S&T actively involved in the Regional University Education Day at UT

The programme consisted of five rounds of 30 minutes each. The first two rounds focused on the University of Twente with themed presentations such as Natural Sciences, Engineering, Data & AI, Health and Chip Tech.

In the second round, we gave several mini-lectures in which we made the connection between research, technology and our study programmes.

Natural Sciences – ‘Help, there are drug residues in my water!’
How can you clean water properly when it is becoming increasingly polluted with drug residues, pesticides, PFAS and microplastics? In this mini-lecture, students were introduced to membranes as an advanced method for producing extremely clean water.

Wiebe de Vos

“School pupils are often idealistic, which is great. They want to study something interesting and make the world a better place. In my presentation, I showed how courses at S&T offer tools for a cleaner, safer world.”

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Chiptech – “From tiny switch to smartphone”
During this mini-lecture, pupils discovered how tiny switches enable apps and games to run at lightning speed. They learned how a simple switch is transformed into a nanotransistor — the hidden engine behind every smartphone — and how billions of these components work together to perform complex calculations.

Kai Sotthewes

‘WO Day is a unique opportunity to spark curiosity and enthusiasm for science and technology, especially in areas where they are less exposed at school. I hope they realise that behind many tiny switches lies a fascinating and accessible world."

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Health – ‘MRI: more than just taking pictures!’
In this mini-lecture, pupils discovered how MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) enables us to look inside the body. In addition to clinical applications, such as detecting tumours and providing detailed images of organs and the brain, the technical challenges involved and how this ties in with our courses were also discussed.

Frank Simonis

"It is important to get school pupils excited about our programmes so that we continue to attract new students with an interest in technology. I emphasised how versatile and useful our programmes are, because there are many technical challenges within the current healthcare system."

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These mini-lectures enabled us not only to explain scientific concepts, but also to demonstrate how research and education at S&T directly address social issues, from clean water and digital technology to healthcare.

Despite the rainy weather, the campus was lively and welcoming. Ludica (tennis) and the study associations Alembic, Arago and Astatine welcomed the pupils on the O&O square, while we handed out soft drinks at the reception and visitors were able to get to know the associations at their leisure. Unfortunately, due to the bad weather, the Break-even dance activity was cancelled. Meanwhile, parents attended a presentation on the transition from pupil to student and then took part in a tour of the campus.

With our contribution to Regional University Day, we sought to introduce young people to our programmes and the role of science and technology in society in an accessible way.

Whether it was about clean drinking water, the technology behind smartphones or the use of MRI in healthcare, our sessions demonstrated how diverse and socially relevant our fields of study are. We shared personal experiences, gave concrete examples from research and education, and provided ample opportunity for questions.

This gave pupils a more realistic picture of what studying at S&T entails and how science can contribute to solutions for current issues. For us, it was valuable to experience their curiosity, questions and fresh perspective.