HomeNewsTwo-day kick-off of Hoboken 2017

Two-day kick-off of Hoboken 2017

The kick-off meeting held in Cubicus over the past few days marked the start of Hoboken 2017, the second edition of the project carried out by the University of Twente in collaboration with the American Stevens Institute of Technology.

Studens and researchers will start working on the challenges in the areas of water management, governance and resilience in and around New York City in the coming months. Professor Jose Ramirez-Marquez and Professor Gregg Vesonder were present at the kick-off on behalf of Stevens in order to provide insight into the environment in which students will do their research in May.

Education in an international context

The six students will work in Hoboken on two projects under the supervision of researchers from both the University of Twente and Stevens for two months. During the kick-off days, they broadened their knowledge of the themes and took the first steps in drawing up their action plan. Before starting their research in the United States, the students will work on the cases on the UT campus.

"This project not only strengthens the cooperation between the UT and Stevens, but is simultaneously a great challenge for our students," says Theo Toonen, dean of the BMS (Behavioural, Management & Social sciences) faculty of the UT.  "New York is a city that makes strong efforts to develop innovative new solutions to the problems of the future. All aspects of an integral approach come together in these solutions - both the technological challenges and political and social factors. Without strong support, technologically sound solutions cannot be implemented. Students learn to adequately respond to all of those factors in an international context."

The group of students travelling to Hoboken in early May consists of Denise op den Kamp, Master's student of Philosophy of Science Technology and Society, Robin Noordhoek and Martijn Kriebel, Civil Engineering and Management Master's students, and Timo Hartmann, Leonie Staas and Suzan Sidal, three European Public Administration Bachelor's students.

About the partnership

The University of Twente and the Stevens Institute of Technology confirmed their partnership in November 2015. In addition to the cooperation between both universities, the plan also includes a broad invitation to other parties to collaborate. For example, the Vechtstromen Water Board is closely involved with the projects, which provide valuable input for their work in the field of a climate-active city, and the partners also work with Henk Ovink, the Dutch Special Envoy who is an important promoter of the Dutch approach to water with his Rebuild by Design programme.

Photo, from left to right: Martijn Kriebel, Denise op den Kamp, Suzan Sidal, Robin Noordhoek, Leonie Staas and Timo Hartmann.

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