Videos

What if we could make plastic out of... Wood waste? This is already possible today, but unfortunately the technology to make such bioplastics is not yet fully developed. Tim Croes wants to help change that.

Despite recent advances in breast cancer treatment, too many women still die once this cancer has spread throughout their body. That's why Matteo Rossi is looking to find weaknesses of breast cancer cells, in order to defeat them.

Extremely premature babies often need to be resuscitated at birth. While this might help them to survive, they will sometimes live on with severe disabilities. Is resuscitation therefore always in the best interest of the babies? Alice Cavolo wants to help parents and physicians in making this extremely difficult decision.

A cochlear implant makes it possible for the deaf and hearing impaired to hear well. This is a wonderful invention, but it requires some work to properly set up and keep the device up to date. But Ben Somers has a solution for that!

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'.

Why do some people get sick more easily than others? This is often due to differences in our immune systems. Nicolas De Neuter (UAntwerp) hopes to understand these differences, in order to develop better and more efficient personalized immune therapies.

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.

"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. ♻️

Ever heard of tidal marshes? These are areas that are regularly inundated by the tide. They protect us from floods and ensure better water quality in our rivers. How does that work? Niels van Putte (UAntwerpen) tells you all about in this pitch! (Warning: this video is 'flooded' with faint puns).

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.