HomeEducationStudent Services/ContactNews & eventsNews for studentsUniversity of Twente has a strong presence at the Dutch Design Week

University of Twente has a strong presence at the Dutch Design Week

The Dutch Design Week – the biggest design event in northern Europe – is taking place in Eindhoven next week (16 - 24 October 2021). Various UT researchers and students will be visiting Eindhoven to demonstrate their project, show their concept, conduct research, hold work sessions, or participate in discussions in various debates and conferences.

The greater number

The theme of the 2021 Dutch Design Week (DDW) is ‘The Greater Number’. “On the one hand, this is a call for less; less consumption, less products and therefore less waste. But we also realise that less is not always possible, and that when more is unavoidable, we need to do it better. That means more sustainable products with more added value, so that consumers can use these products in new ways. So, this theme is also about changing the behaviour of consumers and producers. By finding new values between consumers and producers, we can transform design practice.”

Embassy of Health

In the Embassy of Health (EoH), various partners – including the University of Twente’s DesignLab – are encouraging creative and disruptive ideas about the future of healthcare. The Embassy’s programme aims to make the public, patients, health professionals, policy makers and others aware of the role and importance of design in the development of innovative interventions in healthcare. This fifth anniversary year is all about shaping the future of healthcare together.

An exhibition entitled ‘Chronic Health: Vital Changes for a Caring Society’ can be visited in the Klokgebouw and at Ketelhuisplein during the Dutch Design Week. The week concludes on 22 October with a conference in the Klokgebouw, where DesignLab director Sabine Wildevuur will speak with Marleen Stikker and Frank Kolkman about designing technology in and for healthcare, among others. A manifesto entitled ‘Chronically Healthy: The Future of Health and Technology’ will be presented to innovation icon Robin Koops, the designer of the artificial pancreas for Diabetes Type 1 patients.

The ExperiVan of the UT’s BMS Lab will get a prominent place in the heart of the DDW, on Ketelhuisplein. This mobile lab, which is designed to bring research to people rather than the other way around, will be demonstrating the projects of researchers of various UT faculties and institutes throughout the week, whereby the public will be invited to cooperate.

Up Close and Personal

Up Close and Personal is an initiative of Design United, the 4TU research centre for design in which the four technical universities of the Netherlands (TU Delft, TU/e, WUR and UT) cooperate.

An exhibition has been installed in the Klokgebouw in which researchers will demonstrate the state-of-the-art in design research. Five themes will be at the forefront: Entangled Ecologies, Connected Interactions, Changing things, Embedded Designers and Evolving Methodologies. Daily talk shows will be held on various topics which can also be followed online.

DRIVE

Arie-Paul van den Beukel, Sabine Wildevuur and Geert Dewulf will be contributing to DRIVE, the Design Research & Innovation Festival, on Monday 18 October, Wednesday 20 October (on ‘Health’) and Thursday 21 October respectively. Various lectures and workshops will be held during the festival, which can also be followed online.

I hear what you’re seeing

Lisa MandemakerAs part of the Dutch Design Week, Lisa Mandemaker, currently the DesignLab’s artist-in-residence, is participating in the ‘I hear what you’re seeing’ exhibition at the Pullman Hotel in Eindhoven with 16 other emerging designers. Lisa is involved in the Gravity project on the ethics of disruptive technology. Her project focuses on the role of the artificial womb in our society.

You can find the full list of participants and more detailed information on our website.
www.utwente.nl/ddw21

Do you want to visit the Dutch Design Week? You can find more information on the event website: www.ddw.nl.

L.P.W. van der Velde MSc (Laurens)
Spokesperson Executive Board (EB)