Week of Inspiration 11/2019

Constitutions of states are often centuries old and have hardly been updated. The aim of this event is to design a constitution from scratch. Thereby taking into account what we have learned from the past, but also new technological developments. What will be the role of technical experts next to politicians? Do we need a parliament or can we control decision-makers by using apps? How do we guarantee citizen’s values when technology allows governments and businesses to know a lot about us? Are rights and duties for human beings only, or also for robots or even algorithms?

This autumn Dutch artist Philip Vermeulen moves into the DesignLab of the UT as artist in residence. During his stay he will be snooping around the UT-labs, looking for inspiration for his artworks. Together with staff and students he tries to make a light sculpture which will be exhibited during this interview. Vermeulen is fascinated by science and technology and creates large-scale installations in which he manipulates light, sound and movement in order to alter our psychological states. 

Otmars zonen is de tweede roman van Peter Buwalda, succesvol auteur van Bonita Avenue en vroeger redacteur van U-Today. Het is een lijvig boek dat in 2019 uitkwam en deels speelt in Enschede en op de campus van de Universiteit Twente. De UT heet zowel in Bonita Avenue als Otmars zonen Tubantia University met rector Siem Sigerius aan het roer. Beide boeken kregen veel prijzen, ook internationaal. Een interview met Peter Buwalda over het Enschedese studentenleven. Ontgroeningen, tennisclub Ludica of te snel klaarkomen.

Who are the Dutch? Is it the Calvinistic religion, the drive for trade, the need to compromise with other nationalities or the threatening sea that defines their character? In this lecture political, social and cultural angles will merge together, with an emphasis on the ethical aspects. The focus will be on the last decades. From milkmaid Antje to the liberal opinion about soft drugs.

In the last few decades, the vast ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica have started to lose more and more ice. It could be the start of a long process in which large parts of the ice sheets will ultimately disappear due to rising temperatures on Earth. It would lead to multi-metre sea level rise worldwide. But how fast? And by how much? Kuipers Munneke will show that, in order to understand the present and future behaviour of the ice sheets, we rely heavily on ever better satellites and ever faster computers.

Heino Falcke dives deep into the wondrous world of black holes and explains how he – together with his colleagues of the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration – managed to take the first official image of a black hole. As a camera they used eight radio telescopes spread around the world. How does this telescope as large as the Earth work? And what does the first real image of a black hole teach us about the physics at the mysterious event horizon? What are the next steps after this discovery? 

Scientists are now able to reprogram any cell of the human body into pluripotent stem cells. This creates many possibilities for biomedical research because these stem cells can be turned into many other cell types sensitive to disease or drugs that are not normally accessible through tissue donation. Christine Mummery succeeded in growing these stem cells into heart- and vessels ‘on-a-chip’. In this way she has shown medicines can be safely tested outside the human body, opening up a world of personalized medicine.

Being healthy is a state of complete well-being, physically, mentally and socially, according to the World Health Organization. But who is healthy then? Machteld Huber introduced a new concept in which a healthy person is one who is increasingly able to deal with the challenges in these domains. Resilience is essential and can be developed. We live longer, so we have to learn to cope with chronic diseases. Too often the perspective of the patient and his psychological strength are underestimated. This dynamic concept of health is internationally acknowledged and might bring the cost of healthcare down. 

You have to pass an exam, to deliver a speech or to be the best…and suddenly you are overwhelmed by anxiety. A huge fear that you will fail. That you will not live up to expectations, whether they are your own or those of other people. Psychiatrist dr. Esther van Fenema knows all about it. She started a special centre for musicians who are afraid to perform on stage, also frequented by CEO’s and top sporters. In her opinion young people are more prone to stress and less able to cope with setbacks. Everybody has to be perfect these days. She suggests simple rules to improve your mental health: sleep and eat well, be prudent with drugs, do some physical exercise.