Research window Technology for Society

The professorship of Human Movement, School and Sport conducts and supervises research into people's exercise and sports behaviour, particularly within the context of the school and sports associations. Our research is practice-oriented. This means that physical education teachers can directly apply the knowledge gained from research in their work. Examples of questions to be addressed are: How do children learn to move, and how do we improve motor learning with the use of new technologies? What is the social role and significance of sport? What is the relationship between the sports and physical education? What are the social effects of a certain sports policy?

Some of our projects are:

• Engaging socially vulnerable adults through sports: A study to understand and increase the societal impact of sport
• The master's eye: a study of how to increase the perceptual competence of physical education teachers
• Swimming lessons of the future

Want to know more? Contact Professor Ivo van Hilvoorde via +31 88 469 9162 (phone) or email(opens in new tab).

The professorship of Constructive Journalism conducts research on how journalism can contribute to important social issues in a changing society: stimulating inclusion, tolerance and understanding, depolarization, facilitating involvement and trust among citizens. Constructive journalism uses a solution-oriented, action-oriented and future-oriented approach to news that is relevant to individuals and society. Research focuses on challenges for the profession, features of and framing in the news product, and the impact news has on the public and society.

Some of our projects are:

• Inclusiveness in informative television programmes during elections
• Effects of a constructive approach on the way millennials experience the news
• Influence of inspiring and hopeful perspectives in news on people’s information processing and problem awareness

Want to know more? Contact Professor Liesbeth Hermans via +31 88 469 7394 (phone) or email(opens in new tab).

We must limit climate change to keep the earth liveable for ourselves and for future generations. To this end, the emission of greenhouse gases must be reduced by several dozen percent in the coming years. With the professorship of Energy Transition we want to accelerate the energy transition and contribute to the transformation to a C0₂-neutral living environment. We do this through practice-oriented research in cooperation with companies, organizations, governments, education and society. Our research is aimed at using measurably less energy within five years. It also examines what students need to learn and be able to do to play a role in the energy transition.

Some of our projects are:

• Twomes - Digital Twins for Heat Transition
• Energy-transition-aware and -capable engineer 
• Effective insulation value on flat roofs

Want to know more? Contact our Professor: Dr Jeike Wallinga via email(opens in new tab)

Although eHealth has been a promising development for a few decades, only few IT innovations are structurally embedded in healthcare practice. In projects and pilots with digital care solutions, healthcare professionals become enthusiastic about the opportunities offered by technologies like VR, serious games, data science, robotics, etc. However, these projects and pilots are temporarily funded and sustainable financing and embedding in care practice is not yet settled. Hence, our research group focuses on sustainable embedding of promising IT innovations in care practice by conducting multidisciplinary research from the perspective of care, technology and business. This results in applicable knowledge, for example useful tools that support healthcare providers in the use of eHealth or instruments for entrepreneurs in healthcare.

Some of our projects are:

• Methods and design principles for evaluating serious games for health
• Virtual Reality for rehabilitation
• Access to music for people with dementia

Want to know more? Contact Professor Marike Hettinga via +31 88 469 7762 (phone) or    email(opens in new tab).

The Industrial Automation & Robotics (IA&R) chair was established over two years ago. But in a world where we are connected 24/7, developments in this field do not stand still. In fact, they are moving fast and are interrelated. After all, how future-proof are you if you use a robot to optimize production processes without really thinking about digital data management? That's why we have decided to broaden our focus. The possibilities for a new professorship of Digital Business & Society are being explored, in which IA&R will be included as a research line. This new professorship wants to strengthen the connection between research, education and the regional area and focuses on Industrial Automation & Robotics, Digitalization in SMEs and Digital Society.

Some of our projects are:

• Development of automated flexible Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) demonstrator facility
• Integral robotization
• Prototyping, Researching and Innovating vision technology for Smart Manufacturing Applications

Want to know more? Contact our Pioneering professor: Dr ir Erik Fledderus via email (opens in new tab)

The living environment of children has changed rapidly in recent years due to all kinds of new media and technologies. As a result, many parents and professional co-educators have all kinds of concerns. When is media good or bad, and how can you best monitor this as an educator? And what is the best way for a professional to support children or parents with questions about media? Our Youth & Media research group, together with practitioners, searches for possible answers to such topical questions. As such, we want to contribute to a healthy, safe and conscious use of media by children and youth. Our research group mainly aims at vulnerable situations like youth with intellectual disabilities or families with special needs. 

Our projects focus on media literacy in:

• Youth care (Improving media use among clients with mild intellectual disability)
• Special Needs Education (Improving media use among pupils at schools and child care)
• Home settings (Empowering digital skills of parents with young children)

Want to know more? Contact our Professor: Prof. Dr Peter Nikken via email (opens in new tab)

The professorship of Polymer Engineering was founded in 2008 in cooperation with the Plastics federation NRK to bridge the knowledge gap between industry and education through research. The team focuses on sustainable use of raw materials and sustainable production processes. Recycling, environmental impact and energy saving are important areas of research. With our focus on Industrial Additive Manufacturing and Smart Industry 4.0, our professorship contributes to keeping the national manufacturing industry competitive. Our research group won prestigious awards like the Delta Award for their entire portfolio, and the RAAK Award and the JEC Innovation Award for their innovative method to create new construction material from end-of-life composite materials, such as wind turbine blades.

Our programme lines:

• Sustainable Production, comprising simulations, fluid and thermo-dynamics within the plastics processing industry
• Hybrid design with composites, plastics and rubbers for civil engineering purposes
• Industrial Additive Manufacturing  focusing on both plastics printing and metal printing techniques
• Circular Economy, e.g. tyre devulcanization and structural reuse of end-of-life composites

Our Professor: Dr Margie Topp

Want to know more? Click here for our page about Polymer Engineering or mail us(opens in new tab).  

Currently the former Professorship of Leadership in Education and Development, with a focus on primary and secondary education, is undergoing a revision of its research agenda. With a new name, the Professorship of Urban Care & Innovation strives to broaden its horizon to also include child and youth care within its current research programme. The research topics of the past eight years (talent development with science and technology, pre-elementary education, reinforcement of language teaching, and leadership practices and school development) will be the starting point for a new research agenda which corresponds better with the current issues within the regional educational context. The professorship focuses mainly on the Flevoland area and the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area.

Current issues within the regional educational context that we might focus on include:

• Solutions to teacher shortages to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education
• Improvement of the cooperation between (tailored) education and child and youth care
• Improving the quality of basic skills, including language skills
• Involving neighbourhoods in the unhindered talent development of all learners, young and old

Want to know more? Contact our Director of Research: Dr Chiel van der Veen via email(opens in new tab) 

This professorship focuses on creating and realising inclusive learning environments that offer good education to all pupils and students. Inclusive learning environments are embedded in educational settings, in which all learners have the opportunity to learn and develop - doing justice to all goals of education, with a positive attitude towards learners' ambitions and respect for differences between learners. Our hallmark is to do this via purposefully designing inclusive teaching and learning activities and by researching the implementation of these via practice-based action research with all stakeholders involved, be it administrators, teachers, educational and care professionals, parents, and students. 

Some of our projects are:

• Multi-tiered Systems of Support using School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support as a vehicle towards inclusion
• Teacher professional development focusing on inclusive teaching using Lesson Study
• Inclusive teaching in higher education institutes

Want to know more? Contact our Professor Dr Sui Lin Goei via +31 88 469 8949 (phone) or email(opens in new tab).
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The Professorship of Media & Civil Society is engaged in practice-oriented research on how journalistic practice can contribute (even) better to the quality of (co-)existence in a democracy. How, for instance, do you involve citizens in the news, so that it really comes to life for them? The key question is how news media can play a decisive role in increasing the social involvement of people - from all layers and subcultures of society - and in tackling social issues.

Some of our projects are:

• Reliability of regional news
• Young people and news 
• Roles, values and qualifications

Want to know more? Contact our Professor Dr Nico Drok via email(opens in new tab)

More and more companies recognize that the current linear method of production and consumption will not be sustainable in the long term. In a circular economy, cycles are organized in which raw materials are used efficiently, while limiting harmful side effects. The goal of our professorship is to help companies and other relevant organizations in the Zwolle area to make the transition to the circular economy. The emphasis is on achieving changes in chain collaboration required for a circular economy.

Some of our projects are:

• Circular purchasing and procurement
• Towards circular design teams
• Born Circular

Want to know more? Contact our Professor: Dr Liesbeth Rijsdijk via +31 88 469 7767 (phone) or email(opens in new tab).

This professorship focuses on educational innovations that lead to sustainable and meaningful development and learning processes. In doing so, it is crucial to (re)design educational innovation in such a way as to optimize the opportunities of all pupils and students, with a special emphasis on situations where opportunities are at risk, such as low self-control, low levels of education of the parents, poverty, low prior knowledge and disabilities and impairments. Our research is divided into four lines of research: educational innovation for sustainable learning, E-didactics, digital (professional) agency and literacy and collaboration between schools and teacher education.

Some of our projects are:

• Teaching for digital literacy in primary education
• Computational thinking skills of young children working on programming tasks
• Design guidelines for part-time (online) bachelor curricula

Want to know more? Contact Professor Anneke Smits via +31 88 469 9933 (phone) or email(opens in new tab).

In a continuously changing world, with growing uncertainties due to climate change, geopolitics and health crises, it is a challenge for private and public organizations to operate in global production and supply chains. In this light, this professorship is increasingly focusing on issues around sustainability (e.g. circular economy and material passports), inclusion (e.g. access to financing or favourable contracts with large buyers), and digitalization (e.g. data interoperability and block chain applications). Our researchers support organizations in how to respond proactively to logistical and financial challenges that come their way. 

Some of our projects are:

• Supply Chain Risk Management during the COVID-19 pandemic 
• Order-to-cash (O2C) optimization for SMEs 
• Blockchain Living Lab

Want to know more? Check out our page on Supply Chain Finance or contact our Professor: Dr Michiel Steeman via email(opens in new tab)

Creating opportunities and increasing innovative strength in collaboration with high-tech companies: that's the goal of TechForFuture. A collaboration between universities of applied sciences Saxion and Windesheim.

TechForFuture incentivizes mission policy and key technologies by conducting practice-oriented research. The knowledge developed directly benefits education and the regional area. Each project involves companies, professors, researchers, lecturers and students. Collaboration between the two universities of applied sciences Saxion and Windesheim and the broad scope of the research ensures interesting synergy. This is how we contribute to the innovative power and growth of the regional area. 

Want to know more? Take a look at our website (opens in new tab)

Good education in science and technology starts with good teachers. That is what TechYouFuture stands for. 

TechYourFuture makes young people aware of the role and impact of technology in our society. As a Centre of Expertise, we support technical (vocational) education in order to train more and better technicians in the future and to optimize the connection between education, training and technical companies. Together with the professional field, the Centre of Expertise carries out plenty of practice-based research and develops practical tools and methods for education and the technical labour market. 

Want to know more? Take a look at our website(opens in new tab)

The professorship of Urban Innovation focuses on inclusive and sustainable urban development. Its goal is to strengthen the economic, social and ecological connections between all those involved in urban environments (such as residents, administrators, entrepreneurs and civil society organizations). After all, the city and the urban area are where the great challenges of the future lie. There are economic and social issues at stake, and at the same time cities face major challenges in the fields of construction, sustainability and energy transition. Researchers and students work in field labs together with companies, regional organizations and residents. A field lab is also called a 'real-life testing ground'; innovative applications are tested directly in practice.

Some of our projects are:

• Minor and field labs
• New Almere Campus
• Waste hackathon for students

Want to know more? Contact Professor Dr. Evert-Jan Velzing via email(opens in new tab).