Sustainability series: Policy, Technology and Careers Panel discussion III

Brechje marechal

Environment & Sustainability Policy Officer at the University of Twente

I am the Environment & Sustainability Policy Officer at UT and programme manager of the SEE programme, focusing on integrating sustainability in the operational management of the university. I have a background in Environmental Science. I have had a wide range of jobs from community development in disadvantaged neighbourhoods to agricultural research (soil degradation problems in agricultural areas, and sustainable rice value chains), teaching English and advising on sustainability. I enjoy bringing together all skills gained into my current job. Five years ago I moved to the Netherlands as my husband was offered a position at UT after having lived abroad for 15 years in Colombia, US, UK, Italy and the Philippines. It is great being back in a country where things are so easy. I love cycling everywhere and travelling slowly by bike, on foot or in a kayak.

Dr A.H. Dijkstra (Arjan)

Assistant Professor in Earth Materials at the University of Twente

I am a lecturer at ITC, the Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation of the University of Twente. I am an Earth Scientist who, after starting off focussing on academic research, changed tack because of the climate emergency. I am interested in the role that Earth Scientists can play in the Energy Transition. I now focus on studying the so-called critical raw materials, the materials without which a low-carbon energy society cannot become a reality. For many of these materials there are serious concerns about the security and sustainability of their supply, so in my research I try to develop ways to find new, better sources of the minerals from which we get these materials. But I have also discovered a great passion for teaching and science communication, especially about the topic of minerals, the Energy Transition, and the Circular Economy. I try to make people ask questions about the materials they use in everyday items (such as mobile phones), especially where they are coming from and how they are mined. Better awareness of where materials come from will hopefully help people to engage with the Circular Economy, so that we can take away some of the strain put on the planet and its people by the ever-increasing demand for raw materials. As you can perhaps imagine, I love the great outdoors, especially long hill walks on Dartmoor in the UK, where I have spent the last 10 years before moving to Enschede.

Harrie van Bommel

Programmanager of the Fieldlab Circular Innovations in Industry & Senior-Researcher Closing the Loop of Materials  at the University of Saxion

I am a senior-lecturer and researcher at Saxion University of Applied Sciences focusing on sustainability in global supply chains (specific fashion/clothes) and circular innovations in the industry. I have finished my master of Environmental Science program in 1984 at the University of Wageningen and defended my PhD dissertation in 2016 at the University of Twente.  At this moment I am the program manager within Saxion at the Fieldlab Circular Innovations in Industry in which we work on applied interdisciplinary research projects in close cooperation with industry.

Together with my wife, who is a yoga-teacher,  we have three grown-up children and two grandchildren. I live in Deventer but my family originates from Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. In our free time we love to go walking and cycling, and we love nature so you will often find us outside.