Regional innovation with global impact

Scope Biosciences is headquartered on the Wageningen Campus and is embedded in the vibrant innovation ecosystem of the East Netherlands region. Maureen Haverkamp, Investment Manager at Oost NL: “Scope Biosciences technology aligns perfectly with our ambition to foster regional innovation with global relevance. We are proud to support this pioneering company as it enters its next growth phase.”

scopeDx®: Bringing diagnostics out of the lab

Scope Biosciences’ main mission is a next-genCRISPR-based molecular diagnostics platform -scopeDx®. scopeDx®deliversultra-precise, single-nucleotide detectionin a format that’sportable and field-ready without proprietary hardware or centralized labs.

“We’re grateful for the continued backing of SHIFT and Oost NL, and proud to have secured significant public and private support as we bring our technology closer to market,” said Niek Savelkoul, CEO and founder of Scope Biosciences.“We’re scaling up, building out our platform and getting ready to meet real-world diagnostic challenges head-on.”

The technology allows diagnostics to be performed closer to the source, meaning in the field, at the point of care, or directly within agricultural operations. In agriculture this means earlier and more effective detection of crop diseases. For health care it contributes to faster and broader access to reliable testing, especially in areas where centralized laboratories are not available.

Smart and practical

In the Foodvalley Region, governments, entrepreneurs and educational institutions work together on sustainable solutions. Collaboration is often the basis for innovations with a major impact. The Foodvalley Region Innovation Awards 2025 are presented to the most impactful innovations. In addition to the expert jury prize, a public prize is also awarded in all categories.

Criteria

The Food Valley Region Innovation Award is intended for innovative products, processes and services with a major impact within and outside the Food Valley Region. To be eligible for the innovation award, the following criteria apply:

• The innovation belongs to one of the following sectors:
  • Manufacturing companies
  • Agri-food
  • ICT
• It concerns a product or process innovation.
• he innovation works and this can be demonstrated with results or a prototype.
• The innovation is the entrant's own development.

Latest winners

The winners of the Foodvalley Region Innovation Award 2024 were Info Support and BIT (ICT), Cheffix (Manufacturing companies) and HatchTech (Agri-food). The audience awards went to Draad (ICT), Bruil (Manufacturing companies) and G. van Beek & Zn (Agri-food).

Registration

Entrepreneurs can register until 31 August 2025 via the Foodvalley website. The Foodvalley Region Innovation Awards 2025 will be presented on 29 October 2025 during a festive gathering in Nijkerk. Be sure to mark this date in your calendar.

Fixeau was impressed by the intake process of Wageningen Campus. During this process, Fixeau needed to first deliver a pitch for admission. After that, they were invited to pitch their company during a lunch interview with other Wageningen Campus companies and the admission board. “This was a great way to introduce ourselves and get to know the others” the team shared. This process designed to ensure that incoming businesses align with the values and goals of the community, reassured Fixeau of the network’s quality and long-term vision. Entering Wageningen Campus means more than just renting an office space, Wageningen Campus has a reliable selection process and provides meaningful connections for companies.

Now with an office in Plus Ultra II in the startup corner, just steps away from StartHub and StartLife, Fixeau feels the energy of the Wageningen Campus ecosystem. With Fixeau still being in the phase of taking its product to market, they benefit immensely from being surrounded by like-minded innovators. Especially through the Wednesday Drinks that provides a great place to connect with other companies. “The Wednesday Drinks provides an inspiring and supportive atmosphere where success stories of scaling up and developing to sale are shared” shares Irthe Noordegraaf, Product and business developer at Fixeau.

With regular events happening around Wageningen Campus like the F&A Next summit, Campus Connect events, and the Wednesday Drinks, the environment provides invaluable opportunities to network, share knowledge, and draw inspiration from others. Beyond networking and feeling the community spirit, the Wageningen Campus has helped Fixeau connect with Career Services to find new interns and further the growth of their company. Since Fixeau has many farmers as clients, being based in Wageningen, renowned globally for food and agriculture, helps build trust and credibility for the company. As Fixeau continues to grow, their story on how they found their way to Wageningen Campus highlights that being apart of the Wageningen Campus Ecosystem is more than just an office space and connections but a thriving ecosystem where collaboration, innovation, and connection drive agri-tech forward.

What does the platform offer?

The platform provides an advanced reservation system for more than 450 devices, with the number still growing. Every year, over 40,000 reservations are made through the platform.

It enables users to quickly identify available devices and easily contact the administrator. Following appropriate training, the administrator can grant access rights, allowing users to make their own bookings. Furthermore, each device is supported by an administrator to ensure correct and efficient usage of the equipment.

For example, the XRT (X-Ray Tomography Scanner) at Wageningen Food & Biobased Research (WFBR) attracts many researchers from various companies and research institutions. This device allows users to study structures in both food and non-food materials through 3D scans, similar to CT scans. WFBR's expertise is also available to interpret these analyses. Additionally, the device manager can provide user training to ensure the equipment is used correctly.

The platform also provides access to devices such as the XRD (X-Ray Diffractometer), owned by Unilever. Unilever has made this equipment available through the WUR Research Equipment Platform, allowing it to be shared and reserved for use, subject to a clear user agreement with conditions around privacy and data. This ensures safe use of the equipment by multiple parties, including university researchers and other companies, such as those based at Wageningen Campus.

Whether it's process-supporting equipment, preparatory tools like freeze-dryers, or analytical equipment with software capabilities, the shared access to these research facilities allows researchers to collaborate more effectively, share knowledge, and enhance their research. The facilities are available within WUR, as well as at other organisations that have made their equipment available for shared use through the platform

Who is the platform for?

The platform is intended for:

• Researchers at companies and research institutions who wish to make use of shared facilities.
• Companies and research institutions looking to make their own equipment available for shared use through the platform, in order to maximise the efficient use of existing capacity.

What are the benefits?

• Ease of use: search, book, and receive support for research equipment.
• Knowledge sharing: in addition to access to equipment, the platform offers the opportunity to benefit from training and the expertise of device managers.
• Cost-efficiency: shared access to high-quality equipment helps reduce costs.
• Optimal use of capacity: organisations can offer their own lab equipment for shared use via the platform, ensuring maximum utilisation of available capacity, by third parties under pre-agreed terms.
• User agreements: the Shared Research Facilities team at WUR provides support throughout the process, including ready-to-use user agreements.
• Up-to-date information: the platform provides real-time information on equipment availability, including technical specifications and details on applicability.

Facts and figures:

• Over 450 active devices are currently available through the platform.
• More than 40,000 bookings are made via the platform each year, demonstrating both the breadth of usage and the system’s effectiveness.

How to get started?

You can now visit the platform and explore the available equipment via the Research Equipment Platform. If you need more information or assistance in using the platform, please contact Oscar de Vos at sharedresearchfacilities@wur.nl.

With this renewed platform, we hope that researchers can more easily find the right tools to enhance their projects and foster collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Want to know more?

Visit the platform or get in touch with Oscar de Vos for more information.

View the platform

This collaboration offers both parties the opportunity to strengthen innovation within the food chain and translate scientific knowledge more effectively into practical applications. The collaboration aims to generate societal impact, effectively apply scientific insights in practice, and drive the broader adoption of innovations. The missions and ambitions of both organizations are well aligned, providing a strong foundation for a successful and impactful collaboration.

Collaborating on sustainable innovations across Europe

Through this partnership, WUR gains access to a broad network of research institutions, businesses, and startups across the European agri-food sector. This opens up new opportunities for research collaboration, knowledge exchange, and the development of innovations that contribute to a more sustainable and resilient food system. Additionally, the partnership aligns with WUR’s ambition to play an active role in European policy development and innovation programmes, such as future EU framework programmes.

‘Partnering with EIT Food provides WUR with a powerful platform to drive sustainable innovation in the agrifood sector and scale it within the food system,‘ says Gerda Feunekes, General Director of the Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group at WUR. ‘By joining forces, we can accelerate the application of research into real-world solutions and impact, benefiting both the industry and society.’

Strengthening the startup ecosystem

A key element of this collaboration is the enhancement of the Wageningen’s startup ecosystem. By integrating EIT Food support into the StartHub Wageningen incubator and the StartLife accelerator programme, young entrepreneurs gain access to targeted funding and startup initiatives. This provides agri-food startups with additional opportunities to accelerate their innovations and scale up more effectively.

‘Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. By strengthening our startup ecosystem through this partnership, we provide ambitious entrepreneurs with the resources, networks, and funding they need to develop solutions for a more sustainable food system,’ says Sebastiaan Berendse, Director of Value Creation at WUR.

Fostering interaction and knowledge exchange

For EIT Food, the partnership with WUR strengthens its scientific foundation and provides access to one of the most renowned knowledge institutions in the fields of food and sustainability. Wageningen Campus provides EIT Food colleagues with a workspace to foster interaction and knowledge exchange. WUR actively participates in various EIT Food initiatives, including think tanks and entrepreneurship programmes, reinforcing the link between science and real-world application.

Richard Zaltzman, Chief Executive Officer of EIT Food, highlights the mutual benefits: ‘WUR’s expertise and reputation in food and agricultural sciences make them a perfect strategic partner for EIT Food. Their leadership in research and innovation will be invaluable as we work together to address global food challenges.’

During the initial two-year phase, the partnership focuses on fostering collaboration and creating impact within the network. WUR strengthens its role in innovation projects and builds new connections with startups, research institutions, and industry partners. After this period, an evaluation will assess the partnership’s added value and determine the next steps for future collaboration.

Through this partnership, WUR and EIT Food join forces to elevate innovation and entrepreneurship in the European agri-food sector to new heights.

OnePlanet Research Center is an innovation center for chip- and digital technology in agriculture, food, health, and the living environment. It is a collaboration between Wageningen University & Research, Imec (a microchip research center) and Radboud University (RU) - Radboudumc. The new technology, which OnePlanet is working on, lays the foundation for more efficient and sustainable farm-level nitrogen management. This can reduce the overall nitrogen entering the surrounding nature.  

Goal-oriented steering is a much-discussed method in the nitrogen debate. Instead of prescribing the means to achieve lower emissions, it sets maximum emissions as a target and allows the farmer to decide how to achieve it. It allows farmers to make full use of their craft.  

Sensor systems that measure continuously give farmers instant insight into their emissions. They show whether certain adjustments and/or measures are having an effect. And they can make adjustments accordingly. So far, there are no affordable and reliable measurement systems to make that possible for the different types of barns. Especially for open barns, where the concentrations to be measured are lower, this is a challenge.  

Remco Suer, program manager Environmental Sensing OnePlanet: “The first prototypes of imec's photonic chip are promising. Reliable measurement of low concentrations of multiple gases simultaneously is within reach. To be deployed in time to realise nitrogen and climate goals, further development, validation and readiness for production must be deployed simultaneously. This requires guts and investment. Indeed, for individual tech/sensor companies, the investment risk is still too high.”  

Goal oriented steering based on photonic chips  
Based on the latest photonic chip technology, from research centre imec, OnePlanet, with support from national growth fund PhotonDelta and province of Gelderland, is developing sensor systems to reliably measure low concentrations of nitrogen. This will bring goal-oriented steering a lot closer. Photonics is a proven measurement technique. Most reference equipment is also light-based (photonic), but too expensive and too large to deploy in every barn or on every farm. Through miniaturisation on chip, OnePlanet can make this technology affordable and scalable.  

Eelko Brinkhoff, CEO PhotonDelta: “Photonic chip technology can contribute to making nitrogen and greenhouse gases measurable. From the PhotonDelta National Growth Fund Plan, we are working to accelerate photonic chip technology into new applications that contribute to societal challenges. I am proud to see this technology now in an application that can start making impact in the Netherlands and even beyond.”  

More than just measuring nitrogen  

For WUR, as co-founder of OnePlanet, the innovation centre is essential for the development of high-tech, sensor-based solutions for, among others, the agrifood sector. Therefore, an initial trial took place at De Marke (WUR's experimental farm), which has already shown the potential of the technology for measuring nitrogen (ammonia) and greenhouse gas (methane). Technically, it is possible to take measurements for most barn systems within now and two years, and at a later stage also at farm and area level. Besides measuring nitrogen and methane, other climate-relevant greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide and CO2, and even odorous substances and nitrate in water are also among the possibilities. This will soon allow farmers to perform multiple measurements with a single sensor system, view that measurement data directly, and link their emissions to their actions.  

Gelderland province at the forefront 

42% of nitrogen-sensitive nature in the Netherlands lies in Gelderland. It is therefore not surprising that this research was started in this province. Partly thanks to the support of the province of Gelderland, OnePlanet has been able to invest heavily in research into the application of these photonic sensors for the agricultural sector in recent years. Gelderland was the first province to invest in improved measurement systems to contribute to the solution to the nitrogen issue. Now it is important that there is also a national investment impetus for these measurement systems to accelerate goal-oriented steering.  

According to Gelderland province deputies Helga Witjes and Harold Zoet, the technology is now almost ready to be applied to the nitrogen issue in the Netherlands. Harold Zoet: ‘This development shows that we in Gelderland are at the forefront of innovation. Unfortunately, the current national nitrogen plans still do not earmark much money for the next step in this sensor technology. We therefore hope that the Schoof Commission does actively pursue this. The longer we wait, the longer it will take before affordable goal-oriented steering is possible at farm and area level.’  

About OnePlanet Research Center  

OnePlanet Research Center is an innovative research centre in Wageningen and Nijmegen, the Netherlands that has been focusing on technologies for a healthy and sustainable society since 2019. It combines artificial intelligence, sensor technology and data analytics to develop solutions for health, nutrition and the environment. OnePlanet brings together expertise in the joint effort between WUR, Imec and Radboud University - Radboudumc to accelerate innovations and make impact. In addition, OnePlanet trains changemakers from MBO, HBO and WO through the OnePlanet open education programme and delivers new technologies to public partners and SMEs. For more inspiration, check out OnePlanet's achievements of the past five years. 

In the presence of about 50 WUR colleagues, findings were shared and discussed of the WUR research report: ‘Key dilemmas on future land use for agriculture, forestry and nature in the EU’. The afternoon was hosted by Simone Ritzer, Programme Manager Wageningen Dialogues and featured insights from Sjoukje Heimovaara, President of the Executive Board of WUR. "It is quite demanding to see issues in their full complexity rather than simplifying them. Nevertheless, I challenge scientists, politicians and leaders to do so," Sjoukje said at the opening. “News nowadays tends to be served in short bites, leaving little room to explain or understand complexity, but we should try to present issues from different perspectives. Society is ready for more than simple solutions. Only by presenting the true complexity will we be able to identify sustainable steps towards a solution.”

Researcher Harriëtte Bos provided context of the research in land use and biomass and emphasised that land is a limited resource and circularity is crucial. Researcher, Petra Berkhout, introduced 3 of the 5 dilemmas; should EU aim for self-sufficiency of biomass, what to do about animal husbandry, and how should policies intervene with consumer behaviours? Later, Bos, Berkhout, and Theun Vellinga, three scientists involved in the research, were asked to stand on a line of agreement to show how they position themselves within the dilemma of animal- compared to plant- based proteins. Standing on different points along this continuum, shows that it is possible to navigate the dilemma even when you don’t stand exactly in the middle. The discussion that followed this activity highlighted the different roles scientists can play in society.

For example, the ‘honest broker’, as Pielke Jr. defines it, navigates different perspectives from the center of a dilemma and aims to tell people the different uses of the research depending on the other persons values. On the other hand, the ‘issue advocate’ picks a side but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are not accepted by parties with different perspectives. Playing the issue advocate requires transparency in your views and an open attitude towards others, and thus not becoming dogmatic. The curiosity scientists naturally have, should prevail.

One of the scientists took the role of an honest broker, standing in the middle of the spectrum, refusing to take a polarizing side. Showing the effects of a variety of choices can effectively help policy makers and government officials. For example, saying “If you want to see this outcome, you should do this, if not, you should do that”. In that way you can provide information to people based on their values. Another scientist decided to position themselves more towards one side of the dilemma. “Being transparent in your views and explaining from what insights that perspective emerged, is also very helpful as a scientist. In the end people don’t see me as someone who’s in favour or against certain measures, they see me more as an economist rather than an ecologist.”

Participants then engaged in open discussions about ways to move beyond the dichotomy in the dilemmas. For example, on consumer behaviour, there is more than merely free will and restricted will. Policies can also target shelf arrangements in supermarkets to stimulate more sustainable and healthy behaviour. It was also mentioned that FMCG-companies are always looking to create value, and this value can go beyond margin. Such new ways of value creation should be explored, while remaining open and curious to others, rather than holding on to a limited frame. Then, a story was shared by an audience member describing that a guest on Wageningen Campus once was surprised that it was possible to order meat in the restaurant. They had such a strong idea that WUR was ‘anti meat’, that just the possibility to order meat softened the discussion and allowed for explorative conversations on more sustainable meat production and consumption.

The dilemma approach helps not only to better understand others’ views but also helps to come up with creative multifaceted solutions to overcome a complex dilemma. It can just be seen more as a beginning, than as an endpoint. And that’s what we also saw at the drinks: Enough food for thought to explore ways forward in the inspiring setting of WUR’s dialogue centre, Omnia at Wageningen Campus. Omnia has provided an inspiring environment where science and society come together to explore groundbreaking solutions to global challenges. Situated in the heart of the Food Valley; an innovation hub for leading expertise in food science and agriculture, Omnia serves as a powerful connector. Here, researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and other stakeholders meet to exchange knowledge, examine complex issues from multiple perspectives and collaborate towards a more sustainable future, right in the vibrant Wageningen Campus.

In the past years four editions of the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge have been carried out, growing cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, lettuce crops and dwarf tomatoes autonomously. Each edition provided valuable insights into the future of autonomous greenhouses. The challenge has shown that computer algorithms can increase greenhouse crop production, save energy, and yield higher net profits and potentially control indoor farming in the future.

- Unfortunately, your cookie settings do not allow videos to be displayed. - check your settings

Silke Hemming, Head of Greenhouse Technology research team says: “The Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge is all about pushing boundaries together! We’ll keep having fun, staying relevant, and making real impact—because that’s what innovation is all about!"

Serious game

With the prize money of the WUR Impact Award 2024, the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge organized a challenge for the general public. Anyone worldwide could participate in Kassim The Game, a serious computer game in which you can virtually grow tomatoes. The winner was Eduardo Dolores Morales, a student from Peru. Read more about Eduardo winning the competition.

WUR Impact Award

Every year, the WUR Impact Award is awarded to a team of researchers from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) that has made knowledge and research applicable in practice. The award inspires other colleagues to do the same. Societal impact could take many forms, it will require extra steps to ensure that knowledge reaches interested parties, to engage in collaborations and to make science applicable.

The WUR Impact Award is made possible by the Wageningen Ambassadors. The Wageningen Ambassadors are alumni of WUR and all leading figures in business and government who gladly offer support to WUR. By using their network, experience and financial resources, they aim to build a bridge between WUR and society. Learn more about Wageningen Ambassadors.

One of the participating students mentioned that she really enjoyed looking behind-the-scenes at two companies that she always cycles past but never enters otherwise. She mentioned the low threshold of this event and the opportunity to see the companies' workspaces and labs.

The event serves as a bridge between academia and industry, showcasing the relationship between Wageningen University and the practical, real-world applications of knowledge at the Wageningen Campus."KWS Vegetables is proud to show its Freshplorer identity in the vegetable business. Moreover, we are committed to supporting young talent to make themselves grow. Events like this allow KWS Vegetables to contribute to the local Wageningen Campuscommunity," says Martin De Vos, global head of research vegetables at KWS Group.

A special thanks to the 14 organisations that opened their doors: IFF, Upstream Foods, NoPalm Ingredients, PhageGuard, Stichting Boerengroep, Time-travelling Milkman, ADM, CLS Services, Thai Union Group PCL., Foodvalley NL, KWS Vegetables, part of KWS Group, Schothorst Feed Research, Eurofins Agro & Horti, Nederlands Instituut voor Ecologie (NIOO-KNAW).

‘Produce meat without animals.’ This is the loosely translated slogan of RespectFarms, a business that produces animal cells in a bioreactor. ‘But this is no lab-made food which we aim to produce in factories’, says RespectFarms’ Ralf Becks, wary of the low social acceptance of lab-grown meat. ‘In our philosophy, we partner with farmers, and the farmers of the future will keep cows as well as produce meat in a bioreactor.’

Environmentally friendly bioreactor

RespectFarms, founded in 2022, RESPECTfarms uses a bioreactor to grow muscle tissue from bovine stem cells and plant-based feed. The muscle tissue is then processed into meat using a 3D printer. The business is well-versed in the growing of animal cells and is now searching for financiers and farmers willing to participate. ‘We would prefer a demonstration factory near Wageningen,’ Becks says. He aims to have a facility capable of producing 100 tonnes of meat per annum.

RespectFarms’ cultured meat is far more environmentally friendly than regular meat, a study WUR conducted at the behest of RespectFarms shows. The bioreactor requires 95% less land and 78% less water and causes 93 % less environmental pollution, as well as emitting 92% fewer greenhouse gases. Moreover, the societal costs are 56% less than that of a cow in the field. This process could meet the globally increasing demand for meat while still achieving the climate goals, says Becks. There are two hurdles to be overcome in the upcoming years: the EU cultured meat legislation is not yet completed, and there are issues regarding how production can be scaled up to cut costs and make cultured meat competitive.

Stem cells to produce fatty acids

This method is suited for more than just replicating meat. It can also be used for fish. Upstream Foods, founded in 2022, grows fish cells. Mainly fat cells, as this is what causes the typical fishy flavour. Like RespectFarms, Upstream Foods uses stem cells. These cells are unspecialised and can reproduce and specialise into muscle or fat cells. The company currently has forty cell lines of salmon and trout but is still at the lab-culturing stage, says founder Kianti Figler during the workshop on Wageningen Campus.

Many consumers have given meat substitutes a go but often dislike the flavour of plant-based alternatives, says Figler. Animal fats largely determine the flavour. Hence, the start-up is working on stem cells capable of producing fatty acids in a bioreactor. She hopes to start a pilot factory within several years.

Cellular agriculture

Most cellular agriculture has yet to leave the laboratory. This also applies to the production of lactoprotein without cows. Wageningen researcher Etske Bijl works on precision fermentation within an NWO (Dutch Research Council) project. This process produces lactoprotein, called caseins, from micro-organisms. The goal is to produce cheese and yoghurt from these proteins without the help of a cow.

So far, vegan milk is not terribly successful, Bijl explains. This is due to the fact that plant-based proteins are not very suited to replace animal proteins as plant proteins are relatively small, while caseins are very big with a protein structure that stores minerals such as calcium. This makes Bijl’s casein structures a better alternative to cow milk than plant-based milk. She has already produced a mozzarella cheese using her proteins, albeit just a few milligrams. Here, too, upscaling is required.

Palm oil without palm

Cellular agriculture is still under development, but some businesses have already moved along. NoPalm Ingredients, for example, was founded in 2021 to produce palm oil without palm trees. The business is now able to manufacture palm oil from food waste using yeast. According to co-founder and researcher Jeroen Hugenholtz of NoPalm Ingredients, this process is successful, and the product can compete with regular palm oil. The big question is whether production can be scaled up to an industrial level.

Hugenholtz is working on realising a testing factory capable of producing 100,000 litres of oil. That is the scale required to play a role within the food chains. Such a facility needs machines to extract and purify oil at an unprecedented scale. Moreover, there are no facilities available in Europe that are capable of taking all the steps in the production process at this scale. Hence, Hugenholtz is currently conducting tests at various locations in the Netherlands, Germany, France and England to test large-scale production. ‘Very expensive and difficult to plan’, Hugenholtz clarified during the workshop on cellular agriculture on Wageningen Campus.

Innovation as a catalyst for societal impact

The strength of campuses lies not only in stimulating local business activity but also in accelerating innovation, according to the report. Campuses like Wageningen Campus act as hubs within networks where businesses, knowledge institutions, and governments collaborate to address challenges such as climate change, sustainable food systems, and the circular economy. Campuses bring together talent, capital, and technology. Their impact extends far beyond local growth; they enhance the Netherlands' international position as a leader in knowledge and innovation.

Sustainable Development as a Prerequisite

To maintain this position, the report offers recommendations based on its findings for the sustainable development of campuses. Key factors include sufficient physical space, accessibility, state-of-the-art research facilities, and sustainable energy infrastructure. Structural funding for campus organisations is identified as a critical success factor.

Anne Mensink, Manager of Wageningen Campus and Shared Research Facilities, responded: “We are delighted with the findings of this report. They not only confirm the impact of campuses on economic and societal challenges but also underscore the essential role of continued investments in shared research infrastructure, energy provision, and sustainability. To enhance our impact and ensure further sustainable development, investments in accessibility and shared research facilities are crucial. In this way we are able to continue to provide a future-proof and attractive environment for innovation.”

Development of Wageningen Campus

Since 2018, Wageningen Campus has achieved a 54% increase in the number of established organisations, growing from 140 in 2018 to 235 in 2024. A doubling of the number of startups and scale-ups also catches the eye. This dynamic underlines the appeal of Wageningen Campus as a hotspot for innovation and entrepreneurship. With the planned expansion of Wageningen Campus East, this trajectory is expected to continue in the coming years. By focusing on sustainable development and knowledge sharing, Wageningen Campus remains committed to making a broad societal impact.

Read more:

• The Buck Consultants International (BCI) report

The planning of the work is very strict. Because cars are sometimes parked for a longer period of time in the parking spaces along the Plantage (see photo), they are closed earlier for safety reasons, namely from Monday 4 to Friday 8 November and Monday 25 to Friday 29 November.

Because the Plantage is cordoned off on the Campus Plaza side, traffic will be routed via the connection from Bronland to the Plantage between Unilever/Flora Food Group (formerly Upfield) (see map). Due to the limited width, traffic controllers allow alternate traffic on the Plantage. Follow their instructions for a smooth transaction and keep in mind that this may lead to a longer travel time. Preferably park elsewhere on campus if you have to be at the daycare center (Prins Vleermuis), vaccination center or Healthcare Hub in this period.

Signing of purchase agreement

On October 30, Rens Buchwaldt (Executive Board of WUR) and Bart van As (Director-Manager of Idealis) signed the purchase agreement for Mansholtlaan 6. This location is currently still under construction and is being rented out on an anti-squat basis. In the coming months, the location will be prepared for new construction. The fact that Idealis can start construction is the result of years of intensive cooperation.

Rens Buchwaldt: “At WUR, we want to offer space. For groundbreaking research. For good and leading education. But also for students who literally and figuratively need space to develop into leaders of a sustainable future. We cannot do that alone. That is why I am pleased with the way we are working with Idealis in this project to also make living space for those students possible.”

250 student housing units

The new building on the Mansholtlaan consists of 250 student housing units with high-quality facilities, where students can live independently or together. Meeting and being together are central to the design. For example, spaces have been created in various places in the building, such as a common room, a study area and a garden room where students can meet each other.

Want to know more about Campus East?

• Development Wageningen Campus Oost

Jort Maarseveen (26) studied Biobased Sciences in Wageningen, where his interest in vertical farming was sparked. Tijmen Blok (26), who studied Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management, shared his enthusiasm. Together, they sought small-scale applications of vertical farming. Their quest was not a straightforward one, Blok recounts. ‘Our initial experiments used polystyrene with holes and a pond pump for water circulation. After a while, all our plants perished. The lighting had elevated the temperature to over 40 degrees Celsius.’

The idea of building the vertical farm in a shipping container emerged during their experiments. Maarseveen: ‘We were looking for a system that could be moved easily. In that sense, a shipping container is ideal; it can easily be put on a truck. Once on location, it can be deployed swiftly, requiring no buildings or permits. This enables it to instantly make an impact. In particular where conventional farming methods are difficult to implement.’

Handing out lettuce and basil

The Hippotainer was born. Blok and Maarseveen took out a loan to buy a second-hand cooling container, which they were able to store on the parking lot of a horse-riding centre in Bennekom. Intern Joël van Schoonhoven, a student at Twente University, helped in the design, and together they constructed the first prototype.

Inside the Hippotainer, vegetables are grown in five layers. Each layer has rafts with plants, their roots dangling in the water. The water circulates through the system, ensuring that barely a drop is wasted. Sensors control all the growth factors: irrigation, temperature, humidity, nutrients and more.

- Unfortunately, your cookie settings do not allow videos to be displayed. - check your settings

Blok says the yields from the first attempts at growing leafy greens were enormous. ‘We produced more vegetables than we could use. We donated hundreds of heads of lettuce a week to the Food Bank and to students attending our student club’s member’s meeting. Our friends were given as much basil as they could use.’

In the bomb shelter

Blok and Maarseveen’s work attracted the attention of an organisation in Ukraine, which saw the Hippotainer’s potential. Although there is no shortage of food in most of the country, Ukrainians have had difficulty gaining access to nutrients and vitamins since the Russian invasion. Additionally, the customer sought a way to offer work to internally displaced people, preferably in food production.

Thus, the very first Hippotainer made its way to Ivano-Frankivsk, a town in West Ukraine, by truck in June 2023. Block and Maarseveen followed by air to Poland, driving the rest of the way. They trained a team of refugees in the practical use of the Hippotainer and provided the required knowledge on topics such as photosynthesis and nutrients and how to sell products.

It was an adventurous week, according to Maarseveen. ‘The air raid sirens sounded on half of the nights, which meant we had to go to the shelters under a theatre. Tijmen slept right through the sirens; we had to pound his door to wake him.’ Blok would have preferred to remain in the hotel: ‘The locals barely react to the sirens anymore. At one point, it was just us and one other foreigner in the shelter.’

Islands and deserts

The Hippotainer in Ivano-Frankivsk is currently in full production, providing local markets and restaurants with lettuce. Blok and Maarseveen are working hard to bring their creation to other parts of the world. Their container can provide solutions in places where conditions to grow vegetables are unfavourable due to supply issues, water shortages or poor soil quality.

Not just areas in crisis but also islands, northern regions with a lack of daylight, or arid, warm regions. Maarseveen: ‘Saudi Arabia and the Emirates focus on developing their agricultural sector. At present, they are barely able to sustain themselves, and many vegetables must be imported. That is where we see opportunities.’

New Hybrid Banana Offers Solution to Global Diseases

The development of Yelloway One comes at a critical time for global banana cultivation. TR4 and Black Sigatoka have caused significant damage in recent years, resulting in losses worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Until now, no resistant banana variety has been available, placing immense pressure on farmers and the banana sector as a whole. Yelloway One is the product of conventional breeding techniques. The plant is resistant to TR4, a fungus capable of devastating entire plantations, and Black Sigatoka, a leaf disease that drastically reduces yields. Both diseases have been long-standing threats to the banana industry, particularly to the widely exported Cavendish banana.

Faster innovation through collaboration

The breakthrough was achieved through a collaboration between Chiquita, KeyGene, MusaRadix, and Wageningen University & Research. The team of experts employed a combination of traditional crossbreeding techniques and modern DNA analysis technology to accelerate the process of developing resistant banana varieties. This allowed them to select new varieties with desired traits, such as disease resistance, more quickly and efficiently. "The fact that banana producer Chiquita is one of the partners doesn't mean that other banana growers won't have access to these new varieties," says Kema. "We are collaborating with several organizations to ensure that this technology is available to other programs as well. Moreover, we are using the technology to develop or improve varieties for local markets," the professor added.

From greenhouse to field trials

Yelloway One is still a prototype and is currently being grown in a greenhouse in the Netherlands. The plants will soon be sent to regions in the Philippines and Indonesia, where TR4 and Black Sigatoka have caused significant damage. Field trials will determine how well Yelloway One performs in a natural environment. These trials are crucial in assessing whether Yelloway One can provide a viable solution for farmers in severely affected regions.

More diversity and sustainability

Yelloway One is the first step in the broader Yelloway initiative. The goal is to develop a continuous stream of excellent and resistant banana varieties that are genetically diverse. This will not only increase the resilience of banana cultivation but also improve the sustainability of the sector. By introducing more variety into cultivation, farmers will be better equipped to respond to changes in climate and new diseases.

"This development means a great deal to millions of smallholder farmers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America," says Kema. "By introducing resistant and genetically diverse varieties, we can contribute to a more sustainable banana industry and reduce the impact of diseases." Kema expects that more resistant and innovative banana varieties will follow in the coming years, making the banana sector less vulnerable to disease and environmental threats.

Additionally, One Planet opened its doors to the EIC delegation, offering inspiration through the latest developments in chip and digital technologies. The delegation met with successful Wageningen startups and EIC grant recipients, including NoPalm Ingredients, Scope BioSciences, and Plant-e.

Wageningen startups excel in food, agri-tech, and health sectors, achieving remarkable success in securing the prestigious EIC grants. Michiel Scheffer, Chair of the European Innovation Council, highlighted key factors contributing to this success: "As a former Provincial Executive of Gelderland, I’ve seen firsthand the strong connection with development agency Oost NL. Startups and spin-offs can receive up to half a million euros from Oost NL, helping them on their way to securing an EIC grant worth €2.5 million."

Scheffer also emphasized Wageningen’s niche in Agrifood as a strategic advantage. “Roughly half of all EIC grants have a medical focus, where competition is fierce. However, the main driver of Wageningen’s success is the ecosystem surrounding WUR. It extends far beyond Wageningen itself, with the WUR network spanning across the Netherlands. This positions Wageningen well to continue excelling in EIC grants for years to come.”

Read more about the success of Wageningen’s startups and its EIC achievements.

Michiel Scheffer has been Chair of the European Innovation Council since the summer of 2023. He was appointed by the European Commission and focuses on advancing technology in Europe to make future generations more resilient. He aims to remove the challenges and barriers startups face when bringing their innovations to market. In the past, Scheffer worked for several years as Project Manager for Sustainable Textiles at Wageningen University & Research (WUR).

In Wageningen, societal and economic impact is achieved by bringing knowledge and technology to the wider world. This is precisely what Scheffer aims to achieve on a European scale. ‘We must invest in areas of strategic importance for Europe,’ he believes. ‘One of Europe’s greatest strengths is agriculture. We need to explore ways in which agriculture can supply us with certain materials or resources, which could, for example, be used in chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Farmers could, for instance, produce lactic acid from sugar, which can then be used to make plastics. In this way, industries such as agriculture can contribute to our quest for more autonomy in strategic economic sectors.’

EIC Grants: ‘unique funding’

According to Scheffer, EIC funding is unique in several respects. ‘Think of it as a combination of a grant and equity investment. No other funding source in Europe directly offers grants to advance the market readiness of technology and then supports the creation of a commercial organisation. Moreover, the amounts involved are relatively substantial, often larger than research grants in a country like Germany. Another unique aspect is that a single company can submit the application; typically, such schemes involve consortia. Of course, as a startup, you still need to demonstrate that your technology is of significant value to Europe.’

The EIC has several funding opportunities. Learn more about the pathfinder, transition and accelerator grants on their website.

Why does Wageningen perform so well?

Despite intense European competition, the Netherlands performs very well in securing EIC Grants. So far, 563 have been awarded, 42 of which were in the latest round. The Netherlands ranks third, securing €400 million, just €40 million less than second-place Germany. Within the Netherlands, Wageningen’s strong position stands out. For Scheffer, this comes as no surprise. He cites several reasons; ‘As a former deputy of the province of Gelderland, I know that the connection with development agency Oost NL is very strong. Startups and spin-offs can receive up to half a million euros from Oost NL, allowing them to build a solid foundation on their way to a €2.5 million EIC Grant. Oost NL actively targets Europe.’ Another important reason Scheffer mentions is Wageningen’s niche, which is largely agrifood. Roughly half of all EIC Grants have a medical aspect, and the competition in that field is enormous.’

‘Entrepreneurship is well organised’

However, according to Scheffer, the main reason is the way the WUR ecosystem functions. ‘That extends beyond Wageningen itself. The WUR system spans the whole of the Netherlands, from Friesland to Zeeland. During my time at WUR, I saw that entrepreneurial processes were well-structured. WUR submits hundreds of applications each year. I’ve spoken to universities that have only managed 20 in 20 years. The network and reputation of WUR in Europe are also very powerful. Wageningen has great potential to continue performing well in securing EIC Grants in the coming years.’

StartLife

Finally, the positive role of StartLife is worth mentioning. This Wageningen-based accelerator enables startups and spin-offs to grow their food and agritech businesses. Since its founding in 2010, StartLife has played a prominent role in helping to turn innovative ideas around food or agriculture into meaningful societal impact.

StartLife has already helped numerous entrepreneurs, directly or indirectly linked to WUR, secure an EIC Grant. Some examples include Carbominer, Toopi Organics, Orbisk, and Plant-e.

The museum’s visiting public has been able to see how the NanoMoi measuring instrument has contributed to the restoration of the iconic masterpiece The Night Watch. Refurbishing the painting involves the use of solvents to remove the old layers of varnish. In an effort to prevent these solvents from causing any damage, laser light measurements and smart algorithms have now been added to the restoration process.

“Up until now, it was not clear how long solvents remain in paint,” says Jesse Buijs, who is the founder of the NanoMoi company. “Despite the fact that this can’t be seen with the naked eye, it can amount to several hours. In the long term, excessive use of solvents leads to cracks and rapid chemical degradation. That is why it is important to minimise the amount of solvent that is absorbed into the paint.”

The restorers therefore take extreme care when they are cleaning the painting. They start by testing the cleaning agents on small areas of the painting. Buijs then begins working with the device, which is as large as a shoebox and can be connected to a laptop. “We shine a laser light on the painting and use a camera to capture the light that comes back,” Buijs explains. “The way in which this light is returned tells us something about the mobility of the pigment particles. The more mobile the particles are, the softer the paint is at this stage. A sophisticated algorithm is able to read this from the responding laser beams. This algorithm forms the basis of our method.”

Collaboration with the Rijksmuseum

The measurements were taken in the second part of August and will help to determine the best restoration strategy. Buijs has been working with the Rijksmuseum for ‘about seven years’. He began by testing his device on artificially aged canvases, and then used it on a number of small but real paintings before he eventually moved onto the current task of The Night Watch. Buijs: “More paintings and other applications, such as measurements for 3D printing and the stability of food products, may subsequently follow.”

NanoMoi was founded by Jesse Buijs in 2023, following nine years of research at WUR into the development and application of Laser Speckle Imaging, which is a technique that works on the basis of light scattering. He obtained his PhD in 2022 from WUR’s Physical Chemistry & Soft Matter Chair Group.

Entrepreneurship has long held a cherished place within Wageningen University & Research, where researchers and students use their Wageningen knowledge to develop innovative solutions and bring them to market. Over the past twenty years, the organisation has increasingly supported this endeavour, including offering entrepreneurship courses and support to students, PhDs and recent graduates through Starthub Wageningen, WUR’s startup incubator and educator.

Thijs Verheul is one of the more well-known entrepreneurs with roots in Wageningen. He co-founded United Wardrobe with two fellow students. At the expo, he shared his journey as a startup entrepreneur: he developed the idea while living in Wageningen and exchanging ideas with his housemate Tim van Oerle, also a WUR alumnus and founder of Natuurhuisje.nl. His journey culminated in the sale of United Wardrobe to Vinted in 2021. With the acquisition of United Wardrobe, Vinted instantly became the largest player in the Dutch online second-hand clothing market.

Great Ideas Are Everywhere

The startups eligible for The Lizzy Grant awards may not be widely known yet, but they are actively growing their businesses. The Lizzy Grant, consisting of four awards of €5,000 each, aims to help young entrepreneurs advance their startups. Wageningen Ambassador Peter Poortinga, former CEO of Plukon and now CEO of Wageningen-based company Solynta, established the prize to give them a boost. He named the award after the chicken Lizzy from a well-known commercial, where the concept for image stabilisation in cameras came from a chicken’s head, which remains stable while its body moves around.

"Great ideas are everywhere" is the motto of the award, as well as the video. The winners of The Lizzy Grant are Mendelt Tillema of Zwamcijsje, Matthew Halley of Soualigas, Bart van Gorcum of ValueSort.ai, and Elisabeth Obeng of Afropulse. The award will help these entrepreneurs take the next step in market validation or testing.

Wageningen Impact Catalyst

WUR and University Fund Wageningen are launching the Wageningen Impact Catalyst programme to develop the innovative ideas of young entrepreneurs into validated prototypes or service concepts. This pre-incubation initiative offers support in the form of both funding and expertise from entrepreneurial alumni, philanthropic partners and other relationships. The organisers hope many will feel inspired to contribute to the programme. Lies Boelrijk, Director of University Fund Wageningen, highlights: "For early-stage entrepreneurs, finding financial support in the early idea phase is often a challenge. Securing a loan is difficult, and investors are often not yet interested. As a result, many innovative ideas do not make it. With this initiative, we aim to double the number of entrepreneurial ventures that utilise WUR knowledge to solve societal problems."

Curious about the winners of The Lizzy Grant and other WUR entrepreneurs at the expo, or want to know more about the Wageningen Impact Catalyst programme? Download the magazine with all participating startups here.

Interested in contributing to the Wageningen Impact Catalyst programme or want more information? Please contact Lies Boelrijk, Director of University Fund Wageningen, or Gitte Schober.

‘World Environmental Health Day’

On 26 September, it’s ‘World Environmental Health Day’, a day dedicated worldwide to highlighting the relationship between our health and the environment. This day emphasizes the importance of a healthy living environment for everyone. This year, Wageningen Campus will mark the occasion in a special way. What could be better than personally experiencing the benefits of nature on our health? This is why WUR will lead a sensory nature walk on campus on 26 September. 

Sensory Nature Route

The new nature walk is developed so you can focus on your different senses. At each stop, you will receive instructions that direct your attention to your breathing, hearing, sight, smell or touch. A walk like this contributes to mindfulness, enhances concentration, reduces stress and helps prevent and recover from burnout. This is relevant, because 60% of students and staff experience stress and mental problems on a regular basis. 

In a search for answers and solutions, this nature walk was created in collaboration with several researchers, WUR's Facility and Services Department and Wageningen Biodiversity Initiative (WBI). The route takes you past various beautiful nature spots on campus, such as the nature garden at Lumen, the flower meadow near the Amphitheatre and the experimental forest garden. Along the way, you can engage in exercises that allow you to focus on your senses and connect with nature in a meaningful way. 

Will you join us on 26 September?

You’re welcome to walk the route on your own, but on 26 September there is an opportunity to join a guided version of (a part of) the walk. At 12:00, we will gather in front of the Gaia building and the walk will last about 45 minutes. Participation is free, but to help us plan for the group size, we kindly ask participants to sign up in advance (although it’s not mandatory). You can register using this form. 

Let's step into nature together on 26 September and experience how a short nature break can make a big difference to our well-being! 

Explore more on campus

In addition to this walk, there is more to discover on campus. With the interactive PDF ‘Discover Wageningen Campus’, you can explore the campus on your own and learn more about nature, art, sustainability and stories behind the buildings on campus. 

What: Guided sensory nature walk
Time: 12:00 PM
Duration: ±45 minutes
Starting point: In front of Gaia
Cost: Free, but signing up is appreciated 

Stop deforestation and reduce food waste. That is the starting point for NoPalm Ingredients. The startup produces sustainable oils and fats from residual streams that are almost identical to what is in palm oil. 'We use yeasts that convert vegetables, fruit and other residual streams into oil via fermentation,' Hugenholtz explains. 'The challenge is to grow these in such a way that they produce the maximum amount.'

Extra capacity

That breeding is done in large bioreactors, of which the company has one of its own. 'That gets us a long way,' says Hugenholtz. But there are also periods when we have too little capacity to meet demand, for instance when parts have to go to the supplier for maintenance. Then it is nice if we can use equipment that we can get to work quickly and easily. We know exactly how the bioreactors at Wageningen Food & Biobased Research work. And they are only a kilometre away from us.'

'We now have a total of eight bioreactors of different volumes in our laboratory,' Bekker says. 'We only use them ourselves half the time, which we think is a waste. A bioreactor easily costs fifty thousand euros each.'

Investing together

Recently, Wageningen Food & Biobased Research expanded its capacity: the research group invested in four bioreactors with a grant from the Regiodeal Foodvalley. NoPalm Ingredients is one of the co-investors. 'By jointly investing in bioreactors and sharing our research facilities, young companies can have high-quality advanced equipment; investment costs are shared and one can use the equipment at a favourable rate. This allows them to develop further,' Bekker said.

Sharing equipment intensifies mutual cooperation and knowledge exchange, Bekker notes. 'Companies are sometimes looking for knowledge that requires specific expertise, but do not want to start a large and expensive project. We then let them do the fermentations themselves and, as a 'knowledge expert, support them on the sidelines with our expertise and measuring equipment.'

Public-private cooperation

Sharing equipment often leads to further collaboration with and between parties. The one between Bekker and Hugenholtz resulted in the creation of the public-private collaboration Fermentation Visualised and Simplified (FEVIS). 'In it, we investigate how to monitor and adjust fermentation completely online. With the insights provided by our studies, we will soon be able to make processes even more efficient.'

These are great examples. Nevertheless, Bekker notices that researchers and entrepreneurs sometimes hesitate to share research equipment. His advice is: 'Set aside your reservations and just go for it. Make clear agreements about the collaboration and you will discover that together you come to surprising new insights.' The team of experts from Shared Research Facilities at WUR can support organisations in this.

Confidentiality

Agreements to be made are primarily about the use of equipment. But confidentiality is also a concern. Hugenholtz: 'As an entrepreneur, agree that you yourself are in the lead of the research and have the experiments carried out by your own people. Then you only need the equipment experts for support, and nothing else.' In this too, the Shared Research Facilities team provides support, with contracts stipulating the sharing of equipment.

Hugenholtz and his team can now dream the way to the bioreactors. 'Making use of the research infrastructure here in Wageningen makes us strong. Our investors are also aware of this. That alone is reason enough to share equipment through WUR's Shared Research Facilities platform.'

Learn more about the participants of shared facilities and their experiences.

Direct access to advanced research facilities was the main reason why Flora Food Group, a world leader in plant-based foods, moved its R&D activities to the Wageningen Campus two years ago. At the company, they see access to shared advanced research equipment in collaboration with Wageningen University & Reseaerch (WUR), and courtesy of funding from the RegioDeal Foodvalley, as a valuable opportunity.

Lowering the bar

'We wanted to make product property testing on high-quality equipment easier for our employees and speed up decision-making in product development,' says Gertjan Heijman, Platform Manager Aroma and Flavour at Flora Food Group. The organisation therefore decided to reduce the physical distance to the laboratories of academic scientists and give employees access to equipment that is too expensive for the company to purchase itself. 'A piece of equipment has to be used often enough to justify the investment,' said Heijman.

Analysis of product matrices

One example is the confocal microscope at WLMC, funded by a grant for shared research facilities from the Foodvalley RegioDeal. It allows researchers to study ingredients in a product matrix. 'You can use this device to locate proteins, carbohydrates and fats in the product and see their chemical structure,' illustrates Eleni Ntone, Fat Structuring Manager at Flora Food Group. 'That helps us predict the quality of products.'

Ntone is happy with the guidance she receives as an external researcher from WLMC experts. 'They know so much more than us about device settings, sampling and the colouring required; this shortens the analysis process for us,' she says.

Leading the way

Norbert de Ruijter, WLMC manager, is one of the experts involved. He likes to show customers how best to use the equipment. 'Technology is complex and constantly evolving. And it can be difficult for organisations to determine exactly what information they need to answer a research question,' he says. 'That's why we always discuss their requirements beforehand. A confocal microscope offers many possibilities, but is complex to work with. Sometimes we refer customers to a simpler piece of equipment.'

To secure funding for new equipment, researchers have several hurdles to overcome. 'As a research group, we have to recover sixty per cent of our equipment investment costs within eight years. So for us, it is valuable to collaborate with parties who would like to use the equipment,' says De Ruijter.

As easy as possible

Through the Search database for shared research facilities made available by WUR, interested parties can search through the supply of shared research equipment. 'Use this database to find out what a piece of equipment can do,' is De Ruijter's advice to prospective users. 'And don't hesitate to contact the experts from the team behind Shared Research Facilities at WUR or the other administrators if you want to know more.'

Moreover, make the process for sharing facilities on both sides as simple as possible, Heijman stresses: 'Appoint a central person to take care of administration and financial matters. That way, researchers get maximum benefit from the services provided.'

Learn more about the participants of shared facilities and their experiences.

Kalsec uses the IQ-X mass spectrometer at the Laboratory of Food Chemistry at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). The mass spectrometer is funded by a subsidy for shared research facilities provided by the RegioDeal Foodvalley. An interview with James Redwine, lead scientist at Kalsec.

SPICE Lab at Wageningen Campus

Kalsec supplies a wide range of innovative ingredients - including natural flavourings, colourings, hop products and solutions for extending food shelf life - to customers around the world. The company recently opened the Savoury Product Innovation Centre of Excellence (SPICE Lab) at Wageningen Campus to better support customers in the European market. This SPICE Lab focuses on savoury applications such as sauces, dressings and condiments and draws on the agrifood knowledge and experience of Wageningen University & Research and other organisations that are part of the Wageningen Campus ecosystem. The lab is an important part of the company's global strategy.

Identifying plant metabolites

'We are constantly developing new ingredient solutions and making existing ones even better,' says Redwine. 'There are plenty of opportunities for this as far as we are concerned. It is estimated that more than two hundred thousand plant metabolites exist, of which only fifty thousand have been identified.'

Through a framework agreement put together by WUR's Shared Research Facilities team, Kalsec now has easy access to a series of advanced devices. "We have addressed liability, confidentiality and intellectual property in one fell swoop. This leaves more time for doing research.

Special model

'The IQ-X mass spectrometer is a high-quality research device that you don't find everywhere; we can identify small molecules with it,' the researcher illustrates. 'A big plus is that we pay according to usage, with no investment costs

Redwine is impressed with the training he received before starting work with the IQ-X. 'The training was of a high standard and went beyond what was required for safe use. Yet it only took us a day and a half.'

Proof-of-concept

With the IQ-X, Kalsec quickly developed a proof-of-concept for non-specific analysis of plant molecules. 'I found it valuable to be in conversation with WUR's food chemistry experts. I knew I could count on them should I run into challenges during the experiments,' says Redwine. 'And we gained a lot of ideas for future collaborations and projects.'

For Redwine, access to shared research facilities with funding from the Regiodeal and coordination and support from WUR's Shared Research Facilities team is a godsend: a wide range of top-level equipment, available at reasonable cost and with excellent support. 'US universities also offer laboratory facilities to external partners, but the threshold to use them is a lot higher,' he says. In the US, users are required to undergo intensive, costly training. 'And if your experiments don't yield the information you need, you have to hire external experts to do them for you.'

Reliable resource

According to Redwine, Kalsec will definitely extend the collaboration around the shared research facilities. 'The principle around sharing research facilities offers us so much that we see WUR as an important partner.' Kalsec rents office and lab space in the Plus Ultra II building on Wageningen Campus and is also a committed user of a shared application kitchen that is expected to be realised by the end of 2024 and will also be opened for use through Shared Research Facilities.

Learn more about the participants of shared facilities and their experiences.

NL2120

NL2120 brought together research from the entire spectrum of Wageningen University & Research to develop a hopeful vision for the Netherlands in roughly 100 years. This is an integral vision in that it considers the spatial planning of the Netherlands in 2120 from all these different perspectives, such as agriculture, biodiversity, sustainable energy, water, and the circular economy. This map is not a blueprint, but a projection. It shows the Netherlands as it could look in 2120 if nature-based solutions are prioritised.

Impact Award

Every year, the WUR Impact Award is awarded to a team of researchers from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) that has made knowledge and research applicable in practice in hopes of inspiring other colleagues to do the same. Societal impact could take many forms, it always takes extra steps to ensure that knowledge reaches interested parties, to engage in collaborations and to make science applicable. This year the Impact Award 2024 Ceremony takes place on June 20th. It is still possible to register and to vote, so make sure to do so!

WUR Impact Award 2024: cast your vote! - WUR

Further impact

Over the past year, the impact of NL2120 has been further expanded with many initiatives. The team NL2120 has been working with students on a similar vision for Europe. The team also collaborated with the World Wide Fund for Nature to conduct a session on nature-based solutions at the COP28 in Dubai. During this session, Tim van Hattum discussed the importance of imagining a nature-positive future for Europe in 2120 once again. The vision NL 2120 served as inspiration for the Nature-Based Future Challenge, where 700 students from 44 countries developed a nature-based vision for Bangladesh. And the National Growth Fund programme started, a ten-year knowledge and innovation programme worth 110 million euros, with 25 partners. The NL 2120 map of the Netherlands is now displayed in three Dutch museums and an educational package about NL 2120 is being developed for secondary schools. Additionally the vision was presented at the VNG conference to aldermen and mayors.

Hope leads to action

“A green and clear vision of the future inspires and creates hope. And that is exactly what we need to boost any action,” is what Tim van Hattum said.

Michael van Buuren added after laying the tile in the path: "Always believe in your own idea and stay true to it, for it is your vision and perseverance that will turn ideas into reality. Every small step counts”. Then he continued laughing yet serious: “Let's replace another tile with a green patch”.

The WUR Impact Award is made possible by the Wageningen Ambassadors. The Wageningen Ambassadors are alumni of WUR and all leading figures in business and government who gladly offer support to WUR. By using their network, experience and financial resources, they aim to build a bridge between WUR and society.

Plus Ultra III will be a unique and future proof building. It will have five floors and should be finished within a year. Built almost entirely of wood (CLT), it sets the standard for sustainability in construction. With a CO2-negative footprint and extensive use of recycled materials, the building aligns with the sustainability objectives of Wageningen Campus. Adaptability was also considered in the design of the structure, installations and fittings, so that the building can meet the needs of developing companies or new tenants.

The development of the new building will allow for new public space between the three Plus Ultra buildings. It will contain different spaces and a connecting central piece of furniture. The entrances of all buildings are located on this public space, which will be traffic-free and suitable for events. Scattered around the buildings, nesting facilities for various animals will be created. Campus ecologist Wieger Wamelink will assist in creating the layout of the greenery around the new building. He explains that the location of facilities for fauna is key, but it is currently lacking or not well-placed. The greenery will be improved in Plus Ultra style with benches, decorative plants and paving.

Read more:

• Wageningen Campus krijgt verzamelgebouw met houten constructie (Architectenweb.nl) (Dutch)
• Plus Ultra III is coming(Resource-online.nl)

UNLOCK (Microbial Potential) is a research facility specialised in mixed microbial communities research on a large scale with four research platforms complimenting one another.

Students had the opportunity to discover the business and daily activities of the organisations, to learn about internship and job opportunities and to network with employees. Collaboration emerged as a prominent theme, with organisations emphasising the value of working together on campus to share knowledge, address needs, but also to share research facilities. Wageningen campus is not only an ideal location to collaborate with other organisations, but also with students. Therefore, there was a focus on internship and job opportunities during the two-day expedition.

The students at the expedition also identified the importance of collaborations on campus and occasionally inquired about joint projects and about opportunities for themselves. One of the conclusions of the expedition was the value of collaboration both between organisations and with students.

Moreover, these tours also offered the organisations a chance to show the innovations underway across campus, highlighting hands-on research with practical applications. Discussions with students revolved around future strategies, technology integration, and personal growth opportunities. There was in-depth curiosity and enthusiasm among participants for the diversity of research taking place at campus. Lastly, the diversity on campus was another noteworthy aspect, with organisations and employees from many different countries and cultures. Organisations offered opportunities not only locally in Wageningen, but globally.

Attending student Sophie explained: ‘It offered a great opportunity to get a glimpse of a company before starting an application process.’ And another student mentioned: ‘I really appreciated the transparency of the organisations and the insight into the lives of employees and into facilities present. But also, their transparency about clients and suppliers.’

All in all, an amazing edition of the Wageningen Campus Student Expedition. One with focus on opportunities, collaborations, innovations, and diversity. All themes which Wageningen Campus is proud to be a driver of. Thanks to all the students for joining and the following organisations for opening their doors: Surfix Diagnostics, AgroCares, KeyGene, NIOO-KNAW, ATKB - adviesbureau voor bodem, water en ecologie, Greencovery, AlgaePARC 2.0 (WUR), KWS Group Vegetables, Witteveen+Bos, Kalsec Inc., FrieslandCampina, NoPalm Ingredients, MetaMeta, Eurofins Agro & Horti NL and OnePlanet Research Center / IMEC!

Hudson River Biotechnology develops agronomic and consumer traits while the changing climate is accelerating the development of more resilient crops. Where similar crop adjustments would traditionally take seven to ten years, Hudson River Biotechnology is able to do so in two to four years.  

 CRISPR improves crop quality  

Hudson River Biotechnology uses CRISPR technology for the breeding of plant varieties. Adjustments are made to the genetic code of crops at a molecular level. This makes it possible to change plant properties precisely and efficiently. This can create improvements in yield, higher nutrition composition, or longer shelf life. The European Parliament recently agreed to relax the rules for new genetic techniques such as CRISPR which is a major milestone for global acceptance. A clear distinction is made between, on the one hand, the long-standing GMO crops, which contain transgenic DNA (for example to combine with herbicides) that are still banned from the market, and on the other hand the new CRISPR crops which do not contain transgenic DNA.  

The fact that Europe is giving the green light is an important step for us,” explains Ferdinand Los, CEO and co-founder of Hudson River Biotechnology. “After several years of development, CRISPR has become a mature technology. This allows us to supply the plants we need for the future, in a safe and controlled manner.

Investment for further development  

After the latest regulatory news from Europe, this latest round of inverstment was led by Oost NL and Eurogenetic of Spain.  

This is a new milestone for us, Los explains. “The investment will allow us to further scale up commercially on the one hand and work on new products and services on the other. Oost NL has supported us with their network and advice since the start of our company. And with Eurogenetic we gain an important strategic partner who can take us further internationally.” Existing investors, including Bridford Group and angel investor Elaine Groenestein, also welcome the investment by Oost NL and Eurogenetic.  

Wout Morrenhof, Food investment manager at Oost NL stated that “to ensure sufficient sustainably produced food in the future, it is necessary to invest in new technologies. Hudson River Biotechnology is a scale-up that has been working on important innovations in plant improvements for years. With this investment, the company can develop further and thus contribute to long-term food security.”  

Hudson River Biotechnology currently employs 30 people. The company is strongly anchored in the Food Valley region, including through connections with StartLife, Wageningen UR, Radboud University and University of Twente. 

Can you briefly describe what Uticon does?

"Say a company or start-up/scale-up wants to build a factory or pilot plant for the production of an ingredient or consumer product. They already know where they are going to build, but how are the raw materials going to get there? What processes will be used and what equipment do they need? What kind of investments are needed for the building? How do they ensure that they meet all the food safety requirements? We have all the disciplines to design the entire factory/pilot plant for them, so that it is sustainable and carbon neutral.

We are based in Eindhoven, Bergen op Zoom and near Ghent. And since 2022, we also have an office on Wageningen Campus, with a team of eight employees. They work on projects in the regions of Utrecht, Gelderland and part of Overijssel, with a focus on the food industry."

Why did you decide to open an office on Wageningen Campus?

"When a spot became available in Plus Ultra II in spring 2022, we immediately said: we need to be there. Wageningen University&Research is well regarded and Wageningen is in the food valley, important in the Netherlands but also in Europe and beyond. An office on Wageningen Campus expands our network. I have found that other companies respond very positively when they find out you have an office here."

In what ways do you benefit from the campus?

"We are always exploring how we can use the campus ecosystem. We are affiliated with the Food Valley Foundation and often attend interesting events like F&A Next. We have already had quite a lot of contact with the companies in Plus Ultra II, and it would be nice to collaborate more with other companies on campus. There are also plans to collaborate in a PPP (Public Private Partnerships) project on sustainable proteins that is yet to be launched. It will be great to be increasingly involved in sustainability as well.

And we are also in touch with StartLife. We regularly work with startups on campus, and it's always nice to see their enthusiasm. They are often focused on what is happening in their lab, or at pilot scale. If they want to move that to a larger scale, all sorts of new things come into play: organisational aspects, process risks, food safety, automation, packaging your ingredient or product, that sort of thing. That's where our added value lies, providing advice."

Do you also work with Wageningen students?

"We are planning to. There are great opportunities to work with the university and young people. Students could do internships with us, for example. Then we can learn from them, and they can learn from us. And, of course, they provide some labour potential. At our Eindhoven office, a TU student did an assignment and then joined us."

So life is good on campus?

"Definitely, we love it here. We feel good about the campus, the workplace, and the look of the modern building. It's just an incredibly fun, dynamic environment. I sometimes joke that I feel a lot younger when I walk around campus."

Why are you developing tissue cultures?

"The rules on animal testing are becoming increasingly strict in Europe, for cosmetic purposes but also for medical research. Animal research is also inefficient because the results often do not translate to humans. Our aim is a world in which animal testing is no longer needed at all. However, this does require much better alternatives than are currently available. Tissue cultures and organoids (artificially grown miniature organs) may be becoming increasingly complex, but who says they mimic the functioning of an organ well enough?"

So how are the models you develop different from regular tissue cultures?

"We combine complex tissue cultures with innovative technology. The term bionics in our name also refers to the merging of biology and technology. The two professors from England and Denmark who started this are now our scientific advisers. We use a 3D printer to make tissue models with different materials, cells and biosensors. We can then measure what is happening in the tissues."

What kinds of sensors are involved?

"In such a model, we measure general values, like pH and temperature, as well as specific disease indicators, also called biomarkers. For example, one of our sensors measures the hormone dopamine. We need this sensor for a brain model of Parkinson's disease. For different diseases, we want to develop models with their own specific sensors. We will start with models for skin diseases and then other diseases."

What is the biggest challenge in developing your models?

"Making tissue cultures has always involved a lot of manual work. That makes it almost impossible to supply hundreds or thousands of the same copies of a model. However, companies in the medical or cosmetics industry need that for their testing. By 3D printing and further standardising the production process, we are trying to make increasingly uniform models. That remains the biggest challenge."

Why did you choose Wageningen Campus as a base?

"It was no coincidence that we started looking in this region. That was also a requirement of the Eastern Netherlands ION+2 fund. When we arrived on campus, we immediately loved it. Plus Ultra II is a lovely modern building. It is very inspiring to be among so many start-ups. And we can share laboratory facilities and collaborate with large companies here on campus."

Do you work with the University?

"We are in talks with the Animal Sciences Group. They do animal testing there too, but with the same mission to find good alternatives. So, the obvious way forward is to collaborate with ASG research groups. Our technology is equally well suited to developing animal tissue models too.

Furthermore, a couple of students will be doing some market research for us in the coming months. We know that companies are interested in our skin models, but we want to know more about which tests they need models for. That is an important question. In one or two years, we expect to start producing on a large scale. Then we need to know exactly what the market wants."

The new facility includes additional tubular systems for microalgae cultivation, new screening systems for faster selection of algae strains, and a range of novel biorefinery equipment for researchers to purify bioproducts from algae. This effectively doubles the capacity of the pilot plant. “We make our technology available to start-ups and other small companies to test their ideas without having to make large investments,” says Maria Barbosa, Professor of Bioprocess Engineering. AlgaePARC has been sharing its facilities since 2016, but could not keep up with the demand. AlgaePARC 2.0 aims to meet this growing demand.

Microalgae for food products

There is a clear difference in the application of microalgae ten years ago and now. While researchers and small companies used to focus on biofuel production, the focus is now shifting towards food applications. Algae produce palm oil substitutes and healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and serve as an animal-free protein source. The enhanced capabilities of AlgaePARC should lower the threshold of researching this potential. It is now possible to not only grow algae, but also to harvest them on-site and purify the desired product. That is quite unique as most pilots either offer opportunities for algae growth or for extracting desired products such as oil from the algae. “At AlgaePARC companies can now start with a tube of algae and leave with their product,” Barbosa explains.

Moreover, the microalgae farm in Wageningen is one of the few plants with a license to grow genetically modified algae on pilot scale. The only other algae farm with such a permit in Europe is located in Portugal. With minor adjustments to the DNA, scientists can modify the metabolism of the algae, for example to produce more oil or protein.

Stepping stone for start-ups

Recently, the start-up ReCarbn relocated from Twente to Wageningen to have easier access to the facilities of AlgaePARC. The start-up is investigating a technology called direct air capture, which captures CO2 directly from the air and then utilises it on-site, for example, to 'feed' algae. Sophia Hummelman, co-founder of ReCarbn, explains: "We want to better understand if this technology can be a good application for the algae. We test, among other things, how algae respond to the flow of CO₂ that we administer and the robustness of the technology under changing weather conditions and continuous operation.” AlgaePARC in Wageningen offers an optimal research environment for this start-up. "With research in the field of algae, Wageningen is at the forefront on a global scale," says Hummelman. "For us, AlgaePARC is therefore the ideal testing location. Collaborating with AlgaePARC and Wageningen University & Research serves as a catalyst for advancing our technology, presenting us with novel opportunities in its ongoing development."

The collaboration between ReCarbn and Wageningen is made possible in part by the 4TU/TNO collaborative initiative Thematic Technology Transfer Circular Technology (TTT-CT). Programme Director Maurits Burgering of TTT-CT explains, "An earlier pilot conducted in WUR's greenhouses left us wanting more, which is why we are now transitioning to the updated AlgaePARC 2.0."

Alternative busses

There will be no trains to, from, and through Ede-Wageningen station between Tuesday morning at 01.00 a.m. and Friday morning at 05.00 a.m. The NS and Conexxion will offer busses as an alternative for travellers along the routes from Driebergen-Zeist and Arnhem stations and from Ede-Wageningen to Barneveld. The buses will stop at the stations along the way. You will have to check in and out on the bus, as the platforms will be closed.  

The busses depart from Ede-Wageningen station’s north side, next to the regular bus station. Please note: this is the last occasion on which busses depart from this side. Once the new station opens, the new bus station is located on the south side of the train station.  

Travellers can continue their journey by train from Driebergen-Zeist, Arnhem and Barneveld. The travel planner provides more information on the bus alternatives, such as arrival and departure times. 

New bicycle parking 

The new station at Ede-Wageningen will open on Friday, 23 February, at which time the new, monitored bicycle parking facility will also be opened. For the first 24 hours, parking is free. You can check in to the bike parking using your OV-chip card or buy a tag on-site. An additional, unmonitored bicycle parking facility will be constructed on the north side of the station, behind the Friso barracks.  

Important: existing bicycle parking facilities will be closed 

The opening of the new bike parking facilities means that the old facility will be closed. Part of the facility will already be closed in anticipation of the opening on 23 February to allow for construction work and the realisation of a temporary bike facility behind the Friso barracks.  

Ede municipality will close all existing bicycle parking facilities as of 23 February, from which time cyclists will be welcome to use the new, secure facility. All bikes must be removed from the current parking facilities no later than Tuesday, 27 February. After this, the municipality will remove all remaining bikes.  

More information?

• Learn more about alternative transportation by bus on www.ns.nl/reisplanner or the NS-app.
• Learn more about the construction through the Spoorzone Ede app.
• More information on the project is provided at www.spoorzone-ede.nl or can be requested by email: spoorzone@ede.nl.

For period 6, May 13 – July 5, 2024, we are looking for 70 projects. We expect large numbers of students in the field of Nutrition and Health, Communication Health & Life Sciences, Animal Sciences, Plant Sciences and Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management. These subject areas can be combined together and/or combined with other subject areas. So we also welcome projects with other subject areas within the WUR domain.

Master students from Wageningen University will work in multidisciplinary teams of 5 to 7 students and develop academic advice.

Does your organisation have a great idea, but not the time to develop this idea further? Society Based Education can help you to develop a proposal for ACT.
You can send an e-mail to with ideas for project descriptions. The deadline for submitting project descriptions is Friday, March 8, 2024.

For more information you can have a look at the website.

On behalf of the ACT course,
Society Based Education Wageningen University

How did Water IQ start?

“Water IQ has its origins in the brewing sector, where I was working on improving the quality of the malting process – that is to say, the washing, steeping and germination of the barley. While I was cataloguing interesting innovations for the Innovation Programme ‘Water Technology in the Netherlands’, I came across a purification technology that I believed had the potential to reduce the amount of waste water produced during malting. This technology formed the basis for the company that I set up in 2007. We built the first prototype of our water treatment system in a garage. When we outgrew this space, we rented our first production hall in 2013 and started expanding internationally.

What makes Water IQ’s water treatment technology unique?

“Special ceramic pellets are combined with smart microbial reactions to remove bacteria and other impurities from the water – a technique that we have patented. Our applications can also be integrated into the production process. The focus here is on selective water treatment, in which harmful substances are removed during the process, while valuable substances are retained in the water system. In this way the water is purified while it is being used, rather than afterwards. This facilitates circular processes that require less water and produce significantly less waste water.

We have now developed applications for the brewing and horticulture sectors, as well as for groundwater and drinking water purification. The application we have developed for the malting process reduces the water needed by at least 40%. For the horticulture sector, we are developing systems that will allow growers to achieve fully circular cultivation without generating any waste water. Growing in this way also helps improve plant resilience. Our approach means that signal substances from the root environment are retained, helping plants regulate their defences.”

Water IQ’s new Research & Development facility is opening in PLUS ULTRA II this year. Why did you choose Wageningen Campus?

“It came about as a direct result of our work in the brewing sector. Our application is revolutionising the malting industry. The traditional approach involves washing the barley with a large quantity of fresh water. We are saying that you need to do the opposite: you should purify the water you are using selectively and use it over and over again, as the water not only contains impurities, but also substances that help the barley grain. Reuse strengthens the malting process.

The biggest maltster in the world has already started using this process, but in order to convince the rest of the brewing world we want to understand the process better. Malting is, after all, nothing other than initiating the germination of barley grains. The plant and food scientists at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) are the perfect partners for researching this new malting and brewing process, from grain to beer. How does it affect the flavour of the end product, for example?

The knowledge is here, and so are the people. Various vacancies are already being advertised, each one offering a fantastic role within our new facility.”

Is there much more to do before you can get on with the research?

“We got the keys a week ago. We have an amazing office space in Plus Ultra II and a wonderful facility where we can set up our pilot projects. Now there’s just a concrete floor, but we are hoping to have a laboratory up and running within three months. The market is eagerly awaiting the results and we are keen to get started!”

In recent years, the OnePlanet Research Centre has rapidly grown in size and outgrown its original laboratory facilities. The new laboratory is multifunctional and equipped with everything needed to develop specialized sensors in the fields of health, agriculture, food and the environment. In the chemical, optical and electrical laboratories, the basic components for these sensors are developed.

Bathroom for monitoring human health

A standout feature of the new facilities is the dedicated bathroom area where sensors for monitoring human health can be tested as part of the Bathroom4Health program. In addition, in the adjacent electronic and mechanical workshops, the sensors are seamlessly integrated into prototype sensor units for later field tests.

These beautiful laboratory facilities have been made possible in part by funding from the province of Gelderland and the growth fund from PhotonDelta. OnePlanet Research look forward to using these new facilities to exploit even more innovative research opportunities.

More about OnePlanet Research

Each participating organisation offers, for example, a guided tour or a presentation within the limited time of one hour to introduce the students to the organisation’s mission and daily operations. The organisation is given the opportunity to meet the next generation of professionals, while (the) students are given the opportunity to understand how their own skills and aspirations might align with the goals of these organisations. An important theme in many of the sessions was therefore the focus on career, thesis and internship opportunities.

If your organisation is interested in participating, you can send us an email. We have a limited number of time slots available.

Testimonial Wageningen Campus Student Expedition 2023

The Wageningen Campus Student Expedition for me was greatly useful in terms of becoming familiar with companies and meeting nice people that can guide you regarding your professional career. From this experience I got important information concerning the companies that I visited by getting acquainted with their projects and by asking the people who work there about their work tasks and experiences. The variety of choices of organisations that participated in this event broadened my horizons in terms of being informed about many types of organisations in many fields. In a way it also helped me to realise what I would like to do after my studies or during an internship and of course what I would not like.

In fact, this experience helped me to get the opportunity to take interviews with two of the participating companies for an internship and I found an internship at Farmtree, thanks to the Wageningen Campus Student Expedition. Normally the process of searching for an internship can be difficult and frustrating, therefore this event played a major role in dealing with this for me.

In addition, this event could also be helpful for people who are searching for part time jobs since they could get direct information about upcoming opportunities. For these reasons I would definitely recommend the campus student expedition to everyone and encourage them not to miss this excellent opportunity to connect with organisations.

Daimonakos, Vasileios

Benefits of sharing

Sharing facilities is a proven method to make advanced research equipment available and cost-effective for organisations (working in the field of healthy food and living environments), in order to maximise capacity and accelerate innovation. Due to investments made in recent years, the total number of devices open for sharing via SRF has increased to 97 devices, both housed by WUR as well as small and large companies. As much as 63 external parties make use of SRF-equipment, in this way expanding their own lab.

Conditions for applying for a shared subsidy

• The investment concerns innovative advanced research equipment in the protein transition, food & health and/or circular agrifood domains and is shared via open access.
• The investment benefits organisations in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Utrecht and will be realised in collaboration with Wageningen University & Research.
• The investment enables organisations to shorten time to market and optimise efficiency during the innovation process.
• The facility will also be made accessible to other organisations at a market price.
• Open call till the end 2024.

Contact the Shared Research Facilities team within WUR

Wageningen University & Research - Shared Research Facilities make state-of-the-art research facilities accessible to researchers from universities, research institutes and businesses on or off Wageningen Campus. If you want to know more about how Shared Research Facilities could benefit your organisation or if you intend to apply for a subsidy, please contact us.

Shared Research Facilities is supported by the Province of Gelderland and the Region Deal Foodvalley. The subsidy scheme from Region Deal Foodvalley stimulates companies and institutes to realise research equipment in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Utrecht.

The top five teams from the Online Challenge will get their own greenhouse compartment at WUR in Bleiswijk, the Netherlands, in autumn 2024. There they will compete with each other to grow real dwarf tomatoes in the most sustainable and autonomous way possible. You can register for the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge on the website.

- Unfortunately, your cookie settings do not allow videos to be displayed. - check your settings

More food thanks to autonomous greenhouses

With an ever-growing world population, the demand for fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables is increasing. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, it will require 60% greater food production to feed a global population estimated to reach 9 billion by 2050. Autonomous greenhouses can ensure that more people are fed with vitamin- and mineral-rich produce. In addition, these techniques can help improve food safety and increase production of healthy vegetables while using fewer resources such as water and energy.

The potential of autonomous growing has been successfully demonstrated in previous editions of the challenge. This year, dwarf tomatoes take center stage. Tomatoes are traditionally grown in a high-wire cultivation system and they grow meters tall, requiring a lot of manual labor. Dwarf tomatoes, on the other hand, remain compact, only about 40 cm high. This makes them ideal for full automation and cultivation in urban environments.

Challenge as a connection between AI and food production

By organising the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge, WUR and co-developer and technology company Tencent want to further connect the world of AI and food production, develop knowledge and make this knowledge publicly accessible. The Challenge is thus a contribution to global efforts to make food systems more sustainable.

Online challenge for AI experts

The first part of the 4th edition of the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge will take place from 1 April to 1 June as an Online Challenge. This part of the Challenge is focused on testing participants' machine learning and computer vision skills.
During the computer vision part of the challenge, teams must develop algorithms based on training images of dwarf tomato plants. Those autonomous algorithms must assess plant characteristics, for example, plant height, leaf area, the number of fruits and their maturity.

In the machine learning part, teams are challenged to use machine learning to develop algorithms to autonomously control ventilation, heating and lighting in a virtual greenhouse, among other things. The algorithms should stimulate the growth of a virtual dwarf tomato crop while minimising the use of energy.

Hackathon event for participating teams

All participating teams will then be invited to a Hackathon event on 6/7 June at WUR in Bleiswijk. During this event, the points for the two parts of the Online Challenge will be announced. Teams can score extra points by performing an additional task and by giving a pitch of their approach in front of an international jury. The five best teams with the most points from all parts will be selected during the Hackathon event. They will receive their own greenhouse section in the autumn to prove their skills in a real dwarf tomato crop.

Who can participate?

Teams with a minimum of 3 members. Teams must consist of at least one horticulture and one AI expert. At least one team member must be a student. A participant can only be part of one team and register once. The Challenge welcomes teams from different countries and continents, and the organisers encourage collaboration between experts from start-ups/companies with students and researchers from universities/research centres. Participants from previous editions may also participate: we would love to see teams return to push their boundaries and develop new knowledge.

How to register

Registration for the Online Challenge can be done until 20 February 2024 0:00 CET. So form a team, sign up, become part of our Community and have fun!

Potential participants can find more information about the rules, entry requirements and registration on the website.

Thorkelsdottir has recently graduated in Climate Studies. For their master's thesis at the Meteorology and Air Quality group, they investigated the atmospheric dispersion and deposition of microplastics originating from car tyres. Such particles are prevalent, and data on their concentrations were available from Poland, London, Hamburg, and the Pyrenees. Thorkelsdottir adapted the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to simulate the dispersion of microplastics and showed that a substantial portion of these particles is transported over longer distances, up to thousands of kilometers. The model aligned well with real-world observations.

"Airborne microplastics is a new research line I took up at Wageningen University”, explains Rezaei, who works at both the Meteorology and Air Quality and Soil Physics and Land Management chair groups. “Gudrun was one of our first MSc students working on large-scale atmospheric modelling of these particles. They laid the groundwork for further exploration of the spread of microplastics in the atmosphere, a pressing issue for society,"

Exceptional modelling and writing

"While we possess some knowledge regarding microplastics presence and behaviour in terrestrial and aquatic environments, research on atmospheric microplastics remains nascent. This is precisely why Gudrun encountered various challenges during the modelling process. However, they took significant initiative and devised an innovative approach for example by coupling the microplastic emission rate to the CO₂ emission from vehicles and parametrising the WRF model for microplastics properties. Moreover, Gudruns’ writing skills are outstanding", outlines Rezaei, summarising the rationale for the nomination.

The Executive Board of Wageningen University approved the nomination by Rezaei and Van der Molen. "I was utterly surprised," says Thorkelsdottir, "and I feel honoured that others also recognise value in my research." On November 23, they presented their research at Hive, the Unilever Food Innovation Centre in Wageningen, where they received the prize: a cheque for 2500 euros.

About the Unilever Research Prize

The Unilever Research Prize is a prestigious annual award given to 13 talented Master students from Dutch Universities for their outstanding research. The aim is to support talent in science and acknowledge Unilever’s important relationship with the Dutch academic world. An important selection criterion is that their chosen masters’ thesis topic makes a positive contribution to one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Each organisation, within the limited span of an hour, offered tours, presentations, and various interactive formats to introduce students to their missions, values, and operations. The organisations recognized the importance of the next generation of professionals, while students were given the opportunity to understand how their own skills and aspirations could align with the goals of these organisations. An important theme across many of the sessions was therefore the focus on career, thesis, and internship opportunities.

Arjen van Nieuwenhuijzen from Witteveen & Bos also mentioned during his presentation: ‘WUR campus is a good location to be involved with future employees; you as students!’

Campus community

This shows that the event also served as a bridge between academia and industry, showcasing the relationship between Wageningen University and the practical, real-world applications of knowledge. The openness and willingness of these organisations to share their expertise and opportunities underline the advantages of the Wageningen campus community.

The community ambiance of the event was further shown by the enthusiasm from participating students. Many questions were asked, covering topics such as organisational expertise, job opportunities, project details, client engagements, and more. The campus expedition was a great opportunity for networking between employees and students. Students expressed their interests focusing on potential job openings and internship prospects, while companies were left with inspiring thoughts and questions from students.

Giorgia Zaccheroni, master student Food Quality Management visited the presentations from Upfield, Kalsec and Foodvalley. She mentions that she’s grateful for the visitations as it left her with a broader understanding of the organisations. Just a website often does not give enough insight.

Creating impact

Considering that numerous organisations on the Wageningen campus are committed to generating and measuring positive impact, many students found themselves contemplating a crucial question: "What impact do I want to make?" This question became the takeaway from the event, prompting students to reflect on their personal aspirations and how these align with the organisations they visited.

Marina Alarcón from FarmTree mentioned: ‘It was also cool to present to students for once, because we usually pitch for professionals. This was a completely different narrative.’

And a special thanks to the organisations opening their doors the last two days: B-mex, Upfield, VHLgenetics, Witteveen+Bos, Farmtree, Kalsec, NIOO-KNAW, Nutrition and health unit WUR, Agrocares, FoodvalleyNL, Wageningen Food Safety Research, Meta Meta, OnePlanet Research/imec, Surfix Diagnostics and DSM Fermenich/CSK.

The UI GreenMetric World University Rankings, which is organised by Universitas Indonesia (UI) each year, is based on the result of an extensive survey on the topics of energy, climate, waste, transportation, water, biodiversity and infrastructure. Sustainability in education and research is also measured.

Points

WUR obtained 9,500 out of 10,000 points this year, slightly more than numbers two and three, which are Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom and Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld in Germany, respectively. Groningen University takes fourth place. The fact that two Dutch universities performed well and made it to the top five of the most sustainable university campuses is exceptional.

WUR’s first place was officially announced during the COP 28 climate summit in Dubai. Rector Magnificus Arthur Mol is proud of the results and advises other university boards: ‘Include your entire academic community in the sustainability process and view it as more than just a technical issue.’

The international GreenMetric network

A total of 1183 universities from 85 countries participated in the Universitas Indonesia ranking, which was launched in 2010. Universities complete a questionnaire and join workshops and events that are held throughout the year. WUR participates in the annual International Workshop Green Metric (IWGM), which focuses on the best examples from all participating universities. During the 2023 edition, WUR showed how social responsibility van be firmly anchored within our strategies.

NoPalm Ingredients

In a well-deserved second place is Nopalm Ingredients. They make palm oil without using palm trees. They do this by upcycling agrifood side streams through fermentation. This enables them to offer the same versatility and affordability of palm oil, but with 90% less CO2 emissions.

Read more

Revyve

Revyve ranks 16th. Revyve makes ingredients from brewer's yeast. Brewer's yeast is a side stream of the brewing industry and they upcycle it into ingredients that can be used as egg protein replacements. These ingredients can act as alternatives to chicken egg protein. These alternatives have a much lower carbon footprint.

Read more

Docuscience is a new programme at Omnia, giving Wageningen campus employees the chance to share insights about their work. New perspectives are linked to a documentary that encourages the audience to engage in conversation. The host chooses the documentary and the format of the evening!

Terms and conditions

The host is an employee on Wageningen campus or has close ties to WUR. Because of the many international colleagues on our campus, it is also important that the programme can take place in English. Therefore, it is also of importance that the documentary is in English or contains English subtitles. Furthermore, we prefer it to last no longer than 45 minutes so that there is also time to engage in conversation. Also, look at the attached powerpoint for explanation about the Docuscience programme and the terms and conditions.

Programme

The screenings will take place between January and April 2024. Before each screening, there will be an opportunity for a Docudinner at restaurant Novum. Afterwards, the host or expert will introduce the documentary and then the screening will start. After the documentary, there will be time for questions from the audience. The conversation can also continue at the Novum restaurant, where guests can continue talking about their passions and perspectives over drinks.

Does this sound like an exciting opportunity? Do you enjoy engaging with colleagues? And would you like to see your favourite documentary on a big screen? Contact Guusje Sterkenburg to become a host for the next Docuscience!

Shared usage

This advanced facility is available for shared use by researchers from organisations both within and outside Wageningen Campus, enabling data and knowledge exchange among them. Alexander van Ittersum, Product Owner Compute & Platform Solutions and Research IT Solutions at WUR, highlights the benefits of the upgrade: "Thanks to this investment and the shared use of the HPC, organisations can work more cost-effectively and exchange knowledge and data when needed. Furthermore, it offers the ability to process large-scale visual materials, such as drone videos."

The expansion and shared usage of Anunna are of great importance to WUR, as it supports various research and educational purposes of the university, providing significantly more capabilities and capacity for complex data analyses and machine learning, as well as facilitating data and knowledge exchange with other organisations.

Anne Boshove, a researcher at Topigs Norsvin and a user of Anunna, emphasises the importance of shared usage: "We perform extensive analyses only a few times a year. If we had to purchase an HPC system ourselves, it would be relatively expensive and a waste of capacity." Martijn Derks, also a researcher at Topigs Norsvin and a lecturer at Animal Breeding & Genomics at WUR, adds: "For complex calculations involving a lot of genetic variation and the desired connection to phenotypic traits, significant memory is required. The expansion of Anunna's data storage is therefore crucial to us."

Knowledge and data Exchange

Martijn Derks continues: "Sharing our data with research partners like WUR is crucial for student projects and PhD candidates, allowing them to fully benefit from this source of research information. On the other hand, Topigs Norsvin can have research and analyses conducted by WUR using these datasets, which we don't have time for ourselves. This mutual data and knowledge exchange is highly valuable to us."

“With the upgrade of the high-performance computer cluster Anunna, we take a giant step toward the future of AI and computing power," emphasises Ioannis Athanasiadis, Professor of Artificial Intelligence Data Science at Wageningen University and Research.

He continues: "the availability of computing power is of utmost importance for our organisation and plays a crucial role in the advancement of AI for both research and education, and the impact we, as WUR, aim to make in society." It is also an essential infrastructure for developing and testing AI solutions in the WUR domains in cooperation with our partners, like, for example, AgrifoodTEF, the European network for testing and experimenting with AI solutions in the agrifood sector that WUR is part of.

Environmentally friendly and cost-effective

A noteworthy feature of Anunna is its water-cooling system, which is up to 80% more energy-efficient than air-cooled systems, making it both environmentally friendly and cost-effective. Anunna is part of the European supercomputing network and holds a regional Tier-2 status. The supercomputer is housed in one of WUR's two data centres.

Alexander van Ittersum says: "In many research projects, we see that the required IT infrastructure for AI plays a prominent role. With the updated Anunna and, especially, the accompanying support that can be provided, we reduce complexity for researchers. They can focus primarily on their research, while the (sometimes complex) task of setting up and maintaining the required infrastructure is handled by IT."

Interested?

To learn more about Anunna's capabilities for research applications and training for researchers and students, please contact Alexander van Ittersum. For more functional information about Anunna, visit our shared equipment data system. For further information about Anunna and its shared usage, please get in touch with Shared Research Facilities.

What is the mission of Radicle Crops?

“Our mission is to tackle the lack of diversity in farms and global diets. Today, agriculture relies on a surprisingly small number of crops. By consuming and farming the same crops, again and again, we have weakened the resilience of our food production system. Farmers worldwide need new alternatives that are more nutritious, hardier in the face of climate change, and kinder to the environment. But they also need crops that can bring them a fair income.

Radicle Crops is a genetics research and breeding company with a primary focus on advancing novel crops. Our goal is to expedite the adaptation and domestication of resilient agricultural species that have been overlooked by institutional and commercial breeding companies. Our ethos is to harness the latest innovations in breeding to accelerate the adaptation of these novel crops to modern production systems that require fewer inputs while producing highly nutrient-dense foods. Recently, we made a massive technological breakthrough: we introduced a CMS-based F1 hybrid seed production system in quinoa. F1 hybrid breeding technology revolutionised maize breeding. We are convinced it will do the same for quinoa.”

Why quinoa?

“Quinoa is an exceptional crop species. It exhibits tolerance to drought and salinity and can effectively produce food in marginal farmland where common staples struggle to grow. Furthermore, quinoa is gluten-free and is considered one of the few plant-based sources of 'complete proteins' for human nutrition. These attributes make quinoa an ideal crop for a plant-based future, aligning with sustainability goals.

For thousands of years, quinoa has been cultivated in the salt plains of the Andes in South America, specifically in Peru and Bolivia. Although eighty per cent of global quinoa production still originates from this region, quinoa has experienced widespread adoption since the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) declaration of 2013 as the International Year of Quinoa. Since then, quinoa has extended its reach to over 123 countries, and its consumption has quadrupled on a global scale. Quinoa is becoming increasingly popular in the diets of industrialised nations and is a household favourite for those seeking healthy and sustainable dietary options. But nutritious food should be something for everyone. At Radicle Crops, our goal is to make quinoa widely available and accessible to everyone by developing varieties that can thrive anywhere in the world while ensuring that they are productive enough to provide growers with a competitive income and consumers with a fair price.”

What are the challenges for Radicle Crops?

“Like most innovative start-ups, our greatest challenge is to create sufficient revenue to match our growing ambitions. We have a loyal client base for our varieties and a stable source of income to sustain our exceptional team and resource-intensive innovation pipeline, but our ambition is to make quinoa a global crop.

We are dedicated to developing the crops of the future. I firmly believe that quinoa and other often-overlooked agricultural species will serve as the driving force behind a healthier, more diverse, and resilient food system. It is imperative that we transition to more sustainable food production systems, as climate change is an undeniable reality. However, transforming our food system from its current state presents an immense challenge with an undefined timeline. To achieve this, we require supportive policies, improved tools — including enhanced varieties for novel crops — and a society willing to adapt its dietary habits. This is easier said than done, and until such changes occur, novel crops will struggle to compete with the economics of common staples.

It appears the world isn't prepared for the necessary transition. In the case of quinoa, we possess exceptional varieties, rapidly developing production chains, and the breeding technology needed to elevate this species to a global phenomenon. However, we need more traction and global food manufacturers and retailers have not yet shown the readiness to invest in this innovative crop.”

How many and what kind of people work at Radicle Crops?

“Currently, our team consists of nine members, and by the end of the year, we hope to add an additional two colleagues. We function as an R&D company, and as a result, each team member has a background in genetics or breeding, all of us originating from the Plant Breeding Department at WUR. At Radicle Crops, some of us have had the privilege of acquiring skills related to business management and growth, which is an area I believe could receive more attention at WUR. The university serves as a fertile ground for cultivating innovative ideas to address the significant challenges facing our society. I would love to see more entrepreneurs coming out of WUR!”

Why did you decide to setup your company at Wageningen Campus in Plus Ultra II?

“It simply aligned perfectly with our mission. Officially, we are a spin-off of WUR. We acquired our breeding programme from Plant Breeding WUR and maintain an ongoing collaboration with them to pioneer cutting-edge technology for the accelerated breeding of quinoa and other novel crop species. Together, we have secured nearly 4 million Euros to advance the field of quinoa breeding and the development of high-speed breeding technologies for novel crops, which includes our innovative F1 hybrid breeding system. We also rely on the services of UNIFARM for our research and breeding trials.

Even more crucially, our presence within the campus ecosystem allows us to tap into a pool of talented scientists and breeders who are eager to join our project or contribute innovative ideas through collaborative efforts. The people that come to study at WUR share the spirit, ambition, and ethos for change that drives Radicle Crops. Additionally, we have the privilege of sharing this space with other esteemed breeding companies, such as KWS Vegetables. This setting provides an excellent opportunity to engage with industry peers, fostering discussions on creative ideas, offering insights into recent developments in our field, and sharing the challenges we encounter while striving to build sustainable enterprises.

In the long run, I aspire to see us make more extensive use of the shared facilities provided by WUR. The shared facilities system is a brilliant concept and could serve as an invaluable resource for innovative companies within the campus ecosystem, particularly for a company like ours. With limited CAPEX budget, having access to cutting-edge technology offers us a significant advantage. Regrettably, the costs associated with using these shared facilities often exceed our means. In some cases, it has proven more cost-effective for us to procure the necessary infrastructure ourselves rather than utilising shared resources.

I believe that WUR's intentions are commendable, and I am hopeful that, as a community, we can collaborate to establish a dynamic environment where companies can make more extensive use of, interact with, and collaborate through the campus facilities.”

Do you miss things on campus?

“As I mentioned earlier, I believe WUR's shared facilities should be more accessible to start-ups, both in terms of knowledge sharing and pricing. Additionally, I feel that the campus community could benefit from improvements, fostering more opportunities for interaction among great minds. I have always believed that we can build our luck by bumping into as many people as possible. What we need is a vibrant focal point, a gathering space that forces people to gravitate to campus — perhaps a welcoming coffee shop featuring personalised coffee brews, the funkiest bar in town serving molecular cocktails, or a farmer’s market featuring food created using WUR innovation and knowledge. Such a space would encourage individuals to step out of their isolated workspaces, interact, share ideas, and create an environment akin to Silicon Valley, a true Food Valley where everyone in the food industry wants to be.”

How do you see the future of your company in Wageningen?

“If we are successful, I would love to stay on Wageningen Campus. WUR is unrivalled in the realm of breeding, driven by innovation and forward-thinking. It's essential for us and WUR to maintain this spirit. We're already globally recognised as the foremost quinoa breeder, and now we, along with other stakeholders, must invest in our business and cultivate new technologies. Our most significant challenge lies in generating market interest in quinoa and other alternative crops, and we are fully aware that this will be a long-term endeavour. Nevertheless, I remain optimistic and see numerous opportunities ahead for our business.”

The Waste-Free Week is well underway on Wageningen Campus. Caterers in the different buildings serve waste-free menu items and hand out fridge magnets to help people store their produce correctly at home. Smart scales are strategically placed in several locations to monitor how much food is wasted with the help of image recognition. Sanne Stroosnijder takes advantage of the added focus of food waste to unite people: ‘We have organised a waste-free networking lunch this week, where employees of WUR’s Facilities & Services and researchers share information with caterers and other partners on campus such as Unilever.’

Plan A, plan B and plan C

Combatting food waste on the campus calls for ‘time and effort’, says Stroosnijder. ‘The campus caterers are making every effort they can, and we are seeing real improvements.’ But reducing food waste is not just the caterers’ responsibility, she adds. ‘People taking part in events, meetings and gatherings can help ensure that the correct amount is ordered by registering or cancelling on time, and organisers can consider what to do about food that is not consumed. Using a foody bag to take leftovers home, for example, or through Too Good To Go or Foodsharing. These are excellent options for food that is not used.’

How this works became clear during the Annual Introduction Days (AID) three weeks ago. Stroosnijder organised a workshop on waste-free cooking. However, the warm weather caused many students to opt for a different activity, which meant quite some food was left over. ‘We had thought about this possibility beforehand. The chef was able to use some of the products for the next event, and some AID crew members took food with them to distribute among the rest of the crew. Foodsharing Wageningen collected what was left. Foodsharing is an organisation whose mission is to recover and distribute food that would otherwise be wasted. So, we had a plan A, a plan B and a plan C. Ultimately, nothing was discarded.’

Critical steps

After the Waste-Free Week, there are still plenty of challenges on campus, particularly concerning meeting lunches and other catered events where there are many leftovers. But WUR is taking critical steps in the right direction, says Stroosnijder. ‘Facilities & Services, for example, has included targets for preventing food waste in the caterers’ tendering. That is the type of systemic change we want to see.’

Watch the aftermovie and relive the exceptional atmosphere of the Wageningen Campus Summervibes Festival:

- Unfortunately, your cookie settings do not allow videos to be displayed. - check your settings

Initiators Sjef Moling and Chris van Kreij both look back on a successful edition. We organised this festival in close collaboration with various partners located on Wageningen Campus. A new joint tradition has been born. Chris estimates that around 1,000 people visited the festival during the day. "Despite the rain, people enjoyed the music and the atmosphere, and they had a great time. We received many positive comments. We will now continue to evaluate and do our utmost best to make the Summervibes Festival return in 2024.

It is worth noting that ten cents from every coin sold at the festival went to the Adopt Rainforest charity. The final total is around 800 euros, enough to protect 320m2 of rainforest.

Summervibes Festival was made possible in part by: Wageningen University & Research, hive Unilever Foods Innovation Centre, Upfield, Kadans Science Partner, Welcome Center Food Valley, Friesland Campina, Keygene.

Have a look at the photos made bij Sander van de Geijn:

More graphical computing power for data science and AI applications

The Wageningen HPC was in need of an overhaul, and a sum of €2.1 million has been earmarked for it, explains Alexander van Ittersum, Product Owner Compute & Platform Solutions and Research IT Solutions. “This will ensure the long-term security and reliability of the system. But it also no longer had sufficient storage capacity. In addition, we will be updating and increasing the graphics processing power, allowing AI applications to be deployed to much better use in the cluster.” Anunna is used to calculate climate models and map genomes, for example. “That happens at the Animal Breeding and Genomics, Environmental Research, and Plant Sciences research groups. But we are also seeing more and more application of data science in all fields, which requires computing power. Useful applications can be found in all research groups. The use of the HPC will also have an impact on key research themes such as Connected Circularity and the Protein Transition.”

The additional graphics power is needed because of the high demand by all research groups for large-scale image processing capacity. “An example is the analysis of video footage produced by drones. Conducting such research using a public cloud can be an expensive affair. This investment will allow us to keep everything in-house and improve our cost efficiency.”

Anunna and Animal Breeding and Genomics

Martien Groenen, head of the Animal Breeding and Genomics chair group, has been using Anunna with his group from day one, so for some ten years now. “We needed a lot of memory back then to map genomes, and so this genome research was soon transferred to the Anunna server. Breeding companies also showed an interest, and they too now store data on the HPC as part of various partnerships. The quantity of terabytes is only increasing, so the expansion is needed. Both computing power and storage space are very essential for the work we do. Of course, you don’t want that storage space in the cloud, particularly if it involves sensitive data.”

Machine learning and AI are increasingly applied in the Animal Sciences department’s Next Level Animal Sciences programme. “We conduct a lot of measurements on animals using sensors. There is a lot field data to record and analyse. When I started, it was mostly lab work in our department. Today, the majority of our PhDs analyse datasets.”

Network of supercomputers and partnerships

Anunna is part of a network of supercomputers in Europe. The Netherlands’ national supercomputer, Snellius, is located in Amsterdam and falls under the national Tier-1 system. Switzerland is home to a European supermodel (Tier-0). Anunna is a Tier-2 regional system.

“There is still too little cohesion between the HPC facilities of the various universities. We want to foster more mutual cooperation. For major projects, the Tier-1 system in Amsterdam is required. Often, this requires reinstalling the software and describing the code. We want to improve the cooperation in this area to make that process easier.”

Groenen recognises the problem: transferring data is time-consuming, and there are often waiting times to use Snellius. “That makes researchers more reluctant to use it. That’s why we are glad that our own HPC is being expanded. It will save us from having to move all that data around. It also makes us a more interesting partner for other parties in the Netherlands and in Europe. We have a clear position in the supercomputer landscape.”

According to Van Ittersum, the expansion may well attract more universities and companies. “However, our aim is not to compete with other Tier-2s. It is all about cooperation. It’s for good reason that Shared Research Facilities is the owner of the HPC: our goal is indeed to share this facility.”

Supercomputer also available for students

Anunna also plays a role in education. “Data science and AI are being deployed in more and more fields,” says Van Ittersum. “We think it is important to introduce students to Anunna, because they need to gain sufficient experience with this technology. Whatever the industry they end up in, it is bound to play a role.” A new professor in AI will be starting soon, and the HPC will play a role there too.

Anunna will also play a role at the Wageningen Data Competence Centre (WDCC). At the WDCC, education, research, value creation, infrastructure and data management come together. The WDCC facilitates developments in these areas. The development of AI is high on the agenda of Wageningen University & Research. The appointment of three AI professors within the Wageningen Data Competence Centre confirms this importance.

Availability and use

The supercomputer will be available for use from October 2023. The new components for the HPC will be installed in one of WUR’s two data centres. These new machines are water-cooled instead of air-cooled, which is much more efficient. Systems with water cooling operate up to 80% more energy-efficiently. The HPC thus scores highly for energy efficiency, which is important both for environmental reasons and in light of the current energy prices.

Interested?

Not everyone is aware of Anunna’s capabilities, or they only think they are, Van Ittersum says. “There is plenty of support available; we have a team dedicated to doing just that. They sit down with the researchers to discuss the opportunities for research using Anunna. We also provide HPC training, from basic to advanced courses.” These are scheduled for next September and October. The exact dates are shown in the calendar.

Please contact Alexander van Ittersum regarding Anunna's capabilities. For more general questions about Anunna, please contact Shared Research Facilities.

Fourteen organisations opened their doors to allow their employees and other residents on Wageningen Campus to have a look behind the scenes. A total of 47 tours have been organised for more than 750 visitors.

"I really enjoyed visiting organisations that I wouldn't normally visit. And it was very convenient that most of the visits could take place over lunch, which made it easy to plan," said one visitor.

In the survey distributed to the visitors of the Wageningen Campus Expedition, 92% gave a good to very good rating to the expedition. More than 80% indicated they received valuable new information. The same percentage said they would participate in the next edition of 2024. In short: a great result!

Photos: Circe van der Heijden

Many promising agrifood startups and scale-ups struggle to make a significant impact due to limited opportunities for real-world application and upscaling. With this voucher, the two parties aim to propel SMEs towards success and drive transformative change within the industry. The scheme will help accelerate the commercial introduction of breakthrough innovations in the agriculture, food, and health sectors.

“The scaling up of agrifood innovations is paramount to driving innovation and sustainability in our industry. This voucher scheme represents a unique opportunity for SMEs to overcome the hurdles that have hindered their growth. By providing access to pilot facilities and invaluable support, we empower these businesses to bring their game-changing solutions to the forefront. Now is the time for collaboration, innovation, and accelerated progress in the agrifood sector.” – Emmanuel Anom, Shared Facilities Lead at Foodvalley NL.

This subsidy aligns seamlessly with the broader mission of Foodvalley, which aims to foster innovative, sustainable food production via a systematic approach. It seeks to strengthen SMEs and ensure a thriving agrifood economy, underlining Regio Deal Foodvalley’s unwavering commitment to fueling innovation both within the Netherlands and internationally.

Application details

Targeting SMEs that are operating at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 4-8, the initiative facilitates access to scientific talent, capacity, and necessary facilities to develop (TRL 4-6) and demonstrate (TRL 7-8) innovative products. The SME Innovation Voucher offers up to 50% co-financing, with funding allocations ranging from €10,000 to €50,000 for each eligible project. The total budget for this subsidy amounts to an impressive €950,000.

To qualify for this subsidy, applicants must be incorporated and registered to conduct business in the Netherlands or EU, qualify as an SME, and have at least 12 months of operating history.

SMEs can apply from July 1, 2023, with Food Valley NL accepting applications until June 30, 2026. The approval process takes approximately 6-8 weeks from the submission date.

Interested SMEs can submit their completed forms by mail to ATTN: SUBSIDY INNOVATION FOR SME, Bronland 10F, 6708 WH, Wageningen, The Netherlands, or electronically to facilities@foodvalley.nl.

Project proposals are expected to exhibit a robust business case and demonstrate strong market potential and commercial and financial feasibility. They must also show the capacity to generate a lasting competitive advantage. They must also demonstrate potential for economic impact in the provinces of Gelderland and Utrecht. Importantly, alignment with at least one of the following Foodvalley NL innovation areas is required: Circular Agrifood, Food & Health, and Protein Transition.

Application form and Eligibility Requirements

SME Innovation Voucher Procedure and Guidelines

For more details, please contact Emmanuel Anom, Lead Shared Facilities Foodvalley NL, at emmanuel.anom@foodvalley.nl.

More about Foodvalley NL can be found on their website.

The ReThink Waste Challenge dared students from all over the world to find innovative solutions towards a more sustainable future. This time around, the students were challenged to find circular, biobased ways to reduce, reuse or recycle waste. Almost 200 students competed in the international competition, from 33 countries.

Ten teams found their way to the Grand Finals, where they presented their business idea or prototype to a jury of academic and industry experts. That jury chose Team Afterlife as the winner, for its reuse of agricultural waste using of fungal fermentation. ‘The potential for fermenting the lignin and cellulose in agricultural waste is huge,’ they emphasized. Jury member Ernst-Jan Mul of Renewi was happy to help the winning team explore how their technology fits with other biorefinery processes. Team Afterlife also won the audience award.

Team Pomace won second place, and € 3.000, with their idea to transform the waste apple pomace into a natural aroma to flavor food. Team Cult Factor came in third, winning € 1.500. Both these teams will also receive support from industry professionals to further develop their ideas.

Turning waste into new materials

The award ceremony was part of a programme centred around our zero-waste future. Visitors could take a tour of the Wageningen Campus and visit the Innovation Market. There, student teams and partner companies presented their ideas for a more circular biobased economy. That is, a world in which production no longer results in waste that needs to be disposed of. Instead, innovative solutions find uses for those waste streams, turning it into a new material fit for production, extracting valuable products from it, or by finding more efficient production processes that result in less waste. Students and industry veterans presented ideas for that future side-by-side.

Two special guests gave their perspectives on this transition during the awards ceremony. Cees Leeuwis, professor of Collaborative Research, Communication and Change at Wageningen University & Research (WUR), initiated the investment theme Transformative Bioeconomies, together with dr. Harriette Bos. He talked about the need to develop new ways of producing the materials we use, like plastics and textiles, to phase out fossil feedstocks. This initiative was integral to the formulation of the ReThink Waste Challenge.

Ugne Dirdaite, the EU Bioeconomy Youth Ambassador and student at WUR shared her journey in the world of bioeconomy. She actively participates in the form of her own start-up and as ambassador, inspires other students to take action themselves.

The Challenge was made possible by University Fund Wageningen, investment theme Transformative Bioeconomies and over 20 industry partners and will take place again in 2025.

Flora Batava 1800-1934

The Flora Batava, the key work of Dutch botany, ran from 1800 to 1934 and became one of the longest-running series in the Netherlands. The Flora Batava is a beautifully illustrated work with more than 2600 wild plant species from the 19th century. No fewer than 461 instalments were published, which together form 28 parts.

Publisher Jan Christiaan Sepp wanted to make an overview of Dutch flora, including trees, flowers and mushrooms. Commissioner for the Affairs of Agriculture, Jan Kops, was the editor of this huge project, which lasted eventually until 1934. By then, over 2600 plants were drawn and described. Several well-known artists, for example, Anton Weiss, contributed to the publication.

WUR Library is proud to have 1000 original drawings of the Flora Batava, which were acquired in 1948, in its collection.

The Flora Batava 2023 and WUR's contribution

In addition to all 28 original volumes, the new publication in one volume also contains 100 new stories from plant connoisseurs and admirers. Seven WUR employees and one former employee have contributed to the new book. The wide variety of themes and insights illustrates the continuing importance of a publication such as the Flora Batava. A publication that tells something about biodiversity, and biogeography, but also about species, art history and the use of plants then and now.

The book that will be published in June 2023 contains 12 stories of the following Wageningen contributors:

• Tinde van Andel, Professor of Biosystematics. She also holds a chair in the History of Botany and Gardens at Leiden University
• Anneke Groen, curator at Special Collections of WUR Library
• Liesbeth Missel, former curator of Special Collections of WUR Library
• Liesje Mommer, Professor of Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation and leading the Wageningen Biodiversity Initiative
• Jose van Paassen, researcher in Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation
• Joop Schaminee, Professor of Vegetation Ecology
• Anastasia Stefanaki, researcher at the Department of Plant Sciences, Group Biosystematics
• Nils van Rooijen, researcher Vegetation, Forest and Landscape Ecology.

Exhibition Stories Plants Tell: Flora Batava 1800-1934The new exhibition at the Library's Special Collections opens on 17 May. In June, the book published by publisher Lannoo will also be available at the Library. Special Collections owns approximately 1,000 drawings.

The first part of the exhibition shows the history of botany in Western Europe. It starts with medicinal plants and their medical use, published in so-called herbals. The oldest book shown is the book “In commodorum ruralium” by Crescentius from around 1490. During the Enlightenment, flora from other countries was discovered, as can be seen in books from Maria Sybilla Merian and Berthe Hoola van Noten.

The second part concentrates on the flora’s of the Netherlands. Also a few botanical models from the Pantarijn in Wageningen are on display.

Part three shows a selection of original drawings from the Flora Batava and plants that were described in the stories of the Wageningen researchers.

Location & opening hours

The exhibition opens on 17 May and runs until 30 September 2023. Special Collections is open Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 1 pm and is closed on national holidays. If you would like to visit the collection in the afternoon or with a group, please send an e-mail to speccoll.library@wur.nl.

Address: Special Collections Reading Room, WUR Library, Wageningen University & Research Forum, Building 102, Droevendaalsesteeg 2, 6706KN Wageningen. Please use the main entrance to the Library on the 2nd floor of the building.

Plan your trip to Forum using Google Maps

The Biodiversity Challenge is organised by the Wageningen Biodiversity Initiative of Wageningen University & Research (WUR). All campus residents are invited to contribute to the final goal: count as many species as possible in six weeks. This is not only useful to determine the state of nature on campus, but also very enlightening and fun to do, for example together with colleagues during a lunch walk.

Join in!

This year, WUR is competing against 16 other European universities. Who will count the most species on their campus grounds? As organisers of the Biodiversity Challenge, we obviously don't want to finish at the bottom.

Taking part is very easy, even if you don't know exactly which species you see. To do so, you can download the ObsIdentify app. Use it to take a photo of a plant, animal, tree, insect or whatever you see. The app then tells you which species it probably is. At the press of a button, your sighting is entered on waarneming.nl.

This 'Bioblitz' competition is open from 22 May to 1 July for all Wageningen Campus employees. All observations entered on campus during that period will count towards the final result.

Excursions and activities

For those curious to learn more about campus nature, we organise all kinds of fun activities. For example, there are excursions where you can learn more about dragonflies, tropical plants or moths. You can also tour the Centre for Genetic Resources' gene bank and visit the 'Stories Plants Tell' exhibition in the library in Forum. There is even an outdoor concert "Entomophonia!" in which insects play the lead role.

Open campus day

The Biodiversity Challenge concludes on Saturday 1 July with an open campus day for the entire municipality of Wageningen. That day there will be many activities, including lectures, tours and stands with experiments. We warmly invite you to come and have a look, with your family and whoever else might enjoy discovering the campus up close.

You can find the full programme here.

On Wageningen Campus you will mainly find trees in hedgerows and in rows along roads and ditches. This is characteristic of the historic, linear meadow landscape with coppice groves on which the design of the campus is based. Hundreds of trees have been planted since about 2005 to reinforce the alley and avenue structure. The rows of trees form migration routes for bats and tree-bound species such as squirrel and stone marten.

The majority consists of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur), a strong, long-lived species that was already present in many places on campus. Willow, poplar and birch, which are also characteristic of the area, are no longer planted along roads or parking lots. They are so-called 'self-pruners', trees that drop their branches without showing on the outside that this is going to happen. Willows have been planted in some places, but they are maintained as pollard willows. The branches are used for dead hedges, for example to protect the Dassenbos, or for weaving courses, which Wageningen Student Farm occasionally organizes in the experimental garden, The Field, near Vitae.

Testing new tree species through trial & error

During the development of the campus, dozens of trees were planted in addition to a few solitary trees and small bushes that were already there. Species have been chosen that can, in principle, cope with the growing conditions on the campus: alternately (very) wet and dry with impermeable soil layers here and there. These are situations comparable to an urban environment or climate stress in forests. WUR experts who conduct research in this area, such as Jelle Hiemstra of Wageningen Plant Research (trees and urban greenery) and Leo Goudzwaard and Ute Sass-Klaassen of Forest Ecology and Management (WU Department of Environmental Sciences) have advised on the choice of trees, Leo guided in many cases also the planting.

New trees are given at least 3 seasons to establish. When planting they get soil improver and some extra water if it is very dry, but otherwise they have to fend for themselves. This is how we test which species are suitable for which place. The result ranges from beautifully flowering insect attractors, such as the honey tree, to varieties of native species that are less susceptible to disease and pests, such as the pin oak, fluttering elm, narrow-leaved ash and Turkish hazel.

Blossom and other spring flowers

Slowly but surely, green life on campus is starting to get going again. Cornelian cherry has finished flowering, as have many catkins of willow, alder and hazel. The strip of stinsen bulbs planted last year along the oaks on the Droevendaalsesteeg has been forming a colorful whole for a few weeks now. Blossom of the Juneberry, the sweet cherry, medlar and other fruit trees is starting to sprout. In particular of the 100 apple varieties from the 'timeline of apple production' planted in 2016 by the Center for Genetic Resources (CGN-)Wageningen: wild apples in the landscape garden, a 'modern' orchard on The Field near Vitae and in between two groups with standard trees at the Forum and the amphitheater. You can recognize them by the white signs on the trunk with the CGN number and sometimes a variety name. They receive the same treatment as all other trees on campus, so no fertilizers or pest and disease control, which means that some more vulnerable varieties will eventually disappear.

Monumental trees

At the entrance to Unifarm, there are 6 monumental trees from around 1890. One of them, a linden, deteriorated badly. On the advice of Leo Goudzwaard, the tree's root system has been given more space. To this end, 3 parking spaces at Unifarm have been replaced by a section with flowering shrubs.

Security and trees

Last year, all trees on the WUR grounds were visually checked for their health (VTA). The VTA takes place every 3 years. From this follows advice to prune, monitor or cut down trees. Trees are felled or uprooted only when the falling of a tree can lead to damage or injury. Depending on the location, WUR will apply for a felling permit from the municipality or province. In principle, work on the trees takes place outside the breeding season, but even then the gardener always checks whether he is not disturbing any nests. You may still see the arborists at work this spring, otherwise it will be this fall.

A felling permit is usually issued with an obligation to replant. If it is not possible or useful to plant a similar tree in approximately the same place, we compensate for this in another way. For example, by replacing grass in the slipstream of infrastructural work with a varied planting of herbs, shrubs and trees. In this way, 10 new trees have been included in the planting of the strip along the new cycle path, near the amphitheater. We also use trees that have to be removed in one place in another place. For example, oaks that had to make way for the expansion of the research facilities at Axis were transferred two weeks ago to the Leeuwenborch, where 14 poplars and willows fell in the spring storms last year.

The winner has serious potential to innovate within this theme in the near future by introducing a solution that addresses the challenges of climate change and food systems. The winner will receive a prize of €25,000 to invest in the start-up.

Orbisk winner Feike Sijbesma Innovation Award 2023

Orbisk’s automatic food waste monitor has won the Feike Sijbesma Sustainable Innovation Award. The award-winning business developed technology that monitors the waste in professional kitchens. An AI camera identifies the weight and type of food that is discarded. The entrepreneurs have won a sum of € 25,000. The Feike Sijbesma Innovation Award was presented during the annual event for start-ups and multinationals in the agrifood innovations domain F&A Next on 24 May.

One-third of all food produced is wasted, says Orbisk. To provide professional kitchens with insight into what types of food are wasted, the company developed Orbi, an AI-driven camera that can be installed above the waste bin. The smart monitor registers what type of food, and how much of it, is discarded and at what time during the day. That information is presented through a dashboard, which enables restaurant professionals to optimise their business. After all, food waste is also a financial loss.

Orbisk received the award not just because their technology has proven to be effective. ‘This business focuses on a key aspect in the fight against food waste, which is behavioural change’, the jury report states.

About the Award

The Sustainable Innovation Award in honour of Feike Sijbesma recognises innovative initiatives, younger than 7 years, which focus on addressing global food system challenges related to the environment with the potential to deliver transformation at scale for as many people as possible. The Award is organised by University Fund Wageningen (UFW) and Wageningen University & Research (WUR), specifically with the Entrepreneurship department StartHub and with Corporate Value Creation (CVC), as the key knowledge organisation in the domain of healthy food and living environment.

Teams of entrepreneurs and innovators, of spin offs, start-ups, or internal startups of established companies, however less than 7 years, in the field of sustainable climate related food systems can apply. Also spin offs or individuals that are not from- or not connected to WUR are eligible to participate in the Award. The recipient can be in the Netherlands, Europe or globally.

The award involves 25.000 euro to be used by the start-up for investing in its venture.

Trajectory and data 2023

January 16 - March 8: Open for applications
8-10 March: Jury will select applications to be invited for a full application.
10 March - +/- 27 March: time to fill in your full application
27 March - onwards: Jury will deliberate and select three finalists.
24 May: Finale

In case of questions please get in contact with ufw@wur.nl. Subject: Feike Sijbesma Sustainable Innovation Award. Or fill in the contact form!

Procedure and enrolment documents

Applicants that are found eligible can apply formally. From these formal applications a shortlist of 10 will be selected by a committee. The shortlist of ten will be presented to the jury panel, that will also participate in the finals ceremony. Based on criteria ranking, three finalists will come out of this selection. They will be invited to actually pitch live in front of the jury.

First validation is done through:

• Filling in the application form.

The formal application consists of:

• Filling in the formal application form
• Submitting a business plan
• Submitting an impact assessment
• The pitch/presentation to the final jury, max. 5 slides. To have all in one place, add again your 2-page max. company presentation
• Your link to your promotional video of max 1.30 minutes

Selection criteria

1. Innovations with a focus on sustainable climate resilient food systems
2. SDG driven, with a shown and visible focus on science based solutions and societal impact
3. Demonstratable benefits for society in environmental and/or social impact reached or about to reach, underpinned with metrics linked to SDG indicators
4. Actively involving key partners and interest of users
   (beneficiaries) is shown, with a track record of being a true impact
   maker that engages others in the field of sustainable climate resilient
   food systems
5. Customer validation and market traction are shown with stated interest of collaboration
6. Business model can vary for profit / not for profit or hybrid
7. The knowledge base / IP backbone is brought forward in the application
   by proof of successful technological feasibility and application
   studies, from Proof of Principle to Proof of Concept and Proof of Scale
8. Initiative is not older than 7 years

News: ekolive wins award 2022

The Slovakian startup ekolive was announced as the winner in the first edition of the Feike Sijbesma Sustainable Innovation Award on Tuesday September 6th and awarded with € 25,000. They convinced the jury with their interdisciplinary biotechnological approach to clean contaminated and regenerate depleted soil, and use the byproduct of this process as an organic biostimulant in agriculture. This opens up new sources of raw materials for industrial minerals and returns used raw materials to the value cycle, while also increasing production and nutritional value in agriculture with the byproduct. With their technology, they contribute to as many as 11 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, making them just the sort of inspiring sustainable innovators the jury was looking for.

Read the full news article here!

Jury 2023

Sjoukje Heimovaara (chair) President of the Wageningen University & Research Executive Board

[more information will follow]

Joost Oorthuizen Impact investor, Invest International

Joost Oorthuizen built his career in the fields of international trade, finance and sustainable development. He holds a Ph.D. in natural resource management from Wageningen University, a post-master in change management and was schooled at Insead in financial management. He is the founding CEO of IDH – The Sustainable Trade Initiative, which under his leadership became a 350 people, global organisation, working with corporates and governments in mainstreaming sustainability in global value chains in agriculture, textiles and energy. Joost set up different impact investment funds for Nature Based Solutions and inclusive value chains. He sits on the board of the &GreenFund, the AECF and GASP. He is a regular speaker at international conferences.

“I am delighted to be part of the jury. Our food system is broken in many respects, so we badly need innovation to get agriculture in line with the Paris goals. So, it is great to see all these new innovations coming online! Start- and scale up work is both exciting and challenging at times. I wish the candidates the very best in their efforts to change the world for the better!”

Marian Geluk, Food Innovation Hubs - World Economic Forum

Marian Geluk, alumna of Wageningen University (Molecular Sciences) has been active throughout her career in the agri-food sector. Innovation has been a red thread, as she worked for and with multinationals in the food (ingredient) industry, building multi-stakeholder partnerships both in the Europa and in Latin America. She is the former director of Dutch Food and Drink Association (FNLI), working closely with her members and chain partners in the field of sustainable packaging, sustainable sourcing, energy transition, responsible advertising and obesity prevention. Marian currently works at the World Economic Forum, where WEF and connected partners aim to deploy innovations to scale and accelerate food systems transformations.

"When entrepreneurs hit that sweet spot where innovations create sustainable impact, add value to the lives of their customers and represent a sound business case, that’s when sustainable change hits acceleration. It’s easier said than done, and delighted to contribute to this award aimed to entrepreneurs on their exciting and important journey."

Ivo Demmers Executive Director Netherlands Food Partnership

Ivo Demmers has 20+ years of experience in water, environment and food. Before joining the Netherlands Food Partnership he was Programme Director of the Research Programme on Food Security and Valuing Water within Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Prior to joining WUR in 2014, he held management and consultancy positions in private as well as not-for-profit organisations. Ivo has experience in Europe, Africa, Asia and Northern America. Amongst others he initiated the Water Technology Innovation Programme (80 M EUR) (2007-2011), focussing on speeding up innovations and bringing together research, companies, launching customers and export markets. As a director of a Small and Medium Enterprise (Kalsbeek BV) he was closely involved in bringing innovation to market. He serves as jury member for several innovation awards. Since 2021 he is Board Member of PYMWYMIC, an impact investor for scale ups in Healthy Food Systems.

“We need the innovation and drive of enterpreneurs and youth to accellerate the transition towards sustainable Food Systems. As a jury member I want to contribute to keeping Food Systems a rewarding place for enterpreneurs and youth to work in.“

Maurien Olsthoorn Senior Science Fellow Analytical Sciences at DSM

Maurien Olsthoorn is Senior Science Fellow Analytical Sciences at DSM, a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and biosciences. She drives the strategic, analytical developments across DSM to provide key insights for all innovations. In addition, she leads a program about disruptive food solutions supporting the protein transition by developing ingredients and solutions to close the gap between animal original and plant-based analogues. Before joining DSM in 2000, she obtained her PhD in biomolecular mass spectrometry of glycoconjugates (Utrecht University). Maurien is board member of the Dutch Techcentre for Life Sciences.

“It is a true honour that in the spirit of the legacy of my company’s former CEO Feike, this award stimulates innovators to scale their science-based solutions with a specific focus on sustainable climate resilient food systems. I look forward being inspired by the innovations contributing to solve the world’s biggest problems!”

About Feike Sijbesma

Feike Sijbesma has been CEO of Royal DSM for nearly 13 years and transformed Royal DSM from a bulk-chemical company into a global leading Life Sciences & Materials Sciences company, focusing on nutrition (food), health and sustainable living (a.o. green energy). At DSM sustainability and innovation is not only a key responsibility but also a core value and a main business driver. DSM became a clear purpose driven company, being financially successful and doing well (450% Total Shareholder Return) by addressing the UN SDG’s and doing good for the world. Feike is a strong advocate for inclusion and diversity as well.

Since early 2020, Feike Sijbesma transitioned to the role of Honorary Chairman of Royal DSM of which he has been CEO between 2007 and 2020. Feike sits on a variety of Boards, as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Royal Philips, as non-executive board member of Unilever and as member of the Supervisory Board of the Dutch Central Bank. Feike is co-chair, together with Ban Ki-Moon, of the Global Center on Adaptation. He is Climate Leader of the World Bank, focusing on carbon pricing (CPLC). He is member of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum and is heading the CEO Climate Leaders group. He is also member of the Advisory Board of the IMF and Co-chair of the UN Scaling Up Nutrition initiative.

Mr. Sijbesma is a recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year Award & Leaders of Change Award presented by the United Nations; received an honorary doctorate from Maastricht as well as Groningen University, Netherlands; he was listed by Fortune on the World's 50 Greatest Leaders, by Harvard Business Review as one of world’s 100 most successful CEO’s. He also received the Courage to Lead Award from the World Resources Institute. He is married and has 2 boys.

- Unfortunately, your cookie settings do not allow videos to be displayed. - check your settings

Any waste is a loss. For the future of our planet, we can’t afford to lose much more. That is why the next Student Challenge focuses on creating a world in which resources are reused and reusable: a circular, biobased economy. This year, nearly 200 students from 72 universities in 33 countries joined the ReThink Waste Challenge to come up with new solutions. To compete, each team will look to reclaim natural resources from by-products or waste streams, for example, to propose new, reusable alternative materials. It is important to present these as viable business ventures. They stand to win up to € 6,000 and the chance to fully develop their idea.

Biobased textiles or sustainable asphalt

What kind of solutions are the students challenged to devise? Well, think, for example, of the heavy use of polyester in the fashion industry, which depends on a non-renewable resource: oil. Like Senior Scientist Sustainable Textiles Paulien Harmsen of Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, students might strive to prototype textiles based on renewable plant fibres. They might also create a business plan to make an existing alternative textiles financially viable.

Students might also look at research at Wageningen University & Research or successful start-ups. There are possibilities everywhere, from a sustainable ingredient for asphalt to a soda made from the fruit pulp that is discarded by the chocolate industry. The competing teams could draw inspiration from the research into alternatives for polyacrylates, an ingredient made from petroleum used in anything from diapers to paints. Researchers are extracting alternative ingredients from beet pulp to replace the polyacrylates in dishwasher tablets. A great example of circular, biobased research.

Support from Industry Experts

Students are not alone in their quest for the winning solution. More than twenty leading companies in industries such as agri-food, construction work, engineering consultancy, packaging and waste treatment are there to help them. They will introduce themselves at the Kick-off Event. In addition, participants will attend a lecture by Larissa van der Feen, Circular Economy Associate at WBCSD, on sustainable business practices. Tomas Turner, the co-founder of the start-up Cultivated, will introduce the students to the ReThink Waste Challenge as the start of an entrepreneurial journey. Cultivated won the 2021 edition of the ReThink Protein Challenge, so Turner speaks from experience.

During the coming month, the teams will work towards the first selection moment at the end of February. The teams that make it through will work to refine their concept, hoping to secure a place in the Grand Finals. They will participate in two Sprint Days and receive support from expert coaches who work for industry leaders and innovative start-ups. This new assembly of students from all over the world is on its way to learn from the best and show how they wish to change the future.

CryoCOP was founded in 2021 by Coen van den Brand, Kiran Abraham Jacob, James Tonny Manalal and Max Kersten, students at WUR, TU Delft and TU Eindhoven. In that same year, they won the 4TU Carbon Removal Student Challenge. The young entrepreneurs want to change the world by capturing CO₂ with a process that involves using very low temperatures. This cryogenic technology should be available at a ‘disruptively low price’. The technology will eventually pay for itself by selling by-products such as energy, oxygen and nitrogen.

- Unfortunately, your cookie settings do not allow videos to be displayed. - check your settings

The jury, composed of experts in the field of startup development, was impressed by CryoCOP's innovative technology: ‘Their idea has the potential to become a breakthrough technology turning carbon waste into circular products. They have a unique proposition bringing value to waste in the field of carbon capture.’ Prince Constantijn van Oranje, Special Envoy for TechLeap, attended the final and the award ceremony.

The 4TU Impact Challenge is an initiative by the four Dutch technical universities. It offers the brightest minds of these universities a platform for entrepreneurship. In the final, eight teams (two from each technical university) had a chance to win the contest. The other team from Wageningen was SenseWURk, which developed a rapid test to check for sepsis. For the second year in a row, the final took place in Helsinki, on the eve of Slush 2022, the biggest start-up event in the world.

Acknowledging the importance of microalgae in the transition to a green and circular economy, the EU recently granted financial support to AlgaePARC under its REACT-EU programme, allowing SMEs to further develop their innovative technologies in this joint facility. Two companies - FUMI and Algreen - have been established based on research conducted at AlgaePARC. Three other SMEs are currently using AlgaePARC's facilities.

Maria Barbosa, director AlgaePARC explains: AlgaePARC 2.0 will be able to provide access to new screening systems that can select algae strains faster, and the facility will also develop a biorefinery unit capable of isolating functional ingredients, as well as biomass. Production and testing capacity will also be expanded at laboratory, pilot and demonstration scale, and innovative sensors will be introduced to improve product quality."

The funding application was supported by the Bioprocess Engineering chair group and the Shared Research Facilities team at Wageningen University & Research in collaboration with FoodValley NL.

Petra Roubos, Manager Shared Research Facilities at Wageningen University & Research says: ‘Demand for these facilities is growing, so AlgaePARC needs to make new investments and has to increase its capacity to accommodate SMEs and start-ups’. Roubos emphasises: that ‘these organisations are able to accelerate the roll-out of their innovations thanks to the additional space to test and develop new technologies for microalgae production, biorefinery and product development'.

Roubos continues: 'Investments in the development phase are sometimes of high- risk. It is difficult for individual companies to secure that kind of funding. By sharing facilities, companies can spread these financial risks’.

Foodvalley NL and Wageningen University & Research are working closely together to encourage the shared use of research facilities by companies and institutions. Through the Shared Facility Finder, an online platform with live support, the best research equipment, scale-up and production, development and testing facilities are brought together making it easy for companies and institutions to find these facilities. Advice is also offered on funding opportunities to help with the purchase of a new facility.

Photo: Orkun Tekeli, Ioana Mereuta, Barbara Krawczyk and Timon Verduijn

In the presentation ‘Explore & Discover Extended Reality, XR, (AR & VR) for Research and Education’ WANDER Lab will unfold the potential of visualisations and immersive experiences for WUR’s domain.

Ioana Mereuta, Sr. Project Manager at WANDER: “We want to invite people of the WUR community to join this meeting to discover that it is not so difficult to use immersive experiences and technologies in research and education. And importantly, that it is not as expensive as they think it is.”

Ioana Mereuta: “With this meeting we will explain, in normal understandable words, how feasible it is to develop something to create immersive experiences and visualizations tailored to your research and education. With some examples of our current projects, the participants can get an idea about how they can benefit of the added value of these immersive visualizations and immersive technologies.”

Research and education

WANDER is promoting and facilitating an important trend in research, education, and outreach enabled through immersive technologies like Augmented reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR). But there’s still not a common understanding how to start, how to use it, and what its advantages and potentials are for research and education. With a strong core team of developers and associated researchers, WANDER aims at becoming the bridge for merging these techniques with both research and education.

Mereuta: “These XR technologies are not simple gadgets or only usable for games, but they can play such an important role in research and education. They can simulate in a very realistic way, for instance, how landscapes will look like 100 years from now based on models and data. We also had requests to use these technologies as a new medium to collect data about the consumer behaviour in a particular scenario such as food choices.

From the education side, some professors are already considering XR as a new way to teach. An interesting question from a social science perspective is how would virtual environments provide students the opportunity to better understand the global refugee crisis from the refugee’s eye point of view? These are only a few examples. Overall, there are great possibilities for research and education with XR considering integrating technologies such as gaze tracking data combined for instance with speech-recognition data. We can use XR as a new way to approach WUR research questions, interact and communicate its insights while evaluating its impact.”

Show cases

Asked to give some practical examples of their projects, WANDER picked out three examples out of their diverse portfolio also shown on this website.

“With the project Virtual Tomato - Crop Viewer we have been working with Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Center (NPEC) in the greenhouse on campus. We made an interface with the data of the growth of the tomatoes, so that the growth can be visualized, to collect extra input during their research and to communicate with the stakeholders. This was an interesting project with Dr. Jochem Evers’ team at Plant Science Group.

Together with Dr. Will Hurst, Assistant Professor in Data Science at the Social Sciences Group, we developed an application for students called heARtbeat to learn about the anatomical body. In this case we advised the path of augmented reality on the mobile phone so it’s available to everyone. The phone is a very nice interface in education projects.

Another interesting project is Schokland: World Heritage Site in Mixed Reality. The project uses the Hololenses glasses from Microsoft which gives a reproduction of virtual content on top of the reality. In this way, being at the island and wearing these glasses you can ‘see’ how the reality looked like some 700 years ago. We visualized the data from every 100 years, so you can experience the evolution. A wonderful project made with the enormous amount of data collected by Dr. Roy van Beek, Assistant Professor at the departments of Soil Geography and Landscape (SGL) and Cultural Geography (GEO). NWO is excited about this application and is producing a video of this project.

Interesting and challenging

Through this type of events WANDER is telling people that they are not alone in discovering this journey, and that they can count on a core team of excellent developers to onboard the journey. WANDER’s core team are highly skilled developers and designers. They are working closely with scientists from all of Wageningen, both domain experts and XR researchers, to advance research and education through immersive experiences and to add value to research projects and topics. Together we dive into the subject, brainstorm, discover how does it work, and jointly we decide how to start, what steps we can take, what we can develop and how to further improve in an interactive way. With a very clear workflow, everything is possible. This is not only very interesting and challenging process for our stakeholders but also for us. We learn a lot about all different subjects from climate change to plant growth and protein transition.”

Unique added value

Orkun will talk about the advantages for the WUR community and external stakeholders to cooperate with WANDER. One of them is collecting data in a very different way. For instance, with the analysis of consumer behaviour, researchers can collect data based on choices virtually and test the effectiveness of interventions advancing, for example, the protein transition. Or, simulations can be made in real time allowing, for example, farmers to explore and experience what-if scenarios. Dashboards can evolve towards a more realistic environment. In this way also non-experts can understand what it is happening; the interpretation is done through the visualization. These techniques can be helpful in every stage of the research or education journey and not for so much money as you think, according to Ioana. WANDER started with the financial support from the Environmental Sciences Group and the WUR Executive Board, Ioana explains.

“Because as an internal partner, we are a knowledge centre that mainly focuses on adding value for the WUR community. If they shine, they get more research projects within WUR, then our job is done.”

Collaboration

WANDER is already working very closely with researchers from ESG, SSG, PSG and AgroFood Robotics. And WANDER has also strong partnerships with the Wageningen Data Competence Center (WDCC) and the library. Ioana: “At the moment we focus on internal partners and 4TU, we work with the universities of Eindhoven and Delft. Apart from these contacts we have conversations on collaboration with Friesland-Campina and OnePlanet.

At the moment we are building our lab at GAIA building (second floor) which will be a space for the WUR community and later on for external stakeholders. In the very near future anyone is welcome in in our WANDER lab.

In the future we hope and expect to be a Research Facility for a wider audience. It should link the needs of our society with Wageningen. At this moment we are planning how to expand these knowledge and techniques and how to make it reachable for everyone, Easy Access. It is all about having the right amount of curiosity, the right amount of data and eagerness. The techniques are already there. And you don’t have to be Steve Jobs to use it.”

A different world cuisine every week

From 11 July to 26 August, you can enjoy a different world cuisine every day in Impulse and Omnia. Cuisines from various parts of the world will be on offer, from South America, Africa and Asia to Australia and Antarctica. Below are all the caterers' opening hours during the summer holidays and the continents featured each week at Impulse and Omnia.

Impulse

• 11-15 July: Africa, Marrakesh
• 18-22 July: South America, Argentina
• 25-29 July: Asia, Denpasar
• 1-5 August: Antarctica
• 8-12 August: Europe

Omnia

• 15-19 August: Australia
• 22-26 August: North America

Lunch concerts, lectures and lounge drinks with DJ

Between 12 and 21 July and between 16 and 25 August, you can enjoy lunch concerts, various lectures and lounge drinks with a live DJ in Impulse or Omnia every Tuesday and Thursday. The concerts vary in music from China, Africa, Morocco and Indonesia. In the month of August, there are some interesting lectures by Wieger Wamelink, about space agriculture on Mars and the Moon and about the ecological landscape on Wageningen Campus. Wieger is able to talk about these topics very passionately, based on his own experience and expertise in ecology.

Impulse

• 12 July 12:30 PM - Performance Trinitas (Indonesian Lagu Lagu music)
• 14 July 4:00 PM - Get together with DJ Promiss (African & Moroccan music)
• 19 July 12:30 PM - Performance Sweetpotato (Chinese music)
• 21 July 4:00 PM - Get together with DJ Promiss, South American & Argentine music

Omnia

• 16 August 12:30 PM - Lecture about Wageningen Campus: landscape and gardens by Wieger Wamelink
• 18 August 4:00 PM - A get together with DJ Promiss, music from Down Under
• 23 August 12:30 PM - Lecture on Space Agriculture on Mars and the Moon by Wieger Wamelink
• 25 August 4:00 PM - A get together with DJ Promiss, music from North America

The opening hours of the WUR caterers during the summer

Atlas: Kiosk is closed from 18 July to 19 August.

Aurora : All catering closed from 2 July to 31 July. Barista bar is open from 1 August to 4 September with a wider range from Monday to Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Forum: Restaurant is closed from 4 July to 4 September. The grand café is open daily from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Impulse: The restaurant and the coffee bar are open on working days throughout the summer. The coffee bar is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and the restaurant is open from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. SummerBuzz programming from 11 July to 12 August; world food and drinks with concerts on Tuesday and a DJ on Thursday.

Leeuwenborch: Restaurant open in the period from 4 July to 4 September, Monday to Friday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Omnia: Restaurant Faculty Club Novum in Omnia is closed 11 July to 12 August. Summerbuzz programming from 15 August to 26 August. Restaurant Faculty Club Novum open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM and on Thursdays from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM. World food and drink dishes with a lecture on Tuesday and a DJ on Thursday afternoon from 4:00 PM.

Orion: Restaurant closed from 4 July to 4 September. The Spot is closed from 4 July to 31 July. The Spot open from 1 August to 4 September, Monday to Friday from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

With a phone in their hands and some also with a butterfly net or binoculars, 112 observers worked hard to record nature in their own surroundings. Fueled by the Wageningen Biodiversity Challenge, they tried to count as many species as possible in one week. Most species were recorded at the Wageningen Campus, but colleagues also participated in the Challenge in Lelystad, Leeuwarden and Den Helder. The score was tracked on observation.org.

• View the map with observations

Fascinating species

Two very rare species that observers encountered around the Wageningen campus were the ivy broomrape (plant) and gymnosporangium confusum (fungus). In Lelystad at the Farm of the Future, bristly oxtongue (plant) was seen, among others. From the Dairy Campus in Leeuwarden came a beautiful picture of a rook. And the colleagues in Den Helder saw, how could it be otherwise, herring gulls and other water birds.

The most frequently found species was the common self-heal (prunella vulgaris), a plant species; it was observed 17 times. The most dedicated participant was assistant professor Thijs Fijen: he counted over 100 species.

Wageningen Biodiversity Challenge

The Wageningen Biodiversity Challenge is an event that was organized for the first time in 2021. Back then, we counted more than 750 species with a small group. Hopefully, by counting annually, we can track trends in biodiversity over the years.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is worldwide in a precarious state. One million species are at risk of extinction in the coming decades (IPBES 2019). Therefore, it is important that research and education about biodiversity reaches as many people as possible. By discovering and counting species together, you learn more about nature in your own environment, which contributes to enthusiasm for conservation and protection.

• Read more about the theme of biodiversity at WUR

It was the third and the last time that Wageningen University & Research organised the Urban Greenhouse Challenge. This year’s edition was in close collaboration with the University of the District of Columbia (USA) because the urban farm concepts were to be situated in Ward 7, Washington D.C. Earlier editions were organised in Amsterdam (2018) and Dongguan, China (2020).

Year-round sustainable & affordable food production

Participants were invited to develop a concept that ensures year-round sustainable and affordable food production. This year’s Challenge was called the ‘social impact’ edition; more than in previous editions, students had to take into account the social aspects of the locality. Ward 7 is one of the city’s most diverse lower-income neighbourhoods. Students were challenged to come up with designs that would generate incomes for the local residents and make a difference in their lives. Two of these local residents, Ms. Jimell Sanders and Commissioner Holmes, were present in the brand new Omnia Dialogue Centre on Wageningen Campus to hand over the local residents’ award to Team AMS Caterpillars.

Replicable design customisable to other communities

The international jury that chose the winner of the Challenge consisted of Nona Yehia (founder and CEO Vertical Harvest), Thera Rohling (Program director Sustainable Urban Delta), Patricia Paiva (board member International Society for Horticultural Sciences) and Harry Webers (Wageningen Ambassador). In justifying their verdict, the jury praised LettUs Design for proposing 'by far the most inclusive proposal, from the outset.' 'As the team indicated, it’s not just them who are the architects and experts, it’s also the community. They took on a replicable modular approach in terms of food production, employment and education. But what really drove it home was the idea that this process and approach could be replicable and customized to other communities.

The concept that made the biggest impression on the local residents, that of Team AMS Caterpillars, on the other hand, was valued for 'its clear focus on creating social impact.' 'It is convincing and coherent, and it offers innovative solutions to local challenges. It is a very attractive design with a lot of functionality built into each room. The building has a modest profile and would be considered a landmark due to its unique design.'

The third edition of the Challenge started in November 2021 with 30 student teams from 70 Universities in 20 countries joining in. After the first selection, 20 teams made it to the second round where they received coaching and advice from over 30 partners supporting the Challenge. Ten teams were selected for the finals, including teams from Colombia, the USA, Peru, China and the Netherlands.

Last edition

This was the last edition of the Urban Greenhouse Challenge, an international and interdisciplinary student competition initiated in 2018 by the Wageningen University & Research with the aim of catalysing innovation in the realm of urban farming. The Challenge inspired many young minds to rethink the way we produce food in the cities and influenced their future career choices. It brought students in contact with leading companies in the horticultural sector and gave them a chance to learn and inspire one another.

In the coming years Wageningen University & Research will initiate a new Challenge series, Nature-based Future Challenge, promoting the concept of nature-based thinking as a foundation for making decisions in landscape planning.

AlgaePARC has been supporting SMEs and start-ups since 2016 by giving them access to some of its facilities. Two companies – FUMI and Algreen – have so far been founded based on research carried out at AlgaePARC. Three other SMEs are currently using AlgaePARC’s facilities.

Petra Roubos, Manager of Shared Research Facilities at WUR says: ‘demand for these facilities is growing, so AlgaePARC needs to make new investments and increase its capacity to host SMEs and start-ups. Roubos emphasises that these organisations are able to accelerate the roll-out of their innovations due to the additional space to test and develop new technologies for microalgae production and biorefinery. Roubos continues: ‘Investing large sums into the development phase is a high-risk activity and it’s difficult for individual businesses to secure that kind of funding, in this way the get support they need’.

SMEs and Start-ups

AlgaePARC will use the REACT-EU funding to support a variety of SMEs and start-ups with the development of business cases for new technologies and products, to help them attract investors and ensure that these solutions can actually materialise and get onto the market. Maria Barbosa, professor of bioprocess engineering at WUR explains: ‘this will in turn support the transition to a circular and sustainable bio-economy. AlgaePARC 2.0 will be able to offer access to new screening systems that can select algae strains more quickly, and the facility will also develop a biorefinery unit capable of isolating functional ingredients as well as biomass. Production and testing capacity will also be expanded at the laboratory, pilot and demonstration levels, and innovative sensors will be introduced to enhance product quality’.

Wageningen University & Research is a world leader in the field of microalgae production and biorefinery. Its work in this field focuses on the development of a sustainable, commercial supply chain for foods, animal feed, chemicals, materials and fuels, based on microalgaes. AlgaePARC is helping to achieve this through scientific advances and the commercial exploitation of those advances.

CRISPR-Cas is a technology that enables genetic material to be changed relatively simply, very accurately and efficiently. Worldwide there are over 3.000 CRISPR-Cas related patents, of which WUR also holds several. For five of them (which are jointly owned with Dutch Research Council NWO), WUR decided to provide free licenses. An article in Nature was published right after the announcement.

Why this is unique

Prof. Fresco: “This is really quite unique for CRISPR, in the academic world and beyond. As far as we know, we’re among the first to do so regarding CRISPR-technology. We do it, because we simply and firmly believe this is the right thing to do.

- Unfortunately, your cookie settings do not allow videos to be displayed. - check your settings

Prof. dr. ir. Louise Fresco announces the free property license.

Two billion people face inadequate nutrition around the world in 2020. Nearly all of them are also vulnerable to the effects of climate change. So we need a transformation to healthier, more sustainable, equitable, affordable and resilient food systems. This will also take center stage during the UN Food Systems Summit on September 23^rd. CRISPR and other biosciences could accelerate this transformation.

It therefore fits perfectly with the WUR mission: to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life. CRISPR, a bacterial defense system to viruses is a great example. A WUR team, led by prof. Van der Oost has been studying it since 2006.”

Potential of CRISPR-Cas in the fight against hunger

Microbiologist prof. dr. John van der Oost is a world leading authority on CRISPR-Cas. He is often described as one of the founding fathers of the technology and he took the initiative to provide free CRISPR licenses. He says: “The potential of CRISPR-Cas cannot be overstated. It is a very versatile technology that could provide new and sustainable ways to feed earth’s growing population. We happily share our knowledge to that end, and hope more patent holders will consider doing the same.” 

Dr Mohamed H.A. Hassan, President of the Academy of Science for the Developing World (TWAS) and Chairman of the Governing Council of the United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries welcomes the move by Wageningen University & Research: “Providing these free licenses potentially offers immediate solutions to a number of urgent problems in the world: growing food needs and the impact of both climate change and pathogens. I expect non-profit parties, agricultural and food-research institutes in low-income countries to benefit. These institutes are crucial for developing improved food and feed crops and food technology for local farmers and poor consumers. Without this initiative of WUR, they probably would not be able to acquire these licenses.”

Scientific collaboration around CRISPR

“The full potential of this technology can only be achieved through long-term partnerships and capacity building”, says prof. Fresco. “We would like to learn from our future CRISPR partners as well, and build upon their knowledge in return. Together, we could change the way we deal with food security around the world. This is why we are confident about giving away this knowledge, in the spirit of the Open Science movement: to make publicly available what has been funded with public money.

Marcel Levi, Chair of the Dutch Research Council (NWO): “It is fantastic to see where research can lead us. NWO has been involved since 2009 in the development of this revolutionary application of biotechnology, and as a co-patent holder this also makes us a little bit proud today. As a strong supporter of Open Science, we are very pleased that the licenses are being made available to contribute to a better world. This is an example of knowledge that has been developed with public money benefitting society. Science is helping to contribute to solving one of the great issues of our time.”

• NWO proud: free licenses bring solution to world food problem closer

Serendipity

The announcement was made during the WUR opening ceremony of the academic year (OAY), with ‘Crossing Boundaries’ being this year’s theme. In interviews leading up to the OAY prof. Fresco urged for more serendipity and failure in scientific work: “I envision us bringing together groups of promising scientists without a direct research assignment. The most unorthodox ideas would then be allowed, along with masterful failures. Chance discoveries - of which CRISPR-Cas technology is an example - only come to light when you see them. We need to have the courage to look at reality in different ways.”

Accessibility of Aurora for Cyclists

The education building Aurora is nearly complete, and there will be space for 1300 bicycles in the lower level bicycle storage area in September. Lex Roders says that a bicycle path will be constructed from the two exits towards Forum, along De Elst, passing the amphitheatre and Impulse, and connecting with Bornsesteeg. Near the southern entrance of Aurora (across from Vitae) there will also be a temporary crossing for the bus lane for cyclists travelling west from Aurora. For a future phase, a new cycling path has been planned from Aurora to the Mondriaanlaan and Dijkgraaf to the north side of the bus lane.

Lex: “To facilitate the cycling path towards Forum, the covered bicycle parking had to go (editor’s note: it will be replaced by a non-covered bicycle parking area at a nearby location), and there were some trees in the way.”

This is where Elike Wijnheijmer’s expertise comes in. Elike: “Those trees were part of the collection of apple trees of the Centrum voor Genetische Bronnen (CGN) and were planted in an orchard structure. That is why I consulted with CGN to find a new place on campus for these trees. This type of structural change must be implemented in consultation with the other parties, as every change impacts the spatial distribution of functions and in turn, the campus landscaping. That means that when artworks must be relocated, this is then organised in consultation with the art committee.”

Thymospad: Ecological and Safe for Traffic

A similar infrastructural change was required for Thymospad, the cycling path from Sports Centre de Bongerd to Orion. Lex: “This previously unappealing corridor is now a wide cycling path and footpath with adjoining green space, half of which is located on the grounds of Plus Ultra. Elike: “Kandans (owner of Plus Ultra I and II) was prepared to collaborate on the creation of an ecologically rich design. Based on the planting principles that we use for campus (Green Vision Wageningen Campus 2019), it was decided to plant a flower meadow, fruit-bearing shrubs such as black and red currants, wild roses, and a mixed hedge. Because it can be very wet, a wadi was dug out between the flower meadow and the ornamental trees, and the pin oaks that were already there were reused. The planting plan was coordinated with our campus ecologist Wieger Wamelink.”

At the same time, a wide footpath was created along Plantage, streetlights were installed, and a one-way traffic system was implemented. This all contributes to a more pleasant environment with increased traffic safety. The final stretch from Plantage (between Unilever and Upfield) will be renewed after Upfield is completed.

An Urban Environment That Must Stay Green

These modifications are the result of the traffic plan that the Executive Board adopted in 2019. As campus continuous to grow, the infrastructure must keep in step with that. Lex: “In anticipation of this, several projects will be carried out in the period 2020-2022. It includes the new, safe bicycle crossing over the Nijenoord Allee near Hoevestein that was realised in collaboration with the municipality in April of last year. Everything was done to ensure that campus remains a pleasant and beautiful environment, but definitely safe as well.” Elike: “Did you know that the daily user density on campus is comparable to the centre of Utrecht; an average of 13,000 people on 70 ha? We are talking about an urban environment, but one that we want to keep very green. On campus, over 40% of the grounds are green spaces, while this is about 20% on average for urban areas.

We are trying to streamline the use of this type of area as much as possible, through its infrastructure as well as the rules for its use. The Road Traffic Act also applies on campus, with the same traffic rules as everywhere else in the Netherlands, for example. That means that you can get a ticket for parking illegally.”

Charging Points for Shared Electric Cars

Parking on campus always stays current. The latest development is the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) project, started by Facilities and Services and Mobility Mixx. Employees can book and use the white/orange shared electric cars. The cars needed a centralised area for parking and charging. Lex: “This is why a section of the car park on Stippeneng (in front of Impulse) was equipped with charging points.”

Green Area with New Workstations and Sports Equipment

Because of the construction of the new cycling path between Aurora and Forum, a strip of about 200 m2 was created between the cycling path and the bus lane near the amphitheatre. In consultation with Sports Centre de Bongerd, which had an idea for a fitness area in the Vital@WUR framework, some sports equipment will be installed here. There are also plans to further develop another preference: more spaces to sit outside and collaborate in green spaces. It is likely that solar benches will be installed here, outdoor furniture with built-in solar panels that can be used to charge your phone. This is also one of the ideas from the CSR vibe (Corporate Social Responsibility), an initiative to make WUR’s sustainability more visible on campus. Elike: “In order to install all these things we want effectively in the space and environment, I have asked Applied Spatial Research (ASR) at WENR to create a sketched design. We will develop and incorporate the design into the ‘slipstream’ of Aurora and the construction of the new cycling path. ASR often helps with landscape design challenges and also involves students. We also want to do something on campus with their Nederland 2120 (NL2120) project, but more about this later.”

- Unfortunately, your cookie settings do not allow videos to be displayed. - check your settings

The Upfield employees are expected to become part of the campus by the end of December 2021. Upfield is the world’s largest producer of plant-based consumer products and an authority in spreads since 1871. In 1930, the company became known as Unilever, following a merger between the Margarine Union and the Lever Brothers. Unilever subsequently sold its margarine division, which was re-launched in 2018 as Upfield. Upfield’s mission is to create ‘a better, plant-based future’. The company produces brands such as Flora, Rama, Blue Band, Becel and Country Crock.

An interview with John Verbakel, chief R&D Officer at Upfield, involved in the construction and relocation as a member of the leadership team.

Will your role remain the same after the relocation to the campus, or will your duties change?

My job will not change as a result of our move to Wageningen, but we will. Following our departure from Unilever, we were occupied with the internal design of our business. We are currently in the next stage, where we will grow and develop our products. The focus will move towards a more future-oriented approach and external collaboration. Becoming a part of the Wageningen ecosystem is definitely a part of that development.

How large is the company? Will all divisions settle in Wageningen or just the R&D? What type of staff members will come to Wageningen?

Upfield is a so-called Fast Moving Consumer Goods business. We have 4200 employees across the globe. We sell our plant-based spreads in 95 countries and have about 3 billion euros in revenue. Our factory will remain in Rotterdam. We also have production facilities in 14 other locations throughout the world. The marketing, sales and finance division will relocate to the Amsterdam location. At the same time, all our R&D and related staff will operate at our Wageningen location. This amounts to a total of 150 persons. Primarily those with a university of applied sciences background, academics and doctorates.

Highly educated people. The fact that there is an agreement within Upfield that Wageningen is “the place to be” is nice, and makes this relocation good for our company’s development. Of course, there are a number of personal dilemmas, but fortunately, we have another 1.5 years to find viable solutions for everyone.

We will have to await the development regarding COVID-19, but if all goes according to plan, we will commence organising introductions to campus for our employees this autumn.

Other than your already plant-based products, how else are you committed to sustainability?

We are, indeed, already a plant-based nutrition company, but we seek to expand our portfolio. It is becoming increasingly clear that consuming large volumes of meat and dairy is not sustainable for us, nor for the planet. There is much room for improvement in terms of sustainability. WUR is already studying plant proteins, fats and dairy. We are eager to join that effort and invest in the production process of plant-based foods with the same flavour.

What are the latest developments in your field?

We strive to apply plant-based protein research to, among others, our vegan cheese spreads. We also want to improve the texture and taste of our foodstuffs: a plant-based cheese spread should have the same texture and flavour, and also behaviour when it is baked or cooked, as the products the consumer is already familiar with. Moreover, the packaging must be sustainable. Our goal is to have plastic-free packaging for all our products within five years, which is quite a challenge with oils and fats!

We have contacts with groups within WUR who work in these areas (proteins, texture and packaging). We can contribute to pre-competitive programmes, in collaboration with WUR, Unilever and FrieslandCampina, to fortify the scientific foundation. And, when it comes to marketing research, we are extremely experienced in marketing new products. If you make clear agreements and maintain transparency, there is no need to fear conflicts of interest.

The new construction has been announced as the Upfield Food Science Center. What will it look like?

Wageningen is to be the centre of expertise for all our divisions across the globe. The new building will contain a testing factory, several laboratories (chemical, packaging, micro-biological) and kitchens for consumers and chefs, also known as the experience centre. In the testing factory, we can scale up lab experiments to an actual production process to see if this leads to the desired product.

The kitchens are useful to see how chefs and consumers assess new discoveries, which is very important for the introduction of new products. The new building is to be the very heart of Upfield’s R&D.

Are there any extra sustainability aspects to the new building?

The building will have a natural look, with lots of wood and plants. If plant-based is your mission, settling for a concrete building makes no sense. And, the building will be climate-neutral. We aim for the BREEAM-outstanding certificate.

Do the current developments regarding corona impact the build and relocation at all?

The virus has no influence on the timing of the construction or relocation. However, we are fortunate that we have yet to begin construction. We are able to make our building ‘corona proof’. 

We have checked aspects such as routing, ventilation, elevators and stairwells. These aspects can still be adjusted to prevent people from crossing paths. We are also planning to create more space per person. We will probably work from home two days a week, which will be facilitated by sufficient video capabilities.

Why settle on Wageningen Campus?  What is the added value?

Wageningen is a treasure cove of expertise, with the university and the other institutes and companies in our field. We can use this expertise in the production process, but also in reaching the consumer to create an impact. We are eager to be a part of the campus culture, collaborate with students and researchers, find solutions together, always while respecting everyone’s role. This cross-pollination is absent in any other random business park and will affect our employees.

At the start of this year, we entered into a collaboration with FoodValley. I see great logistic advantages as well, such as the possibility to share instruments.

Over the next decade, how do you see the development of Upfield in the Wageningen context?

I feel that we are at the start of an S-curve accelerating towards sustainable and plant-based nutrition, at the dawn of a transition in food supply and the food industry. I believe this transition is only possible with technology and science, and we want to join WUR and other businesses in contributing to this transition. I expect rapid developments in the food and transport chains, which need to become sustainable. We work in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where this development is also underway. Thus, the transition towards plant-based is a global one. Being able to be a part of this journey is great.

• Read the full story in Recourse magazine

The jury – chaired by Aart Oxenaar of the City of Amsterdam – referred to GreenWURks' Open Bajes plan as a coherent design with attention devoted to people, planet and profit, but also to the history of the building, a solid financial foundation, and the appointment of stakeholders. The jury made particular mention of the ‘mysterious’ interior spaces that make visiting the tower a special experience.

Open Bajes plan by team GreenWURks

The Open Bajes idea is characterised by the driving forces of sustainability, healthy lifestyles, and a sense of community. Parts of walls have been replaced with glass and solar panels, creating an open feel, and there is space for jungle plants; but the historic purpose of the prison remains visible in the choice of materials used. Open Bajes should become a living lab where people can learn about ‘circular’ food production, where waste is reused, where there is space for art, education, sport and encounters with others and with nature. As the building is intended for use by local people, the business model is also based on long-term connections with society, for example via vegetable subscriptions.

Use as a case study

The design is used by the collaborating parties as a case study, aimed at innovative creations for metropolitan food systems and improving a healthy and liveable living environment for the local residents of the Bijlmer area.

The Audience Award (500 euros) went to team Technotitian (The EcoTower, WUR), the Sustainable Substrate Award (1000 euros) was given to team Green Spark with their plan From Root to Fruit (Copenhagen, Aachen, Milan and Wageningen) and the Outstanding Architecture Award (1000 euros) went to Thanks Work (for Millennial Growth, University of Michigan).

International teams

WUR organised the Green Challenge to mark the 100th anniversary of Wageningen University & Research in collaboration with the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute). Twenty-three international teams from ten different countries studied the situation in and ambitions for the Bijlmer area of Amsterdam from spring onwards. They put together impressions of their design. Fourteen of them reached the final.

With a view to realising their sustainability ambitions and contributing to a healthier and longer life for residents, around ten parties involved in the redevelopment of the Bajes Quarter looked forward to the concepts, designs and innovations of the student teams with great interest. As knowledge and creativity are being brought together from ten different countries and forty universities, they view the winning design as well as the other entries as an extremely interesting source of inspiration for the new design of the Bajes Quarter. The same applies to future development and redevelopment projects in metropolitan areas around the world.

Bajes Kwartier Ontwikkeling C.V. wants to transform the Bajes Quarter into a new energy-neutral district. The aim is to create an exemplary low-traffic district for people to live, work, spend time and move around in, with the former Bijlmer prison as a green tower with a vertical park and agricultural functions, with the focus on the health and welfare of residents and users.

Jury

The jury consisted of Nona Yehia (Vertical Harvest, GYDE), Beatrix Alsanius (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), Jago van Bergen (Van Bergen Kolpa Architects), Michiel Klompenhouwer (Rabobank) and the Chairperson, Aart Oxenaar of the City of Amsterdam.

The Student Challenge 'Design the Ultimate Urban Greenhouse' was set up by Wageningen University & Research to mark its 100th anniversary in collaboration with Rabobank's Banking for Food Inspiration Center, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute), Klasmann-Deilmann, Bajes Kwartier Ontwikkeling C.V. and FABRICations.

Click here for a film of the winning team GreenWURks. See also www.greenhousechallengefinalists.nl for a film of all fourteen finalist student teams and an impression of their concepts. See also the description of all the concepts and interviews with the jury members.

On 6 July Wageningen Campus is hosting the annual conference of the Rabobank Supervisory Board. This year, for the first time, major international clients have also been in invited in addition to all the commissioners of the bank. The total number of delegates that will visit the Rabobank Conference 2018 is around 350. In the afternoon Louise Fresco, President of the Executive Board of Wageningen University & Research, will address the visitors about the changing perspectives in food and agriculture.

Rabo chose the campus as the location for this annual meeting because of the long-time relationship with Wageningen University & Research and because of their theme for the year, Food and Agriculture.

Wageningen will receive the visitors in Orion in the Waaier room. After a plenary session, guests will visit various places in groups on campus such as Phenomea, COOL, Zodiac, Unifarm, Soilmuseum, StartHub, Friesland Campina and Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Centre (NPEC). Visitors with walking difficulties will be transported across campus by tuk-tuk.

At 18:30 the official programme will end and the first guests will leave the campus. This may temporarily cause some extra traffic.

Contact person: Renée Logtenberg and Sander Fransen
Photo: Erika van Gennip

On 13 July, halfway the jubilee year of Wageningen University & Research, the Wisdom & Wonder Pavilion between Orion and Atlas will be disassembled. The jubilee year will continue until 11 November this year.

During the construction in March it was already known that the pavilion would be there for half a year. Due to the break in the 100 years of activities in the summer, renting the pavilion is not profitable. Space must also be made for the organization of the General Introduction Days (AID) in August.

After the summer, the first activity within the theme Food is again on 27 August. From then on, the 100 years WUR activities will take place in the WUR buildings. The last theme ‘Earth’ starts at 1 September and continues until 11 November 2018.

Have a look on the special program page to find all 100 years activities

Contact 100years@wur.nl

Source picture: SPARK Architects

The British writer and member of the British House of Lords, Matt Ridley, will be the guestspeaker. In his keynote speech he will elaborate on science as a base for optimism and new ways how to engage people.Three young WUR scientists will consecutively share their thoughts on this subject and speech.

The program is open for everyone. It will start at 3.30 pm, followed with a reception at 5.15 pm.

For more information and registration, click here.

More information in the press release.

More news on NutriLeads in an earlier news item.

This addition will expand the parking options on this side of the campus by approximately 200 spaces, resulting in a total of 650 parking spaces in P1. This additional space for parking on P1 is especially useful for the employees in Radix, Helix, and Axis, but can be used by all campus visitors.

Temporary alternatives

In January 2017, the Executive Board made the decision to modify P1, because the Unilever construction on the south side of campus (the Business Strip) would eliminate 200 parking spaces. Due to moving employees into Helix, the demand for more parking on the north side of campus has risen. The two-floor parking garage on P1 will concentrate parking space in a location where many employees work. The total number of parking spaces on campus will remain the same overall.
During the construction of the parking garage, alternate parking options will be provided. The walking distance across campus will be longer during the construction period than is currently the case. Alternate parking options will be clearly communicated and indicated on campus well before construction.

Sustainable design

During the tender, a selection was made based on spatial quality, first by the users of the campus and then by the committee. In this process, the considerations accounted for sustainability, including the choice of materials and equipment. Due to its overall appearance, the decision was made in February 2017 to use the design by Loos van Vliet. In April, after an invitation to tender, the contractor EZ Park was selected to implement the plan.

A rendering of the exterior of the design from Bornsesteeg and a view of the façade from Radix (Images Loos van Vliet).

The exterior of the new car park will be partly composed of wood, as with Plus Ultra, and partly of climbing plants. This look fits well within Wageningen Campus and the surrounding buildings. The design also incorporates space for greenery around the parking garage.
Users of the adjacent Radix building were informed of this during an information session and have provided their input on the design. EZ Park is currently working out the design from a technical standpoint and will begin construction after the summer holiday.

Unilever construction

The new construction for Unilever has not yet begun. Construction on the south side of campus is expected to begin after the summer holiday. During the construction, alternate parking options will be provided elsewhere on campus for this area as well. Information regarding this will be provided via the Wageningen Campus website and via Unilever’s communication channels.

Contact: Martijn Hoenkamp

NutriLeads develops supportive nutritional ingredients for application in dietary
supplements, medical food and functional food products intended for specific target
populations seeking to support their immune function. Its lead ingredient aims to
support immune function and increase resistance to common infectious diseases
such as colds and flu.

A proof of concept study in human volunteers showed an excellent tolerability and
safety profile. More importantly, a dose dependent effect regarding the enhancement
of immune function was demonstrated. In addition to these positive clinical results, a
recent production pilot showed the feasibility of a cost-effective and sustainable
production process for its lead ingredient.

The current Series A financing will be used to support the further development of
NutriLead’s lead ingredient, a novel Immune Modulating Plant Polysaccharide.
During the next phase, production will be scaled up and two human clinical trials to
substantiate the immune supportive effect in different target populations will be
performed.

“The current investment supports the fast track development of our lead ingredient for application in dietary supplements, medical foods and functional foods. We are
confident that this will help us realize our ambition to partner with ingredient suppliers and food companies to bring the benefits of our health ingredients to patients and consumers” indicates Ruud Albers, PhD, CEO of NutriLeads.

Doppio is the ideal place for a chat, some down-time or to get some work done. With a nice cup of coffee obviously!

They also serve breakfast (eat in or takeaway) and lunch with tasty rolls and salads. And the reading table is the perfect way to relax and pass the time.

The coffee bar is open on weekdays from 8.00 to 17.30 and on Saturday from 10.00 to 17.00.
More information (in Dutch) is available on internet:
https://www.doppio-espresso.nl/Vestigingen/wageningen.html

Recently opened on Campus Plaza:

Karadag Bakeries

The place for Turkish and Italian pizzas and snacks, as well as breakfast and lunch.
Opening hours: weekdays from 11.00 to 21.00.

Jimmy’s Pastas & Pizzas

Sells panini and Italian rolls, as well as various calzones, pizzas and pastas.
Jimmy’s Pastas & Pizzas also has vegetarian dishes and will deliver during opening hours.
Opening hours: weekdays from 11.00 to 21.00.

Eastern Express will also be setting up shop on Campus Plaza in the short term.

Plants convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars and oxygen. The plants use those sugars as nourishment and building material. However, nothing is perfectly efficient. Excess material reaches the soil through the roots and soil bacteria digest that waste matter. Plant-e collects the electrons that are released in this process and bundles them. In theory, this is a perfect organic battery.

Plant-e has been working on power from plants for a few years. They have test setups spread throughout the country that power LEDs and tiny lamps using plant power. But the campus, the cradle of plant power, was missing among these locations. With the placement of the setup in the boggy part of the grassland next to Atlas, this has now been corrected.

More background information can be read in the article on the Resource website.

The menu is seasonal, offering a wide selection of gourmet sandwiches and two kinds of soup (also vegetarian), but also including juice and ice cream.
Vegan options, in which dairy has been replaced with soy-based alternatives, are also provided.

Neeltje has flexible opening hours. They open in the morning and won’t close until well after lunchtime.

For more information: info@neeltjeetenendrinken.nl

Resource reports on this attempt:
Who is playing Monopoly on the world’s largest board? That was the theme of this record. The previous record was in the hands of a school in California since last January. They had played the game on a 744 square metres board.

Big, bigger, biggest

The task set before the Wageningen students who were present on the running track next to the sports centre De Bongerd was simple: play the game for at least half an hour on a bigger gameboard. An important detail was that the board needs to be an official edition of the game. ‘No custom designs or other fancy fabrications’, says Jack Brockbank, an official from Guinness World Records. This meant that you could see tokens walking around with an iron, a real dog had been arranged, and players had to throw large dice to be allowed to walk. After half an hour of playing, Brockbank announced that the gameboard in Wageningen is 900 square metres in size: plenty to snatch the world record.

Happy

Organiser Janneke Sloet van Oldruitenborgh is happy with the result. Although many things were arranged by Hasbro, the publishers of Monopoly, it was still quite a bit of work for the students. ‘It’s not like you just unpack a board. These were large plates that needed to be connected. We had also arranged for music and hosts, and – not to forget – ‘Mr. Monopoly’. Factually, we organised the entire logistics part, which was quite a challenge.’

- Unfortunately, your cookie settings do not allow videos to be displayed. - check your settings

This promoteam shares between 11:00 and 15:00 free Bringme Keys in the Forum. The Bringme Key is your key to the Bringme Box: A convenient way to make your online purchases at Wageningen Campus.

Who is this free service for?

Every Wageningen University employee with a WUR account can register with Bringme. Temporary workers and freelancers can also use the Bringme Box. This makes it easy to exchange things with your colleagues or leave your laptop to be repaired.

You are certainly allowed to use the Bringme Box to receive your private orders as well. Just keep in mind that the Bringme Box is accessible between office hours:
ma-vrij: 8:00-23:00 uur
za-zo: 10:00-18:00 uur

You have up to 3 days to collect your parcel from the box, but do it as soon as possible. This way, the space becomes available for your colleagues to use.

Here's how you get something delivered to the box

• When ordering online, always put ‘Bringme’ before your first name
• Use the Bringme Box address as your delivery address: Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 2, 6708 PB Wageningen, Nederland.
• You’ll receive a message in-app when the parcel has been delivered
• Log in to the Bringme Box by scanning your digital key (QR code). You can find your code in the Bringme App: click on the key icon in the top right corner of the home screen. You can also enter the alphanumeric code manually, you’ll find it right under the QR code
• The compartment containing your parcel, will open automatically. Take out your parcel and close the door.

Get started with Bringme

1. Download the Bringme App
   The app is free and available for iOS, Android or Windows Phone. When your download is complete, you can register via the app. If you don’t have a smartphone, you can still sign in via bringme.com/app. This web interface offers the same options as the mobile application.
2. Connect with the Bringme Box
   It’s necessary to connect with a specific box. This is the only way to allow for a parcel to arrive at the right location or send/exchange something from this location. You can connect to one or more boxes making it possible to choose the box which suits you most for each time you have something delivered, sent or exchanged.

Ludy Zeeuwen is Box Mayor and thus responsible for the Bringme Box. For problems with your registration or application, please contact the Customer Service Centre Bringme

Nutrileads (as consortium leader) and 4 partners from the Netherlands, Germany
and Finland have been awarded a € 2 million Eurostars project called NIMF. The
consortium will develop Nutrileads’ proprietary ingredient Immune Modulatory Plant
Polysaccharide-1 (IMPP-1) into a new ingredient for medical food products to fight
impaired immune functioning as a result of malnutrition (particularly common in a
variety of patient groups). Nutrileads is developing this ingredient, in addition to
medical food products, also for other food applications like dietary supplements and
functional food.
The NIMF project was the highest rated project with a Dutch participant, ranking 4th
of 269 applications across all fields in Europe. Erik Dam, CBO of NutriLeads
emphasizes: “The very positive evaluation of the NIMF project provides a further
validation of the relevance of our proposition and the quality of our science, team
and partners”.

More information

• Website of Nutrileads

Studios and facilities

The studios are furnished and offer various amenities, including 24-hour check-in, neatly made beds upon your arrival, plug & play internet, and coffee/tea/water available in the studio. You will also receive excellent service when you arrive.
Campus Plaza, where the studios are located, offers access to washing machines and dryers (for a small fee), bicycle storage, and parking spaces next to the building.
You can cook for yourself, heat up a meal in the microwave, or eat at the many restaurants on campus.

What makes a studio special?

• You can check-in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• You will receive excellent service when you arrive.
• You can decide how you want to live in your private studio (where you will typically be spending a great deal of your time). It is just like living in a typical apartment.

Who can stay there?

The studios are not only available for students to rent, but for all guests who are connected to the university (please note: this does not include parents visiting their children).
For example, in a situation where a PhD student will be working at both Wageningen University & Research and FrieslandCampina, the employer must provide a statement that the research is related to Wageningen University & Research.

Campus tours open to all

Practical information:
Duration: one hour.
Maximum group size: 12.
Cost: €20, which goes directly to the student guide (administration fee: €5).
Bookings: approx. two weeks in advance.
Standard route, but special requests can sometimes be accommodated in consultation.
The campus tour can also be given in English.

Interested?

If you are interested, please contact Jodi van Leusden (coordinator)
jodi@vanleusden@wur.nl
tel: 0317-484858.

PARK(ing) Day is a annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places. The project began in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, converted a single metered parking space into a temporary public park in downtown San Francisco. The mission of PARK(ing) Day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of urban human habitat … at least until the meter runs out!

Merel felt inspired by the idea and thinks that Wageningen Campus is a perfect environment to share the vision of PARK(ing)  Day.

In July we moved to the Plus Ultra building on Wageningen Campus. To show you our new office and flex spots for startups, to welcome our two new main partners and our new team members we invite you to join our drinks on the 22nd of September at 4 PM.

In the afternoon, before the opening, we will organize a pitch event together with the business angels network ‘Meesters van de Toekomst’.

Have a look at the program on the website of Startlife

Photo by: Sven Menschel

Konsultan

Konsultan will focus on sharing plant and seed knowledge with local farmers in Indonesia via an app. Micha Micha Gracianna Devi, founder of the company, presented her idea very clearly and convinced the jury of her expertise and the extended relevant network she has. The company received a StartLife microcredit of 1000 euro to boost the first steps in realising this business.

Sunbart, runner up

Sunbart received the second price and received a free workshop on prototyping. The runner up wants to sell fruit and vegetable drying machines that can be used in Africa. This will help farmers deal with the peaks in yield. She proved the jury that there is already a local demand and sales opportunities.

Inspiring students

With organising this programme at Wageningen Campus the organisers aim to inspire and support students to set up their own sustainability initiative that will have direct positive impact on the campus and beyond.

Incubation Manager Jannet de Jong, one of the jury members: “All of the startups had propositions that were really close related to their network and their own experience. This is a powerful start for these companies”.

When the deck is finished, workers will immediately widen the bridge between Forum and Orion. This widened bridge will connect well with the widened asphalt paths. This allows you to walk an cycle safely together.

Due to this work the bridge is closed from Friday, April 29th to mid-May Please temporarily take the north or south side to cycle or walk around the pond.

The work unfortunately give some discomfort, but hopefully you will understand.

Photo above: Tanzanian house fitted with eave tubes

“In 2015 an estimated 438 thousand mostly African children and pregnant women died of malaria,” said In2Care’s Director Bart Knols. “Although we have achieved tremendous progress over the last fifteen years and have saved countless lives by using insecticide-treated bednets and indoor spraying with insecticides, resistance to insecticides in mosquitoes is spreading rapidly which may undermine these fragile gains. Eave tubes combine two approaches: First the house is rendered mosquito-proof and second the tubes represent a novel approach to target mosquitoes as they try to enter the house in search of a blood meal.The beauty of it all is that houseoccupants don’t need to do anything, it is passive technology.”

According to Matthew Thomas, who will head the study at Penn State, African malaria mosquitoes have a strong preference for entering houses at night through eaves — the gaps between the roofs and the walls of houses. The team’s novel eave tube approach involves blocking the eaves and inserting tubes that act like chimneys to funnel human odors to the exterior of the home. Attracted to the human odors, mosquitoes enter the tubes and encounter netting that has been treated with an electrostatic coating that binds insecticidal particles to it. The netting can hold several kinds of powdered insecticides, including biological agents, and has been shown to break resistance with currently recommended insecticides.

“Since insecticide is only used on small pieces of netting in the tubes, the reduction compared to spraying walls of entire houses is massive, making eave tubes highly cost competitive, especially now that more expensive insecticides are needed due to resistance against the cheaper ones” said Knols. “Furthermore, retreatment is easy, as it requires simple replacement of small pieces of netting within the tubes.”

With a $ 5.6 million grant from the EU, the collaborative team of researchers has already conducted a proof-of-concept intervention in which they installed eave tubes in more than 1,800 houses in the Kilombero valley in southern Tanzania. The team found that the eave tubes reduced indoor mosquito densities by up to 90 percent.

The new project funded by the Gates Foundation expands on the previous intervention by installing eave tubes in approximately 6,000 homes in villages in Cote d’Ivoire and Tanzania. The researchers will examine householders in these villages and compare them with equivalent control villages that have not been supplied with eave tubes to determine the effect of the intervention on malaria incidence. The team also will test the mosquitoes caught in the villages for insecticide resistance. Finally, the researchers will conduct socio-economic analyses to determine homeowner acceptance and create strategies for implementation across different regions and market sectors.

“We know that eave tubes can perfectly kill mosquitoes when they contact electrostatic netting; even the ones resistant to insecticides. But that’s not enough to convince policy makers that this approach can be added to the arsenal we have at present. Quite rightly so, before a new approach can be adopted we need to clearly measure the overall impact on disease, not just mosquitoes. That’s what we aim to do in this unique project,” Knols said. “If we are to eradicate malaria from the face of the planet over the next decades it will be essential to move new strategies forward, and especially those that can help to break the vicious circle of insecticide resistance. This is what eave tubes offer.”