Active8-Planet

What are the most important factors when you first enter a space? Can you pinpoint these factors?

The challenges we face today are all too often approached from a one-sided perspective; an approach focused narrowly on people, economic interests, or technology and innovation. Solutions are rarely conceived from the perspective of the planet. It’s high time for a radical new approach!

Soesja van Wijgerden is the project facilitator of Active8-Planet. “We notice that the theme ‘planet’ really appeals to our Anthropology and Organisation Science students, but that translating their research into concrete, sustainable solutions is still a step too far for them,” she says. “After all, they’re used to analysing people’s experiences. In this project we’re collaborating with engineers from Huygen, who view the problem from a different perspective. It’s important to work on solutions with multidisciplinary teams; it brings surprises and helps you broaden your horizons.”

Active8-Planet brings a range of different parties to the table: students, a healthcare institution, an engineering firm. Together, they seek solutions to an issue from professional practice. The challenge ahead is clear. Can they jointly arrive at an innovative vision and solution?

Soesja: “Active8-Planet challenges students to take action and come up with solutions to the major issues of our times,” Van Wijgerden says. “Doing research is wonderful, but you learn a lot more by putting it into practice. When we stop focusing on ourselves and dare to consider approaches that prioritise the planet, you come up with different solutions. We want to give the participating students a sense of responsibility for the planet. They’re ambassadors who look beyond geographical and sectoral boundaries and place the planet on an equal footing with people and profit.”

The projects revolve around four planet-oriented development principles (the Active8-Planet matrix):

interdisciplinary and intergenerational co-creation
people-oriented design
cooperation between university and business sector
environmental ambition and action.

The teams consist of 7+1 participants: seven students and representatives of the business and healthcare sectors, plus a ‘servant leader’ who ensures that the team members understand one another.

Questions from the professional practice of healthcare institutions
Healthcare institutions should, ideally, offer the healthiest environment possible. What does such an environment look like? How does it feel, and for what target group? These are some of the questions the team are addressing at Adagio.

Adagio is a small-scale psychology practice in Amsterdam catering to both Dutch and non-Dutch speakers. To answer the above questions, the project zooms in on the experiences and perspectives of patients and healthcare professionals at Adagio.

The provision of mental healthcare is complex and makes various demands on the physical spaces of a psychology practice. The management of Adagio has commissioned this research to take account of people as well as planet when choosing its new location and interior design.

Huygen is an engineering and consultancy firm specialising in indoor climate; among its clients are multiple healthcare providers. The company has a strong focus on the European Green Deal and can be consulted throughout the course of the project. Collaborating with Adagio and Huygen gives us the opportunity to study how people from different backgrounds experience health, space and the environment, and how this shapes the relationship between them.

Active8-Planet brings together students, technology companies and questions from professional practice
Active8-Planet is a three-year project running in the Netherlands, Belgium, Slovenia and Sweden. The project brings together university students and technology companies around a question from professional practice. A key aim is to link the technical mindset of innovation that predominates in the business world with an approach that prioritises people as well as the planet. The project follows a fixed step-by-step protocol that emphasises the importance of the process rather than achieving a predefined objective. The focus is on coming together, inventorying the key issues and devising potential solutions. The students’ observations and findings are incorporated into the conceptual development of the solution, with special attention being paid to the benefits of this solution for both people and planet. A new group of students starts the project each year, and a different issue can be put forth from professional practice.

Asia Kiselev, Master in Social & Cultural Anthropology
“The experience of migrating from a radically different culture has changed me enormously and fuelled my motivation to contribute to a society that is inclusive, healthy and welcoming. As someone who emigrated from the former USSR to Israel and from Israel to the Netherlands, I can relate to both the patients and the doctors at Adagio.”

Marianne Bablon, Master in Culture, Organisation & Management
“I'm (maybe a little too) obsessed with our climate. I consider myself a genuine advocate of reducing our carbon footprint and taking care of our planet to create a better world for future generations.”

Active8-Planet will run from January 2021 to December 2023. The project is funded by Erasmus+ and Knowledge Alliances.

This project is linked to the following SDG's:

3: Good health and wellbeing
4: Quality education
11: Sustainable cities and communities
13: Climate action
17: Partnerships for the goals.

Would you like to get in touch with the initiators?

s.van.wijgerden@vu.nl

Active8-Planet

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