as bio-ceramic in sustainable bioplastic engineering – ESP-BIOPACK Plastics make our lives easier in many ways. However, if they are not properly disposed of, they end up in the environment. Recently, biodegradable biopolymers, such as polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxy alkanoates (PHAs), have moved towards alternatives for applications such as sustainable packaging. The major limitations of these biopolymers are the high cost, which is due to the high cost of the starting materials and the small volumes, and the poor thermal and mechanical properties such as limited processability and low impact resistance. Attempts to modify PHAs have been researched in many ways, such as blending various biodegradable polymers or mixing inorganic mineral fillers. Eggshell (10 million tons per year by 2030) is a natural bio-ceramic mineral with a unique chemical composition of calcium carbonate (>95% calcite). So far it has been regarded as a zero-value waste product, but it could be a great opportunity as raw material to reduce the cost of biopolymers and to improve properties, including the decomposition process at the end-of-life. In this project, we aim to develop eggshell particles that serve as bio-fillers in biopolymers to lower the cost of the product, to improve mechanical properties and to facilitate the validation of end-of-life routes, therefore, economically enhance the wide applications of such. The developed bioplastic packaging materials will be applied in SME partner EGGXPERT’s cosmetics line but also in other packaging applications, such as e.g. biodegradable coffee capsules. To be able to realize the proposed idea, the partnership between Chemelot Innovation and Learning Labs (CHILL), EGGXPERT B.V. and the Research Centre Material Sciences of Zuyd University of Applied Sciences is needed to research the physical, mechanical and end-of-life influences of eggshell particles (ESP) in biopolymers such as PLA and PHA and optimize their performance.
