ON theJourney

be the change

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So step out of your comfort zone and take the change to be creative and pick the outlandish ideas with guts and vision!

Willemijn Brouwer

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Bee Berlin! You'll miss me when I'm gone!

>>Do not praise a man for his good looks, nor loathe a man because of his appearance. The bee is small among flying creatures, but the product is the best of sweet things.<< (Sirach 11: 2 – 3)

Look at the picture attentively! You can recognise two strange boxes on the roof of Berlin Cathedral. Guess what, two colonies of bees are living there! This was initiated by ’Berlin is buzzing!’, a campaign working for a functioning urban nature and conversation of ecosystems by protecting wild and honeybees and training young beekeepers. According to the local environmentalists, Berlin should be an attractive place to live in, not only for residents and tourists – but also for animals, even the smallest.

Based on the estimations by the FAO, about one third of all plants or plant products eaten by humans are directly or indirectly dependent on bee pollination. In numbers, the value of bee pollination in Western Europe is estimated to be 30-50 times the value of honey and wax harvests in this region. In a country like Denmark, about 3,000 tonnes of honey is harvested every year. It has a value of €7.6 million. However, the value of oilseeds, fruits and berries created by the pollination work of bees is estimated to be between €200 and 400 million.

Thus, these little creatures are undoubtedlyvital part of the immensely complex ecosystem, what’s more, they have a fundamental contribution to our food production. They sweeten our lives! So, take care of the smallest!

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My Introduction To Sustainable Innovation In The Netherlands

Wageningen. 7th of July, 19:26. Roughly three dozen slightly worn but thoughtful young people converse enthusiastically at the lobby of the hotel. Certainly they have come a long way. And they are facing an even longer journey. A journey not only in space, but in their mind as well. They love challenges. Actually that is what attracted them here. Their badges testify they are from different nations around the world. Dutch, German, English, French, Spanish, Hungarian, American, Canadian, Chinese, Russian, Nepalese, Iranian, Tunisian lips tell of various lands, families, universities, interests. Among them are engineers, economists, lawyers, social and environmental scientists, and artistic souls in equal measure. They share in common an awareness of environmental issues, the problem of global climate change, and the emerging ecological, economic and social concerns related to these. They have come for answers. Therefore, they should search for appropriate questions.

How have they – namely we – found each other? Well, we all joined to Climate-KIC theJourney1 summer programme, and thus got the great opportunity to meet and work together, discuss ideas with excellent experts and entrepreneurs of Dutch and German institutions, and foremost, work with other like-minded participants. The Climate-KIC stimulates us for creative collaboration and helps us to develop high quality ideas that can be put into practice in a multicultural environment.

The first exciting week of theJourney1 began at Wageningen UniversityCampus with an introduction to Climate-KIC and some lectures on climate change. During the day we took a walking tour in a fascinating nature reserve on the boundary of Wageningen, travelling there ’Dutch-style’ – so by bike, of course! In the evening we all took part in an exciting team building culinary adventure, learning how to cook traditional Dutch and Oriental specialties at a ’make-it-yourself’ restaurant.

Whilst learning how to deal with the water management in the Netherlands we visited several sea and river sites. One visit was to the unique ‘Sand Motor’, which is an impressive demonstration of a anthropogenic transformation of the environment through simulating natural geological processes. What’s more, we learnt the Dutch dam building capabilities know no bounds: the engineering masterpiece of the Maeslant storm surge barrier is one of the largest moving structures on Earth and was installed to protect Rotterdam and surroundings from flooding.

On the subject of biofuels, naturally we turned to experts at the Dutch airlines. At Schipol airport in Amsterdam we got to know more about the real nature of innovation, got ’out of the building’ and conducted some market reseach with some passangers, and tried, the first time, some creative teamwork.

Later that week we visited the YES!Delft start-up incubator and obtained a deeper knowledge on the subject of energy integration. We also met young entrepreneurs working there, who had already made the most of the interdisciplinary, very inspiring environment, and developed their own ideas related to sustainability into real life projects. Before the afternoon team work session began we also squeezed in a visit to a busy workshop full of engineering students developing electric racing cars.

The weather treated us graciously all week, oppositely the Dutch notoriously changeable, rainy summers. During the week, it is certain that the roughly three dozen young strangers soon became aligned thanks to the enthusiastic leaders and trainers, and of course, the joyful Dutch Alumni Party on Friday evening. (:

We are so grateful to Climate-KIC for providing professional conditions for creative collaboration. Let’s see how we will now get started on the innovative work of Sustainability! (:

Wageningen, July 2013.

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First week of the Journey1 in Wageningen

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My introduction to sustainable innovation in the Netherlands

A Tumblr blog for all Climate-KIC students and Alumni.

Wageningen. 7th of July, 19:26. Roughly three dozen slightly worn but thoughtful young people converse enthusiastically at the lobby of the hotel. Certainly they have come a long way. And they are facing an even longer journey. A journey not only in space, but in their mind as well. They love challenges. Actually that is what attracted them here. Their badges testify they are from different nations around the world. Dutch, German, English, French, Spanish, Hungarian, American, Canadian, Chinese, Russian, Nepalese, Iranian, Tunisian lips tell of various lands, families, universities, interests. Among them are engineers, economists, lawyers, social and environmental scientists, and artistic souls in equal measure. They share in common an awareness of environmental issues, the problem of global climate change, and the emerging ecological, economic and social concerns related to these. They have come for answers. Therefore, they should search for appropriate questions.

How have they – namely we – found each other? Well, we all joined to Climate-KIC theJourney1 summer programme, and thus got the great opportunity to meet and work together, discuss ideas with excellent experts and entrepreneurs of Dutch and German institutions, and foremost, work with other like-minded participants. The Climate-KIC stimulates us for creative collaboration and helps us to develop high quality ideas that can be put into practice in a multicultural environment.

The first exciting week of theJourney1 began at Wageningen University Campus with an introduction to Climate-KIC and some lectures on climate change. During the day we took a walking tour in a fascinating nature reserve on the boundary of Wageningen, travelling there ’Dutch-style’ – so by bike, of course! In the evening we all took part in an exciting team building culinary adventure, learning how to cook traditional Dutch and Oriental specialties at a ’make-it-yourself’ restaurant.

Whilst learning how to deal with the water management in the Netherlands we visited several sea and river sites. One visit was to the unique 'Sand Motor', which is an impressive demonstration of a anthropogenic transformation of the environment through simulating natural geological processes. What’s more, we learnt the Dutch dam building capabilities know no bounds: the engineering masterpiece of the Maeslant storm surge barrier is one of the largest moving structures on Earth and was installed to protect Rotterdam and surroundings from flooding.

On the subject of biofuels, naturally we turned to experts at the Dutch airlines. At Schipol airport in Amsterdam we got to know more about the real nature of innovation, got ’out of the building’ and conducted some market reseach with some passangers, and tried, the first time, some creative teamwork.

Later that week we visited the YES!Delft start-up incubator and obtained a deeper knowledge on the subject of energy integration. We also met young entrepreneurs working there, who had already made the most of the interdisciplinary, very inspiring environment, and developed their own ideas related to sustainability into real life projects. Before the afternoon team work session began we also squeezed in a visit to a busy workshop full of engineering students developing electric racing cars.

The weather treated us graciously all week, oppositely the Dutch notoriously changeable, rainy summers. During the week, it is certain that the roughly three dozen young strangers soon became aligned thanks to the enthusiastic leaders and trainers, and of course, the joyful Dutch Alumni Party on Friday evening. (:

We are so grateful to Climate-KIC for providing professional conditions for creative collaboration. Let's see how we will now get started on the innovative work of Sustainability! (:

Wageningen, July 2013.