For more than thirty years, the University of Twente Science Shop has mediated between regional civil society organizations, foundations, associations, non-profit organizations and experts at the University of Twente to find solutions to issues.
The Science Shop has been working with Kennispark Twente for the past five years to promote innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises. A total of 2,500 research requests have successfully been dealt with - an important milestone for the Science Shop. Request number 2,500 was a prime example of a Science Shop project. It resulted in interesting research carried out on behalf of Zorgboerderij Alldrik, a care farm in Markelo.
Care farms give people of all ages who have a disability a better quality of life. “We offer customized care,” explains the owner of Zorgboerderij Alldrik, Henk van der Giesen. “Our employees provide personalized, loving and committed care. We focus on fostering talent development and avoiding unwanted pressures.” The team offers professional support during daytime activities and short-term stays, in addition to home-based counselling.
Request number 2,500
Alldrik plans to keep developing as a professional care farm, which is why Mr Van der Giesen had two interesting questions for the University of Twente Science Shop: What do residents of Hof van Twente, who are suffering from both loneliness and depression, need? The second question served to make the problem more specific. It also linked the issue to one of University of Twente’s areas of expertise: Can IT tools offer support?
Brainstorming session
University of Twente Science Shop’s Tim Jongman contacted Hanneke Kip, lecturer at the department of Psychology, Health and Technology. They scheduled a meeting for a brainstorming session with the customer, Mr Van der Giesen, which resulted in the formulation of a research question for a challenging Bachelor’s thesis project. Student researcher Lisa Wessels decided to accept the challenge and got to work with the help of supervisor Hanneke Kip. “I was intrigued to find out how technology could be used as a instrument to combat loneliness,” Lisa explains. “I also really wanted to do something practical and on-site, so Alldrik’s assignment completely fitted the bill.”
Working method
The Science Shop’s working method has not changed much over the years. The research questions we get are very diverse. For example, the Science Shop has recently had research conducted into an adapted rowing programme for the elderly, energy conservation in vacant properties and water retention in sloping green roofs. Coordinator Egbert van Hattem explains how the Science Shop works: “We have been able to establish a large network at the University of Twente. When we receive a query, we filter the necessary information in order to formulate a clear and focused research question. We then try to find a good match for the project at the university, and once agreements have been reached with students or researchers, we draw up a contract and a budget. The work that will be carried out, the hours needed for the project, the schedule and the costs are all put in writing.”
Interviews
Lisa started her thesis project in February. She worked with Henk van der Giesen, Hanneke Kip and Dr Stans Drossaert, her second supervisor at the University of Twente, to refine the research question: “Is there a need for eHealth treatment and how could it help clients become less socially isolated?” To answer this question, Lisa interviewed nine carefully selected adult clients from Zorgboerderij Alldrik. The care team believed that these clients suffered from loneliness and that they would be capable of using information and communication technology.
Facebook and WhatsApp
Once the clients’ needs had been outlined, Lisa focused on finding out which technological applications would be most suitable in offering the clients support in social interaction. Facebook and WhatsApp turned out to be immediate hits, as the interviews showed that existing technologies would be very well suited to the clients’ needs.
Conclusions
A closed Facebook group could help to combat loneliness, concludes Lisa. She also stresses how important it is that Alldrik employees monitor the group and support the clients when using social media. Henk van der Giesen is very much aware of this: “If we want to start using social media, then we will have to develop a policy, as our group consists of vulnerable people. Lisa also recommended that we gain more expertise on the use of social media for our target group. We think that’s a great idea, and we’re definitely going to act on it. We are aware that we must be careful in using social media and that we must try to prevent unwanted and offensive online behaviour that could prove harmful.”
Lovely time
Lisa Wessels defended her thesis at the end of June. She had a great time at Alldrik - she learned a lot and always felt very welcome. Her thesis contains valuable and practical advice for Henk van der Giesen and his organization. They have already taken the first step: a student from Saxion University of Applied Sciences is helping the care farm set up a group page on Facebook.
Creativity and diversity
It gives Tim Jongman a good feeling when queries are properly researched and answered. “The great thing about this job is that you have to be very creative. The diversity of the research questions also really appeals to me. I get a great sense of satisfaction when great research provides a useful answer to a query. Every year, we receive over 150 queries from non-profit organizations and small and medium-sized businesses.”
About the Science Shop
The University of Twente’s Science Shop works to bring the expertise at University of Twente and Saxion University of Applied Sciences to small and medium-sized businesses that usually have no R&D capacity of their own. The Science Shop was set up in 1981 to help bridge the gap between science and society. Over the last few years, as many other university cities were closing their science shops, Twente expanded its range of services. The Science Shop has been working with Kennispark Twente for several years to promote innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises. The Science Shop finds the right department and student researcher to answer the research question. The queries from businesses are very diverse. In 2015, the number of research questions handled by the University of Twente Science Shop remained high and stable at 133. The number of successful matches rose and a total of 29 reports were written. In the last four years, over 200 research questions have been submitted to the Science Shop. In June 2016, the Science Shop completed its 2500th query.
