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3rd edition of the Digital Society School showcase was a big success!

Were you there on 22 January? We enjoyed all the reactions, interactions, projects and of course the inspiring stories on stage. And time goes fast when you’re having fun, this was the third Digital Society School showcase already. It is of course difficult to predict in advance what to expect, but we are again very positively surprised! In regard to the entire Showcase team, coaches and track owners the third edition was a great success! We have been able to talk to a lot of friends, partners and talented trainees about how we can contribute to a positive transformation of society.

Host of the day

Jeroen Groeneveld, our Talent and process coordinator, was the host of the day. He opened the showcase and introduced the tracks and project teams. The teams were then allowed to pitch themselves and introduce their project to the public. Over nine different projects that want to make as much impact as possible on the digital society were shown to the partners and other visitors, lecturers and alumni during the annual showcase in Amsterdam. The guests were amazed by the high level of the student work. Our trainees valued and appreciated the feedback from our industry partners.

Will we soon eat plastic?

One of the projects is Waste2Worth and paints a bizarre future. Will we soon eat plastic to solve the surplus? Although the combination of real food with 3D-printed ingredients looks realistic, you cannot actually eat the products of Waste2Worth. The team consisting of international researchers and designers focusses on digital solutions to social problems. They contribute to the so-called “New Waste Vision” and want to use this vision to make students and employees think about how we treat our waste.

This project visualizes a possible future: is this really what awaits us? And the confronting thing is that the answer is yes. In fact: we already eat plastic. We receive on average the amount of a microplastic debit card per week. That is in our food, in cosmetic products and even in the air. Scientists have also discovered an enzyme that can break down plastic. With that, the link to a pill that breaks down the material in your body is not even that crazy. For example, there are similar pills for people who are lactose or gluten intolerant.

Online community for museum education

Another project is BrightMe, an online community. The aim of BrightMe online community is to bring together museum educators, teachers and researchers to enhance communication and democratization of knowledge. Quality Education (4), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (9), Reduced Inequalities (10) and Partnership for the Goals (17) are the Sustainable Development Goals that guided and inspired the team.

Active part of citizens to create green and sustainable cities

The Urban Ecosystem team is concerned with the question: How can we design solutions for the urban environment that activate citizens to help create green urban spaces where pollinators can thrive?

We are proud of the results achieved and the great projects. We would therefore like to thank everyone who was involved and participated in the showcase. Also, an extra thanks to our partners, without them we could not have accomplished and executed these great projects.

If you missed the showcase and you are curious about the other projects, here are a video and more photos from the evening with a list of all the projects!