Professional hockey fields require extensive wetting. Millions of litres of water are used annually to irrigate one field, making the sport expensive, unsustainable and inaccessible. That's why the international field hockey federation FIH aims to switch to dry fields as soon as possible.
Our homes need to become a lot more sustainable. Besides insulation, the heat pump is the latest ‘big’ thing when it comes to new construction and renovation projects. But is the heat pump worth the hype?
Virtually all human rights treaties are much older than the modern technologies that determine the rhythm of our day-to-day lives. But these rights are under threat, especially from large tech companies. Professors Ruben Verborgh and Eva Lievens advocate an entirely new mindset: “The first step must always be to think about what kind of society we want. Only then can we build the technology necessary to achieve it, not the other way around.”
Revolutionary: that’s the least you can say about Ghent University student Wannes Van Laerhoven’s invention. He designed a new type of tire: airless, sustainable and suitable for an infinite number of applications – from wheelchairs to electric kick scooters. No surprise, then, that he won 2 out of the 4 prizes handed out at the prestigious Circular Economy Challenge.
Alumna Danaë Delbeke is developing a solution that can improve the lives of millions of people with diabetes. The entrepreneur raised 38 million euro last year with the UGent spin-off Indigo Diabetes. The goal: to put a workable product on the market by 2024.
Will we soon be wearing smart textiles that can adapt to the heat? Professor Lieva Van Langenhove of the Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Process Engineering explains how that could work.
The design world on the eve of a revolution: all kinds of recyclable and organic materials are making an entry, in an effort to oust less sustainable materials such as plastic. For example, chairs made of cork, urns made of mycelium or light fittings made of mown grass.
Inventing technological solutions to make local communities stronger, that is the challenge of Samsung Electronics' Solve for Tomorrow ideas competition. Elisabeth and Rune won the Belgian qualifying round at the beginning of May and will soon go to the European finals with their GameYard.
He might not have become an explorer, but for Sven Rogge, his job as a civil physical engineer feels rather similar. He plays with molecular models, in the hope of one day finding an application that will make the world a little better.
The Ghent company Deliverect has become a ‘unicorn’ less than three years after its foundation. A term denoting exceptional, since this start-up is already worth more than a billion dollars. The secret to their overwhelming success, according to founders Jan Hollez and Zhong Xu? Timing and experience! And that experience all began at Ghent University.
Do you recognise this Ghent University location? One of the many doors that the university offers. Maybe you can deduce something from the lion's head? Or is it the weathered blue stone that gives it away? The checkerboard motif?
As a student, it is always very satisfying to be able to work on a project that actually becomes a reality. And it is even more rewarding when that project is also one that can actually help people. Kaat Janssens and her team of fellow civil engineer-architect students have designed various pieces of outdoor furniture for Kwadrant, a school for pupils with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
