Participating Teams

Our team is trying to solve the problem of executing research on Antarctica. Antarctica is the 5th biggest continent on Earth and conceals many unrevealed mysteries that would illuminate researchers about Earth's past and future. Currently, researchers do their best to understand climate change and the ice melting phenomenon. Although they have one major challenge, which is technology. Currently, the main mean of travel is by using old sherp-type vehicles which are kerosene driven and human controlled. This limits greatly the research possibilities as researchers need to go with multiple trailers full of provisions to reach a further point in the continent. That is the reason why only 25% of the continent is explored.

Marketswiper tries to increase online secondhand sales and improve circularity by making people reuse more.

Team Daedalus aims to empower humanitarian institutions through a platform for sustained aerial surveillance. By developing a semi-autonomous solar-powered drone, the team is creating a useful tool for wildfire detection and monitoring. Students are currently focusing on creating prototypes iteratively, with the goal of reaching 24h of continuous flight within the following few years.

Humanity has travelled to space using electronic chips powering mechanical components. With the constant burst of radiation from the sun and the rest of the universe, data can get corrupted. To combat this problem in space, a lot of defensive measures are taken to keep the gathered data safe. These methods are extremely costly. Next to this, sending equipment to space remains a tricky process. How can we quantify exact issues better? How can we safely transmit/receive data in a different way?

Climate change as a result of human emissions.

The future of energy production is clear - it is renewables that are going to take the lead. However, they have one shortcoming - intermittency. Due to wind patterns, night and day cycles, and overall weather, solar and wind energy are not stable in their operation. Furthermore, it is not only that there is too little energy when we need it but sometimes there is an excess. Then we hear stories about private solar panels being disconnected from the grid.

Nurdle Soup strives to fill the unmet, pressing need for environmental sensing to localize and remove plastic spills of all sizes in ecologically vulnerable areas. Our focus is on prioritizing the protection of sensitive ecosystems, while also raising awareness on the global microplastics crisis, especially amongst the plastics industry, policy makers and cleaning initiatives. The magnitude of the impact of plastic pollution on the environment continues to grow, making this mission critical.

There is a surplus of manure in the Netherlands. Mandatory manure processing is not profitable and needs high subsidies.

Globally, over 50 million metric tons of e-waste is generated annually, with only 20% being collected and recycled. The remaining 80% is undocumented and often ends up being traded, dumped, or recycled under poor conditions. Improper treatment of e-waste harms the environment and the health of humans and animals. E-waste contains 60 different chemical elements that spread via water, air, soil, dust, and food, with hazardous elements like lead, mercury, and cadmium posing a particular threat to children. Poor e-waste recycling also results in the depletion of rare and precious materials like gold and platinum, which could lead to shortages and further environmental damage.

Our society and agricultural sector are facing daunting challenges. In the Netherlands, but also in southern-European countries, droughts are increasingly common. Next to that, the agricultural sector is facing increasing scrutiny and is pushed to bring down its nitrogen emissions. These problems affect our food supply, access to clean drinking water and quality of life.