Videos

Too often, companies take too little account of the environmental impact of these inventions when developing new products. Gwenny Thomassen wants to change this: she developed a model to calculate both the cost price and the impact on the environment for products based on micro-algae.

Cinnamon, one of the main ingredients of Belgium's beloved speculaas 😋, is almost exclusively harvested by farmers in Kerinci, a small region in Indonesia. One would think these farmers are rich, but are they really? Sidi Rana Menggala has the answer.

Amar Van Laar (Universiteit Gent) wil ervoor zorgen dat wij straks allemaal -zonder schuldgevoel- van onze lekkere Belgische chocolade kunnen blijven smullen. Hij zoekt daarvoor naar zogenaamde zeldzame suikers: natuurlijke suikers die gezonder zijn dat de veelgebruikte 'tafelsuiker'.

Ever heard of Dravet's syndrome? This rare condition occurs in 1 in 20,000 people and causes problems with walking, among other things. Lore Wyers (UAntwerpen - KU Leuven) is going the extra mile to help children with Dravet syndrome to walk better again. The first 'step': analysing their step pattern.

According to the World Health Organization, antibiotic-resistant superbacteria will kill 10 million people worldwide every year by 2050. Bjorn Criel and his colleagues at Ghent University want to put a stop to this. They're counting on special allies: bacteriophages.

Do Google Home, Alexa and Siri have a social impact on our behaviour? Can they encourage us to drive more safely or convince us to exercise more often? That is what Pieter Vanpaemel (Vlerick Business School - KU Leuven) researches in his doctorate.

"If we think in circles, we start producing and consuming differently. In his research, Nicholas Vijverman (Vlerick Business School - University of Ghent) studies how we can engage everyone - from government, producer to consumer - in the circular economy. ♻️

Did you know that your supermarket has a 'psychic' on the payroll? Well not exactly, but they have a forecaster, someone in charge of predicting future sales so your supermarket doesn't run out of stock. A very challenging task. Luckily the forecaster can count on software for help. Shari De Baets looks at how forecasters and computers can work together to make sure their predictions are accurate and customers are served and satisfied.

People are selling overnight stays in their spare rooms and rides in their car. Then why can't they sell their unused (solar) energy? In her research Ariana Ramos proposes new rules that would enable you as a consumer to trade energy with other consumers.

As an entrepreneur it is quite a task to find investors. Through so-called pitching events they can present their company to a group of investors in the hope of convincing them to financially support their project. Zoë Imhof investigates how entrepreneurs are most likely to effectively attract investors and keep them on board.

Mizanur Rahman (Universiteit Gent) is trying to help pregnant women by developing a vaccine against the dangerous Toxoplasma Gondii parasite.

Recycling plastic is kind of like eating spaghetti. With this analogy Christian Taplan introduces us into the world of plastic recycling. Christian is working on a new and very promising type of recyclable plastic materials, called 'vitrimers'.