Project: INNOEVENT

“This collaboration was one where real and tangible results were evident. The collaboration between the health sector partner and design student had during 2010 and 2011 events produced a large number of ideas and potential projects..The very simple initiative of using USB sticks to provide information to expectant mothers had resulted the employment of five people and high annual savings for the Health Authority. This is a highly impressive outcome for a student project 'idea' and is evidence of a genuine 'meeting of minds' and a will to develop and implement ideas to production. It also provided students with entrepreneurial opportunities to further develop their own projects. Excellent collaboration."
Jury Member: Sandra Gunn, Curriculum Director of the City of Glasgow College, Great Britain

“A persistent collaboration addressing one of our most serious challenges in the future – health. The collaboration has a modern approach with great potential to develop even further. The progress of InnoEvent over years is described as well as the generation of new jobs and the potentially increasing financial return."
Jury Member: Ann-Britt Carlsson, Officer of Development, Västarvet, Västra Götalandsregionen, Sweden

Project: CAREBRO

“Negotica Development Project is a Dutch Company that deals with new technologies to improve everyday life of people. The scientific research for this special project Carebro was done by a team from the faculty of mathematics and natural sciences of the university of Groningen, the pilot run by De Noorderbrug, a healthcare organization, specialized in people who need care 24/7, in this case who were paralyzed from head to toe. Carebro is an open connectivity platform that allows to connect to any kind of equipment or standard. The technicians of Negotica got in touch with paralyzed people for the first time in their lives and experienced the collaboration as something extraordinary. The sharing of knowledge between patients, carers, technicians and scientists was a source of great inspiration and led to various new insights for all the parties. Carebro definitely induced another way of thinking and helped changing everyday life for the patients in an unexpected way. Open systems and connecting people has become the motto of the company, which has proven that working across boundaries in terms of organizations, people, and disciplines leads to results everybody involved can benefit from.”
Jury Member: Angelica Kaus, University of Groningen, Netherlands

“The Carebro Project put forth by Negotica Development Project/ Lediy Studio Agency and the University of Groningen as well as De Noorderbrug aims at developing a solution to control the living environment by human brain for people paralyzed from the neck down. The innovation process led to an open connectivity platform that allows connecting the human brain to any type of equipment or standard, exceeding the boundaries of an incremental innovation.

Remarkable positive aspects of this project are:

• Bringing together science with the needs of the physically challenged
• Focus on everyday applicability and simplicity => Might be making a huge impact in the future
• Open connectivity platform invites developers to participate; possible multiplication of Carebro Project outcome
• Selling point: Serious solution combined with entertainment
• Actively sought to work with physically challenged people, using their experience to improve the connectivity platform incorporating their interests and special needs => shows a high degree of mutual respect, tolerance and trust
• Strong shared creative vision, pursued perseveringly

Successfully communicated the project to influential TV stations, good PR skills.”
Jury Member: Christian Horneber, Researcher in Entrepreneurial Creativity, Oldenburg, Germany

Project: ALTER NATURE – MY BIOLOGICAL (R)EVOLUTION

„The mission of Z33 house for contemporary art is to make visitors look at everyday life in a new way. Through projects and exhibitions Z33 artists confront visitors with impressions and experiences that encourages them to look differently at everyday aspects of life. Z33 initiated the project “Alter Nature: My Biological Revolution”, where students from the Media, Arts and Design faculty in Limburg worked together with students and faculty members of BioSCENenter, The Leuven Center for Bio-Science, Bio-Engineering and Bio-Technology. This inter-disciplinary approach led to stunning results based on shared knowledge and close co-operation between the diverse teams. Most impressive: ‘My bacteria rings’, a work of jewelry designer Sofie Boons and Phd students in Bioengineering Lyn Venken and Hanne Tygat. This project has generated a number of new ideas by creating a totally different perspective of jewelry design and of scientific thinking. The collaboration of the Media, Arts and Design faculty and the BioSCENter Leuven will continue on other projects and Z33 as a unique laboratory and meeting place for experiment and innovation will be the forum, as well as the mediator to present these works. The concept is highly innovative, with boundary breaking at different levels: between different organisations, between disciplines (faculties), science, art and design and the broader public. Developments in scientific research are presented to the public in a creative way, students share knowledge and learn to approach things from different perspectives, and the region Limburg can demonstrate its innovative potential to other regions of the world.“
Jury Member: Angelica Kaus, University of Groningen, Netherlands

“This is an interesting collaboration, exchange of ideas and dialogue between young designers, scientists and technologists. The key to this project was the genuine desire to understand and learn from each other in order to move to the next stage. The knowledge transfer - whether it was practical or simply the development of new ways of thinking was to be applied to further projects. The biological rings was one example. I liked this project as it developed the concept and re-inforced the necessity of collaboration in the development of any new product or initiative in the modem world. Introducing and developing this concept to young, scientists, designers and technologist was highly valuable and productive. It will undoubtedly have a positive impact on their future careers.”
Jury Member: Sandra Gunn, Sandra Gunn, Curriculum Director of the City of Glasgow College, Great Britain

Project: The Discoverer

“The Principal Blue-TNO Groningen collaboration project is a remarkable example for scientific-driven innovation. In producing a Wii-based computer-game for children with and without visual impairments, the project successfully contributed to the inclusion of society.

Remarkable positive aspects of this project are:

• Bringing together children with and without visual impairments, playing on an equal basis
• Drawing on the curiousness of children, thus active interaction is being fostered
• Uses the widely distributed Wii-technology, thus low access-barriers
• Possibility to monitor improvements via Wii-balance board, which might create interesting data for further (clinical) analysis
• Selling point: Serious game combined with entertainment
• Closely developing/ co-creating the game with end-users, incorporating the special interests and needs of the target group minimizing the risk of innovation failure
• Interesting mix of collaboration partners: Science, gaming industry, and health care
• Publicised conference paper
• International media coverage”

Jury Member: Christian Horneber, Researcher in Entrepreneurial Creativity, Oldenburg, Germany

“This 'triple helix' collaborative between science, technology and design was a vey interesting one and addressed a challenging subject. The development of a 'virtual game' for visually impaired young people is a highly laudable one. This kind of game forms a key part of youth culture and one which many visually impaired people are excluded from. This project sought to address this and did so without the commercial focus which drives most of this industry.The game appears still to be at development stage and has not reached a commercial or production stage but an excellent initiative none the less - creative as well as practical and ambitious in meeting a need for a group of end users.”
Jury Member: Sandra Gunn, Sandra Gunn, Curriculum Director of the City of Glasgow College, Great Britain