On Monday 25 April, over 330 pupils from schools across the province of Twente will have an unforgettable day of inspiration at the Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial trade fair. The University of Twente organized a unique outing for secondary school pupils in their final two years of education (at pre-university level and senior general secondary education level) in cooperation with Saxion, High Tech NL, Twente Branding and various regional partners. Pieter Boerman, director of the Pre-University of Twente: “Being able to organize a meet and greet for the pupils with the Minister of Education, Culture and Science Jet Bussemaker is very special. She will talk to the students about choosing a degree course and the importance of technology and innovation to society.”
Meet & greets
Minister of Education, Culture and Science Jet Bussemaker will talk to the pupils at the beginning of the afternoon about choosing a degree course and the importance of technology and innovation to society. At the end of the afternoon, an interactive science quiz will be held by Prof. Guus Rijnders (Professor of Anorganic Material Science at the University of Twente and managing director of science at MESA+), Prof. Erwin Hans (Professor of Operations Management in Health at the University of Twente) and Cas Damen (Professor of NanoPhysicsInterface at Saxion University of Applied Sciences).
Trade fair visit and James Bond assignment
The pupils will tackle an assignment inspired by the working methods of James Bond in small groups. James Bond has Q to accomplish his missions. JB understands that technology can destroy or liberate us. The pupils will get to work and search for two appealing innovations, describe it and create a new product themselves by combining the two innovations. The group with the most creative / best solution will take home a nice prize.
Twente at the Hannover Messe
Twente can be found at the Hannover Messe in the Hightech Holland stand in Hall Two. TNO, 3TU and Center of Expertise among other organizations are presenting themselves here. The Solar Team Twente of Saxion and the University of Twente will also be exhibiting their design for the new solar car (via Twente Branding). Robot researcher Douwe Dresscher of the University of Twente is presenting his dike inspection robot in the 3TU.HTS part of the High Tech pavilion. Minister Bussemaker also paid a visit to Mr Dresscher in the morning.
End of the programme
Following the visit to the innovative companies and after submitting their assignment, the busses will return to Twente. Dr. Boerman: “We hope pupils enjoy the interactive programme with the world’s best High Tech companies and the discussion with the minister.”
More information
The Hannover Messe is one of the largest industrial trade fairs. Around six thousand exhibitors are there and over 200,000 visitors attend. The pupils’ visit to the Hannover Messe is being organized by the University of Twente, Saxion, Science Guide, Twente.com, Techniekpact Twente, TechYourFuture in cooperation with FME, employers’ organization Groot-Metaal and Topsector High Tech Systems & Materials (HTSM) and Twente Branding. For more information and participation see: www.utwente.nl/hannover-messe-challenge.
