COLLABORATION WITH TALENT.

For Innovation Hub Tubbergen, collaboration with talented people is essential to innovate. That is why they are continuously joining forces with students from the University of Twente, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, and Windesheim. The same goes for Pim Langeveld, who is completing his Industrial Design Engineering studies at the University of Twente at Bouwmetaal, one of the companies from Tubbergen Innovation Hub. Pim and Hub Manager Anne-Fleur Theussing talk about their collaboration.

More focus on innovation

“The Tubbergen Innovation Hub was founded by four construction companies: Bouwmetaal, Loogisch, Kamphuis and Loohuis,” says Anne-Fleur. “The aim is to put more focus on innovation within the companies. We do this by showing young talents that there are great opportunities in the region, so we bind, captivate and retain them. That is why we offer internships and graduation assignments at HBO and WO levels.”

Off-the-shelf assignment

Pim started working on one of those graduation assignments. The assignment came from Bouwmetaal. They noticed that materials sometimes arrived damaged while they were also wrapped in non-sustainable foil. “This assignment had been on the shelf for a while,” says Anne-Fleur. “So when I started as a hub manager, we immediately picked up this assignment and placed it via Novel-T SMART.”

Valuable research

The search for better and more sustainable packaging material thus commenced. And that appealed to Pim. “At first, I had trouble finding an assignment that suited me. But when I came across this one, it immediately seemed interesting to me. It was clear the assignment was really necessary for the company, and that my research would not be left on the shelf.”

Joint development sessions from the hub

The collaboration is going well. Pim: “I like that other students from other disciplines also graduate within the hub. We regularly have joint sessions aimed at our development. This way, I also get to see what happens at other companies and other research, which gives me new insights that are valuable for my own research.” Anne-Fleur agrees: “The great thing about the innovation hub is that we pay a lot of attention to the students.”

Involved

And the hub also gets attention back from the students. “It’s great to see how Pim is getting on with the assignment,” Anne-Fleur remarks. “He involves the Bouwmetaal people closely in his research. Last week, for example, he organized a brainstorming session. Bouwmetaal immediately took action in response to this. This clearly shows that collaboration with talented people is essential for innovation and a sustainable existence.”

Also looking to deploy talented people within your company? Submit your assignment to Novel-T SMART !