Afbeelding
Now and then, there are projects where everything falls into place. A great example is a project for Ferr-Tech, a company specializing in water purification. Students Bouke and Amir (International Business) and Riemer (Chemische Technologie Dutch only) worked together on this project with Judith le Fèvre (Ferr-Tech), Maarten Trilsbeek and Dana Colpa from the Centre of Expertise Water Technology (CEW). A diverse group of people with a range of different expertise collaborating on one central question. They are eager to share their experiences and highlight the importance of collaboration between educational institutions or universities and the business sector.
Fresh insights
Ferr-Tech approached CEW with the question: “What is the market potential of removing the heavy metal vanadium from wastewater in Europe?” Understanding this requires some chemical knowledge and knowing what the metal does, why vanadium can be problematic in wastewater in certain industries, and how Ferr-Tech is already making wastewater treatment greener with Fersol, a powerful green oxidizing chemical. However, the main focus of this project was market research. Through CEW, students formed a working group to tackle this question. Judith explains: “Before investing in our marketing efforts, we wanted to understand the market potential and why companies with vanadium in their wastewater would choose to buy Fersol. CEW is a leader in water technology and with their expertise, combined with the talents and fresh perspectives of the students, there was no better place for us to explore this issue. Working with these students was fantastic. They gave us new insights and brought in fresh knowledge and creativity. The research revealed how regulations concerning vanadium are structured, which industries are affected, and based on these insights, we were able to define our strategy for entering this new market. But perhaps even more importantly, this collaboration allows us to engage with potential future employees.”
This proved to be the case. Riemer is currently writing his thesis at Ferr-Tech, and Judith and Amir have already discussed the possibility of researching the market in the Middle East.
Export Carousel
This project originated from the Export Carousel* of the International Business program. The group consisted of students with different backgrounds. Bouke explains: “Amir was an intern from the program, and I worked on this project through the Export Carousel. This initiative focuses specifically on collaboration between students and the business sector, in our case, CEW and Ferr-Tech. We quickly found common ground and CEW played a big role in the project's success. Dana acted as our intermediary and knew exactly how to communicate between students and the client.” Dana adds that this can sometimes be a challenge: “In my role, I see both perspectives. The students must meet their academic requirements, while Ferr-Tech wants clear answers to their questions. Finding the balance can be tricky, even for me. My background is in chemistry, so I learned a lot from the International Business students in this process.”
Multidisciplinary collaboration
The students also experienced firsthand what it’s like to collaborate across different disciplines. Amir reflects: “I learned so much from the project, but above all, from Riemer. He’s incredibly smart and has a great sense of humor. Unexpectedly, through this project, we also became friends.” Riemer adds: “That’s the beauty of this experience. It takes patience to understand each other. To me, International Business always seemed vague because I’m used to working with hard facts and figures. But Amir knows how to navigate the business world, whereas I, as a chemist, don’t know how to market something. So, we learned a lot from each other.”
For Bouke, the project was also highly successful. “At first, it takes some effort to define the right scope. But once you do, and everyone is motivated, which was certainly the case for us. Then it’s an amazing project to work on, with very little dispute. With Ferr-Tech’s research question, we really felt like we were making an impact. Thanks to the Export Carousel, we had the opportunity to work on a serious project for a real client.”
The power of collaboration in water technology
According to the students and CEW, NHL Stenden is making the right move by offering projects related to water technology. Leeuwarden is the Capital of Water Technology, home of the WaterCampus, and both NHL Stenden and Van Hall Larenstein are based in the city. This creates an ideal opportunity for crossover projects between students, CEW and business partners.
The CEW often employs interns from various programs, such as Biology and Medical Laboratory Research, Chemical Engineering, and Communication. Now, it's the Leisure & Event Management students who are working on a project at the CEW and soon beta focussed programmes will start as well.
*) Bouke also collaborated in this project with students Mahdi Ghossein, Beatris Hristova, Dale Molife and Sumeet Rachwan.
