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The Resilience@UT programme

RECOGNIZING THE URGENT NEED FOR A MORE RESILIENT WORLD IN ORDER TO RESPOND TO A COMPLEX AND RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD, THE “RESILIENCE@UT” PROGRAMME HAS BECOME ONE OF THE UNIVERSITY TWENTE’S SPEARHEADS FOR RESEARCH AND CAPACITY BUILDING.

We live in an increasingly complex and interconnected world in which societal and environmental changes have an increasingly higher impact on our natural environment and human well-being. As the impacts of environmental and societal changes are increasingly difficult to anticipate, we need to strengthen our resilience to these changes.

The interfaculty Resilience@UT programme was established to respond to the challenges of rising disaster losses, a changing climate, inadequate healthcare, societal unrest, digital threats and crime. The programme combines the expertise and interests of its academic community together with that of public and private sector partners to develop and implement a joint research agenda and consequently promote a resilient society.

The resilience programme connects people from research and capacity development from the five UT faculties with partners in Twente, the Netherlands and internationally.

Resilience of Cellular Networks in the Netherlands

Understanding the resilience of mobile networks is crusial for safeguarding critical infrastructures, as highlighted by a research team from the University of Twente who examined the Dutch mobile networks, identified areas of improvement, and explored the potential benefits of national roaming for a more resilient national infrastructure. 

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Water sanitation, hygiene and homelessness in Germany, co-defining challenges, co-designing methods, co-creating solutions

Carmen Anthonj from the Department of Earth Observation Science at ITC is leading a project called ''Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Homelessness in Germany'' that focuses on tackling the difficulties faced by homeless communities in obtaining WASH services, especially in the context of severe weather conditions. 

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SALTISolutions NWO

The SALTISolutions research program, led by TU Delft and funded by NWO-Perspectief, investigates saltwater intrusion in deltas and estuaries and explores nature-based solutions through a digital twin model, while the University of Twente's contribution focuses on studying the implications of these solutions on estuarine ecosystem engineering, analyzing the effects on habitat provision, flooding safety, and salinity intrusion mitigation using hydrodynamical modeling and remote sensing techniques. 

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What is resilience

We view resilience as the capacity of our society and the systems upon which it depends to effectively respond to sudden or gradual disruptions (e.g., earthquakes, flooding, drought, epidemics, violence or crime). This means that when subjected to a disturbance, the affected system may be:

(Source: Helfgott, 2018, p. 853)

What we do

The university community together with stakeholders and public-private partners work together to identify synergies and promote collaboration that lead to solutions that strengthen societal and systemic resilience. The focus is on the UT’s research expertise but also education, knowledge valorisation, capacity building, demonstration projects and other initiatives. The UT works regionally, nationally and internationally with a focus by ITC on the global South. All these regions provide living labs settings for developing and experimenting with new technologies, methods and tools in real-world settings.

AT THE INTERSECTION OF URBAN AND RURAL AREAS

Special attention is given by UT scientists to so-called rurban areas – that is areas that were originally rural in character, but being located in the shadow of urban centres are experiencing an increasing level of urbanization as cities and towns spill over into the surrounding region. These areas have some of the services offered in urban centres but this is often inadequate, for example in the case of health care. Rurban areas will receive special attention in some resilience projects and other initiatives.

The resilience programme supports the university’s overall mission, Shaping2030, to contribute to the achievement of a digital, fair, and sustainable society by 2030.

Three resilience themes

Fueled by the interests and expertise of our community, this UT programme is organized around three themes:

Within these three subprograms we:

The UN Sustainable Development Goals: Strengthening Resilience

All initiatives under the UTs resilience programme, drought resilience, safe society, and healthy communities, contribute in various ways to the UN Sustainable Development Agenda.


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