Wageningen Campus

Studium Generale – Rethinking human-nature relationships 🌱 Studium generale is for you, if you are keen to look beyond the limits of your discipline and would like to develop yourself. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the role and agency of non-human actors, including other beings, ecosystems and landscapes. Initiatives that advocate for a more-than-human perspective gain traction, embracing post-anthropocentric thinking, as well as concepts like non-human rights and multispecies justice. These efforts challenge traditional views of nature and aim to empower non-human natural entities, such as farmed animals, coral reefs, and rivers. 🐟 In this series, this paradigm shift will be explored and how it invites us to rethink humanity’s place in the natural world. What explains the rising attention for the ‘more-than-human’, and what does it mean to empower non-human nature in practice? The series will look at real initiatives that strive to better represent non-humans. To what extent do they contribute to meaningful change and what can we learn from them? The lectures take place in impulse at 20:00 on the following days:  Tuesday 29th of October: Listening to non-human voices – Carlota Houart, Arita Baaijens  Tuesday 5th of November: movie screening at Movie W (not at Impulse) - I am the river, the river is me  Tuesday 12th of November: Ecocentric thinking in practice – Judith Slagt, Sue van Geijn - van der Stelt, Clemens Driessen  Thursday 21st of November at 19:30: Do it yourself: More-than-human decision-making – Adriana Ressiore Campodonio #studiumgenerale #humannature #impulse 

Shared research facilities – user story 🤝 The Anunna High-Performance Computing (HPC) cluster at Wageningen Campus is a powerful shared research facility designed for large-scale data storage, computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) analyses. Funded partly by the RegioDeal Foodvalley subsidy, Anunna enables cost-effective collaboration between organisations on and off-campus, promoting knowledge and data exchange. The shared usage of Anunna is 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.’ 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. Alexander van Ittersum says: ‘In many research projects, we see that the required IT infrastructure for AI plays a prominent role. With 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.’ #sharedresearchfacilities #HPC #anunna

Sharing research facilities to maximise productivity and accelerate innovation 📈 🤝 The SME vouchers are available again! This is a subsidy provided by the Regiodeal Foodvalley who believe that sharing facilities is fast, sustainable and cost-effective. Regiodeal Foodvalley offers companies and institutes subsidies for sharing facilities in the areas of protein transition, food and health and/or circular agrifood. The subsidy provides SMEs with a unique opportunity to access the scientific talent and facilities they need to develop and demonstrate innovative products. This might be an interesting opportunity, since it may enhance innovation, it may lower the (financial) threshold for the use of research and pilot facilities by startups and other SMEs and may stimulate collaboration between various organisations. 💡 In short: The total amount of subsidy available is €2,000,000 with funding between €10,000 - €50,000 towards an eligible project (50% co-financing needed). A minimum of 50% of the total project costs must be allocated directly to the use of the facility. Application is  open until June 2026 or until the subsidy’s budget has been exhausted. Read more on the website of the Foodvalley region: https://lnkd.in/gaEXJh9w    

Science meets Music 🎷 🎵 The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 goals to make the world a better place by 2030. People all over the world are working on these goals and, of course, also on Wageningen's campus. Together with the Wageningen Global Sustainability Programme, Symfonieorkest Sonante is organising a special eSDG concert - after all, es, d and g are musical notes too! Science and classical music come together during this concert around the theme of the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, the concert introduces a symbolic eighteenth goal: Make Music. During this special concert in a beautiful hall in Omnia on the Wageningen campus, four scientists will tell sparkling stories on SDG-related topics. The speakers are:  Carolien Kroeze, Rector Magnificus of Wageningen University & Research, Lisa Becking, associate professor of tropical marine biodiversity, Nynke Schulp, associate professor land use, lifestyle and ecosystem change (Free University), Tim van Hattum, programme leader Climate The stories will be interspersed with matching music: Brahms, Academic Festival Overture; Svendsen, Andante Funebre; Gade, Overture In the Highlands; Piazzolla, Invierno Porteno; Glinka, Summer Night in Madrid The maximum available number of 270 seats has already been reserved! It is therefore no longer possible to reserve seats for the official show on Saturday 23 November. However, Sonante offers the opportunity to attend their dress rehearsal on Friday 22 November at Omnia! Some of the speakers will be present and will go through the concert programme this evening as well. Make sure to reserve your spot here: https://lnkd.in/eDe3eqkn #omnia

Start-up in the spotlight: Hippotainer 🌿 Wageningen University graduates Tijmen Blok and Jort Maarseveen have developed the Hippotainer, a vertical farm housed in a shipping container, designed to grow fresh vegetables in challenging environments. A shipping container is ideal for flexibility; it can easily be put on a truck. Once on location, it can be deployed swiftly, requiring no buildings or permits. They constructed their first prototype with intern Joël van Schoonhoven. Blok says the yields from the first attempts at growing leafy greens were enormous using minimal water and energy. In June 2023, they successfully deployed their first Hippotainer in Ukraine. Ukrainians have lacked nutrients and vitamins since the Russian invasion, so the very first Hippotainer made its way to Ivano-Frankivsk. They offered training and employment opportunities to a team of refugees. It is currently in full production in Ukraine providing local markets and restaurants with lettuce. 🤝 💡 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. That's where Blok and Maarseveen see opportunities. #hippotainer #impact #verticalfarming

Shared research facilities – user story 🌍🌿   Kalsec Inc. is unlocking the potential of people, nature, and science to feed the world —improving appearance, taste, and shelf life through the discovery of new plant metabolites. Collaborating with WUR, Kalsec used the advanced IQ-X mass spectrometer, funded by the RegioDeal Foodvalley subsidy, to quickly develop a proof-of-concept for non-specific analysis of plant molecules. 🔬  The company 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.  'The principle around sharing research facilities offers us so much that we see WUR as an important partner,' says James Redwine, lead scientist at Kalsec.  'We are constantly developing new ingredient solutions and making existing ones even better,' says Redwine. 'There are plenty of opportunities. 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.   #sharedresearchfacilities #collaboration #campusecosystem

The 4th NARO-WUR Conference 🌾 National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) and Wageningen University & Research (WUR) are delighted to invite you to the upcoming the 4th NARO-WUR Joint Conference, centered around the theme: "Resilient Agriculture and Food Systems - Improving Productivity in the Livestock Sector while Protecting the Environment." 📅 Thursday 24 October, 9:30-16:30  📍 Omnia, Wageningen Campus This conference will bring together leading experts, researchers, and industry stakeholders from Japan and the Netherlands to explore innovative strategies and solutions for enhancing productivity in the livestock sector while ensuring environmental sustainability. Key topics will include ‘Sustainable livestock production and environmental protection’, ‘Control of Zoonotic diseases’, and ‘Animal health and welfare’. During the conference you will be able to discover cutting-edge research, practices and technologies in the livestock sector. A dialogue will leave room to discuss what should be done to balance productivity and environmental sustainability. And there will be room to connect with professionals and organisations dedicated to shaping the future of agriculture and food systems. 📈 All to build a sustainable future for agriculture and food production together. 🤝 Register here: https://lnkd.in/e_SsCtGn  

Campus Connect – The future is water 💧 The Wageningen Campus is a place where Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and other knowledge partners play a key role in addressing water challenges and developing policies. It is also a place where innovative startups are encouraged to accelerate. The Campus Connect event of last week was therefore an excellent moment to bring all these actors together, aiming to inspire and offer a glimpse into what projects are running on campus, all centered around food & water security. To tackle such complex challenges, it is essential to remember: "without action, no water, no food for the future." - Sjoukje Heimovaara.  #campusconnect 

Lunch & Learn: Knowledge integration in interdisciplinary research, by EWUU alliance Centre for Unusual Collaborations (CUCo). 🐙 Knowledge integration – what is it and how does it happen? In inter- and transdisciplinary research the ultimate aim is to integrate knowledge from different fields and/or domains. Is it a black box or are there tools to better understand and enable processes of integration? Learn from research and real-world experiences of a CUCo-funded team as they share their journey and outcomes.  📅 17 October, 12:15-13:00  📍 Online, MS teams The motto of the EWUU alliance (TU/e, WUR, UU, UMC Utrecht) strategic alliance is Challenging Future Generations. They strive to do that by putting young researchers, lecturers and students at the helm and by collaborating across the borders of the scientific disciplines. In the alliance, the four institutions combine their expertise in order to contribute to social transitions in the fields of health, food, energy and sustainability.  🌾 CUCo will feature in the EWUU Alliance’s monthly Lunch & Learn meeting on 17 October. Are you a teacher, researcher, student or in any other way interested in CUCo, and the EWUU Alliance in general? Then join effortlessly from the comfort of your own space – simply tune in via Teams, grab your lunch, and immerse yourself. Find the program and register here: https://lnkd.in/eB_rU8_G

Shared research facilities - user story 🤝 Efficient sharing of knowledge, skills and underused equipment is a logical choice for researchers connected to Flora Food Group and the Wageningen Light Microscopy Centre (WLMC).   Direct access to advanced research facilities was one of the reasons 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 & Research (WUR), and courtesy of funding from the RegioDeal Foodvalley, as a valuable opportunity. 🌿 '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 collaboration adds to the quality of products and efficiency of the process. The knowledge and guidance from researchers at WLMC helps shorten the analysis processes for Flora Food Group. 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, WLMC manager, Norbert 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.'  Read more: https://lnkd.in/eBRWKmQg       Are you interested in using, sharing, and investing into facilities together with WUR? Make sure to contact the SRF team here: https://lnkd.in/efxJSg7Z