On Friday, October 3rd, 2025, it's time again for the Alumni Talks! Three prominent alumni will be our guests. How did they end up where they are now, coming from Twente? What is the passion that drives them to do what they do? And what developments do they foresee for the future from their field?
You can engage in conversation with them, either in the auditorium or afterwards at the drinks in the Vestingbar.
NB: If you register as a visitor, we will charge a small fee. However, the drinks afterwards will be on us!
"We don't need subsidies, we need deals."
From Twente to the frontlines: Siete Hamminga on radar systems against drone attacks and scaling up the defense industry
Siete Hamminga is the founder and CEO of Robin Radar Systems, a company that specializes in radar systems for detecting and classifying small flying objects such as birds and drones. His entrepreneurial career began during his studies in Industrial Engineering and Management at the University of Twente, where he sold suits and tailcoats to fellow students. He later founded Waleli, a company that developed, among other things, a doorbell that came out on your mobile phone. He was way ahead of his time in the period 2000-2009. Too far, because the general public was not ready for it yet. The concept was sold to Amazon in 2018 under the name Ring for 1 billion dollars ... but not by him.
In 2010, Hamminga bought the rights to a radar technology from TNO and founded Robin Radar Systems, originally with the aim of keeping birds away from aircraft engines and windmills. Where conventional sensors could not detect birds, his technology could. The step to drones, which could also become a safety risk for airports, was then small. But the real game changer was the war in Ukraine, in which the role of drones in modern warfare became clear.
Now there is a loud call to grow the defense industry. To achieve that growth, scalability is crucial, says Hamminga: "For that, the sector does not need subsidies, we need deals." Thanks to mega orders, Robin Radar Systems grew into a global player, with more than 350 radar systems in use in defense, at airports and other critical infrastructures. Hamminga's leadership and innovations were recognized in 2024 with the UT Van den Kroonenberg Prize and the Martin Schröder Prize, which he received from the Commander of the Armed Forces for his contribution to the aviation industry.
“Innovative technologies alone are not enough.”
From Twente to a sustainable future: Pavlina Nanou on technology and social support
Greek-Dutch Pavlina Nanou is co-founder and COO of TORWASH BV, a spin-off of TNO Energy Transition. There is no such thing as waste, only raw materials, says Pavlina. TORWASH converts sewage sludge, agricultural residues, vegetable waste and mixed plastics into biofuel, biogas and raw materials for new biodegradable plastics in a high-pressure reactor.
After her Master’s degree in Chemical Science & Engineering, Pavlina obtained her PhD in 2013 for research into the gasification of biomass for methane production, after which she started working at TNO as Technical Lead ‘Biomass Upgrading to Fuels’. In this position, Pavlina was responsible for scaling up and marketing the TORWASH technology. The unique processing method of this technology can reduce the waste mountain generated by sewage treatment plants by 85%. In January 2020, TORWASH BV was founded, in which Pavlina, as COO, was responsible for the further scaling up to a demonstration plant and setting up collaboration with partners. The first demonstration plant is operating at the Aa en Maas Water Authority's sewage treatment plant in Haps. TORWASH is eager to enter the market. 'We have the potential to build and operate approximately 90 TORWASH plants in the Netherlands alone,' says Pavlina.
To successfully tackle major societal challenges, innovative technologies are not enough, says Nanou. 'Only through collaboration can we take significant steps towards a sustainable future,' she says. 'This can only be achieved through broadly supported initiatives where government, companies, universities and research institutes work together.' In 2024, Pavlina Nanou was selected KIVI engineer of the year.
“Responsible AI: Optimizing for Benefits, Minimizing Risks, and the Importance of Human Experience”
From Twente to Google: Johnny Søraker shares his thoughts on how to responsibly develop and deploy AI
Johnny Hartz Søraker is a Norwegian philosopher and AI ethicist, currently working at Google as Responsible AI Governance Lead, leading a team that evaluates all product launches against Google’s AI Principles, with the aim to ensure that potential risks are minimized, that potential benefits are optimized, and that we are prepared for the incredibly pace of AI innovation.
Søraker obtained his PhD in Ethics of Technology from the University of Twente in 2010. His research focused on the philosophical analysis of virtual worlds and their potential impact on well-being. He subsequently worked as Assistant Professor at the Philosophy of Science and Technology Department, focusing his research on the intersection of ethics, psychology and computer science - in particular how to assess ways in which new and emerging technologies affect well-being. He also enjoyed teaching ethics to engineering and psychology students, for which he was voted Teacher of the Year in 2012.
In addition to his professional work, Johnny is also passionate about cocktails, everything nerdy and music, and spends much of his spare time playing drums. He now lives in Amsterdam, his favorite city in the world in which he wants to grow old and weird.