Videos pre-finalist 2023

The pre-finalists for the Innovation Award, the Amsterdam competition for innovative ideas that contribute to a better world.

Visit the showcase pages to see each pre-finalists showcase their idea through a personal video.

Universities
HvA UvA VU Amsterdam UMC ACTA

Ana Cassanti (VU): VU-UTtual Reality

Ana Cassanti (VU): VU-UTtual Reality for Responsible and Smart Education: the use of Virtual Reality to democratise environmental sciences teaching The VU-Utual Reality for Responsible and Smart Education aims to use virtual reality to democratize environmental sciences teaching. By making use of virtual reality games, students will get a better understanding of environmental scenarios and […]

Daphne Gnago and Riccardo Bonazza (HvA): MatSwap

Daphne Gnago and Riccardo Bonazza (HvA): MatSwap – use your mattress to the fullest Many students might experience sleeping difficulties as they don’t have the means to afford quality bedding. In the meanwhile, mattress waste is creating consequent environmental issues as most mattresses are disposed of or incinerated before reaching their intended lifespan. MatSwap is […]

Jonathan de Long (UvA): Mitigating drought effects on grassland productivity

Jonathan de Long (UvA): Mitigating drought effects on grassland productivity by understanding grass-fungi-drought soil legacy interactions Drought events are becoming more frequent and more intense. This results in decreases in grassland productivity and financial losses for farmers. Upon rewetting after drought, so-called drought soil legacy effects can lead to carbon and nitrogen losses from the soil. […]

Juan Cruz Tubio (VU): MycoFarming

Juan Cruz Tubio (VU): MycoFarming, domesticating fungi At the root of the Dutch farmer’s crisis, lie far too high emissions of nitrogen in the soil. Nitrogen is a critical element for a plant to grow, but in excess, it’s damaging to the underground and leads to biodiversity losses. By way of developing nitrogen sensors and […]

Katinka Quintelier (VU): CALS-app

Katinka Quintelier (VU): CALS app: an app to Create, Act, Learn & Scale for sustainability The CALS-app, turns individual actions for sustainability into collective actions that have real impact. By using the power of social media, individuals, but also governments and businesses can be motivated to collaborate all on an equal level. An example is […]

Lukas Helmbrecht (AMOLF and UvA): LumetalliX

Lukas Helmbrecht (AMOLF and UvA): LumetalliX – spray and make Lead light up! Lead is a highly toxic substance that causes permanent brain damage, affecting one in three children globally as stated by UNICEF. The toxic lead is all around us. For example in paint, household items and even children’s toys. Unfortunately, detecting lead is […]

Olivier Lugier (UvA): Nano Hybrids

Olivier Lugier (UvA): Green synthesis of hybrid core-shell nanoparticles (Nano Hybrids) Nanomaterials are extremely small materials with unique properties due to their size. They are said to revolutionize many technological fields with high societal impact, like sustainable energy, catalysis and biomedicine. The problem is that their synthesis methods are often complex and polluting, which limits […]

Ramon de Iongh and Romaike Slikker (HvA): WasteBase

Ramon de Iongh and Romaike Slikker (HvA): WasteBase – A new purpose for residual streams The production of the products around us generates waste in the form of residual materials. WasteBase aims to increase the findability of these valuable materials. Manufacturers can offer their residual streams on the platform, allowing designers, artists and other creatives to […]