Project meeting 30.9.

Quick update from last Friday! We had important Skype meeting with our Spanish client in the afternoon and before that we got together with the group. At first we checked what we have already done and after that we moved to upcoming assignments, divided the work and prepared questions for Skype meeting.

After some technical difficulties the Skype was success. We got a lot of new information about the project which helps us to understand the assignment better. Almost all of our questions were answered and now it is easier to continue working among the project. After the Skype call we discussed our thoughts about the assignment and everyone was quite satisfied with current situation. We finally came up with a team name and since last Friday we have been the Sustainable Seven! Team introduction can be read below this post. Our contact from Spain also confirmed our travel dates so now we can book our flights or trains to Alicante, yay!

This is us: Sustainable Seven

¡Hola! - This is us:

We call ourselves the Sustainable Seven, since we are a group of seven multidisciplinary and international students studying "Smart Sustainable Cities". We are working on a project for the municipality of Alcoi in Spain. Our goal is to reduce the CO₂ emissions produced by traffic in order to make Alcoi a more healthy and sustainable place. We will have a look at various concepts that could change how people will use public transport or use locally emission free vehicles.

In the picture above you can see us, personal introductions can be find in the earlier blog posts, with two of our tutors. Javier (third from left), from the Universitat Politècnica de València, and Erlijn (third from right), from the Hogeschool Utrecht. Both of them will guide us if we have questions about our project. The photo was taken this Thursday at a co-working space of our University here in Utrecht. We created multiple concepts concerning waste management for the Rijkswaterstaat, the dutch Ministry for Infrastructure and environment.

We are all very excited about our task in Alcoi and expect to learn a lot about how to structure the mobility in a city in an innovative and sustainable way. Furthermore, we will extend our knowledge in many different ways including methodology and organizing a long term group work. Also we are happy to get the opportunity to explore the area of Alcoi, Alicante and València.

"Teamwork. Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much."

                                                                                - Helen Keller

This is me: Koen Schuilenburg

Hello everybody who is reading this amazing blog!

I’m Koen Schuilenburg. My current place of stay is Zeist (Utrecht) in the Netherlands. Born and raised in the Netherlands as well. I’m 21 years young and a creative student in my own opinion. I’m studying build technical business management. That’s a mouth full of words that maybe mean nothing in this sentence. My study is about developing projects and managing real estate. So your question is probably: What are you doing with this essence course. My answer is very simple. I want to learn more about the sustainability in cities. And eventually develop a project were I can use all my learning experiences of this course . Maybe that’s a little farfetched, but we will see.

I have to be honest. My first choice was for another project in Turku (Finland). There were a lot of students that wanted to go there as well. So the teachers had to vote. Eventually it was a really good choice of the teachers to choose others for that project. Because I really like the assignment that we got from the Alcoi team. Reducing Co2 emisions. We have a very nice team of enthusiastic students and the project is going to be great! 

The picture above was taking in Sicily (Italy). I really like travelling and meeting new people. In my current study I have to talk to all stakeholders to develop a project correctly. So I think I’m a social person that can listen careful and talk to every human being (don’t judge a book by its cover).  I’m really looking forward to the alcoi project and we will see you guys soon.

What to do in Spain?

We are really dedicated to work hard among the project in Spain but at the same time we would like to discover Alcoi area and Spanish culture. We think that it is really important to understand different cultures especially when we are not working in our home countries. So here is a list about the things we would like to do in Spain:

• Hiking (and skiing)
• Alicante
• Valencia
• The Moorish caves of Bocairent
• Castle of Xativa
• Try some local cuisine
• If possible, hike Caminito del Rey

♥

This is me: Isabel Escarabajal

Hi!

I am Isabel from Alcoi in Spain, I study Smart Sustainable Cities in Netherlands, but in my country I finished this year my Master's Degree in Materials Engineering,  Science Processing, and Characterisation, before I studied Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design Engineering and Product Development, during my degrees I have been developing skill around sustainable materials and sustainable products, so, learn and develop smart and sustainable cities in a multidisciplinary and multicultural team is a great opportunity to continue develop my career on sustainability.

About my contributions to the team I am a creative and imaginative person, so I love develop, research and explore opportunities for solve difficult problems and create new ideas, for those reasons. For another hand I have been living in Alcoi during 6 years, so, it is easy for me keep in touch and develop new contacts in the zone of Alcoi for develop the project of dynamic way. For those reasons I have the roles of plant and resource investigation.

During my free time I like to play football and running, both in city as in mountain, and of course know new places, and revisit the most amazing places. I think for you know me better, I show you the first verses of Ithaca of Konstantinos Kavafis my favorite poem, in my opinion it is a perfect way to live.

“When you depart for Ithaca,

wish for the road to be long,

full of adventure, full of knowledge”

This is me: Steffen Müller

Hello!

My name is Steffen and I study electrical engineering and information technology at the University of Applied Sciences Hamburg. As I wanted to spend a semester abroad and am really interested in renewable energies I applied for the smart and sustainable project taking place in Utrecht. I am really glad to have the opportunity to also visit Alcoi in January and work on the goal to reduce the CO2 emission. In the role of an expert I will do my best to support the team with technical background but also to learn more about renewable energies and city planning.

In my free time I used to row and swim, but due to the studies I only have time to go to the gym nowadays. Furthermore, I like to hang out with friends and try to explore as much as possible of the Netherlands this semester. The picture was taken in Gouda, almost as beautiful as Utrecht. :)
I can't wait to visit Spain and work on the project!

This is me: Stefan Räther

Hej, this is me climbing a few months ago although I am very afraid of heights! Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! I am Stefan, 26 years old and was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany.

Before starting this minor program about Smart Sustainable Cities in Utrecht, I finished my 5^th semester studying Industrial Business Administration with a minor in marketing at the University of Applied Sciences. My interest in sustainable topics started two years ago when I participated at the first youth climate conference in Schleswig-Holstein. Creating awareness and showing up measures of contribution to a more sustainable way of life the conference opened my eyes. I can make a difference! Since then I have been acting as a climate ambassador in my parish passing on my knowledge and experiences to younger generations and I even wrote a climate song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6RUDmzNOug).

In our multicultural and interdisciplinary group, I will take the role of the coordinator helping the team to organize and focus in the right manner. Even though I do not speak Valenciano, I hope that my ability to speak Spanish will be a useful contribution to the team.

Last but not least some facts about me: I love playing guitar and singing – music is my key to my everlasting happiness! I love exercising – climbing, squash and gymnastics give me the balance I need. Finally, I enjoy being a youth group leader in my perish in Hamburg – accompanying children and adolescents while growing up is so cool!