News & Agenda

Dees Postma (UT) and Sander Begeer (VU) from the Smart Societies coalition will investigate how people with autism move and interact physically with others. The aim is to discover so-called motoric markers of autism, which could enrich diagnostics for autism. And that is needed because autism is now more often diagnosed in men than in women. However, the question is whether there are also more men than women with autism. In fact, research has shown that autism can present itself differently in women and men and that women are better able to mask their social problems. This often stands in the way of an accurate diagnosis and hence effective treatment.

The projects that started as a result of the Calls 2022 and 2023 will get a place on the VU-UT website. First of all, the 2022 Calls. The projects are provided with a short text and explanation. What are they about, why are they important, what are they expected to deliver and which researchers are involved? It provides a broad and beautiful sampling of topics from the various coalitions. Diversity bias in training materials, drug-related crime in the Metaverse, climate-resilient cities with blue-green roofs, reduction of Scope 3 Emissions, exoskeletons to aid walking, rowing in Virtual Reality, a Check Tool for academic skills and a minor in Sustainable Energy. The aim is to text all projects before the end of the year.

From this academic year on, Mechanical Engineering (ME) and Creative Technology (CreaTe) students at the VU can use the Amsterdam DemonstratorLab.

Innovation is in the DNA of the Twente Solar Team, which have been pushing the boundaries of solar racing in the World Solar Challenge since 2005. As technical innovations have become increasingly complex and demanding, (former) team members have set up a separate innovation team. The team, consisting of seven students, each with their own area of expertise, will carry out and test the Solar Team's most challenging engineering projects. Within the team, two students who have completed their bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering (ME) at the VU have also started: Daan de Jong and Daan Nibbering. ‘I'm sure all kinds of things I learned at the VU are going to help me a lot here.’