On May 30th and 31st, the Dutch Innovation Days took place in the heart of Enschede. People from all over joined this festival to learn from eachother. From tinkerers, to pioneers, to entrepreneurs, to experts, to geeks, to passionate change makers.
The city of Enschede boasted a collaborative environment where educational institutions and entrepreneurs came together to tackle challenges through innovative solutions, on different levels: from business to society. The theme of this year’s Dutch Innovation Days was Transmission, which came to life through talks, workshops, exhibitions and more. The University of Twente played a big role, and here’s how:
Day 1 started in the ‘Grote Kerk’, right in the centre of the old market. When you walked through the double doors, you were welcomed by the ‘Dear Future Me’ exhibition. People were given the chance to think about what health, climate and digitalisation mean to them personally. We received dozens of letters with ideas to co-shape a better future. Dear Future Me is part of DesignLabs’ 10 year anniversary 'Dear Future us': it’s more than just a number: it’s a nice momentum to reflect on how we feel, think and act. Here are a few letters we collected.
During the afternoon, DesignLab Research Fellow Cristina Zaga took the stage to give a talk on Futuring and Critical Design Approaches. The room filled as she explained how the current narratives are shaping the way we design technology.
The night ended with Jorge Davo’s talk on Emotional Robots and TikTok. The core of this talk was that everyone is an innovator, and has 3 responsibilities. Just do good, do what you love, and share it with others.
Day 2: On the square in front of the church you could see a big tent from the BMS LAB. Teodora and Ronja showcased Virtual and Augmented Reality. They used VR and AR to ‘place’ wind turbines in an interactive way to show what it would look like if there were more wind turbines around the world.
Faculty ITC was also on sight. They brought their board game ‘Rising water, safer shores’, which was co-created by DesignLab Research Fellows Funda Atun and Javier Martinez, together with children. The game was created with the goal to help children to become better at handling and recovering from current and future climate change related disasters.
PhD Candidate Aurora Ruiz Rodríguez showcased her MEEDOEN project: Heroes Game. She created this game to help people who have suffered from a stroke to practice their balance. This interactive game was played by many.
DreamTeamer Pablo San Gregorio stood in the Grote Kerk to give a workshop on Hybrid and 3D sculpting. He shared his experience in doing so at his studio Shaman Garage. During the workshop, people created their own 3D moulds out of clay. Then Pablo added his magical touch, and they watched it come to life digitally. Very cool.
The Grand Finale of the UT Challenge also took place during the Dutch Innovation Days. It was hosted inside the Kleine Willem. 20 finalists pitched their ideas, prototypes, and startups. There were 3 categories to take the prize home: Ideation, Prototyping, and Startup. Our very own manager of DesignLab was part of the jury for Ideation. The winners were J58, SimplyPill, Zyclus and Palmos. Congratulations to them all!
RoboTeam Twente showed their sporty side on the square with their soccer playing robots. People gathered around to watch, as well as challenged each other to play a match themselves.
All in all, the Dutch Innovation Days were unforgettable. It was amazing to share so many creations, ideas, and conversations with the city of Enschede. Thank you to the Dutch Innovation Team, the University of Twente Team, and the citizens and visitors of Enschede who joined us.
