New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Initiative category

Identify the award category for which this initiative is being submitted
Shaping a circular industrial ecosystem and supporting life-cycle thinking

Email user
jan.hans@nhlstenden.com

Basic information
Initiative title
“Plastic Soup? Close the Loop!”

Full initiative Title
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Please provide a short, catchy description of your initiative to be used in communication towards the public.
In the course 'Plastic Soup? Close the Loop', students from various study programs
are in charge to halt plastic pollution together. In an active and hybrid learning environment,
transdisciplinary teams design in iterations sustainable solutions for the plastics sector, which they
test, evaluate and communicate with the stakeholders. The content is important, but its
application in the context is key. This leads to problem-solving skilled students with
an inclusive way of thinking.

What was the geographical scope of your intiative?
Regional

Where was your intiative implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Netherlands

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
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Does your initiative address mainly urban or rural issues?
It addresses urban-rural linkages

Does your initiative refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)

Has your initiative benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your initiative won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Does your initiative has a minimum level of maturity? The minimum level of maturity is exemplified by stakeholder/ initiative promoter commitment to implement the initiative in practice and a clear methodology /approach.
Yes

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As a representative of an organisation
Please provide the contact details for the project promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the project)
- Name of the organisation(s): NHL Stenden University
  Type of organisation: University or another research institution
  First name of representative: Jan
  Last name of representative: Hans
  Gender: Male
  Nationality: Germany
  Function: Lecturer
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Van Schaikweg 94
  Town: Emmen
  Postal code: 7811 KL
  Country: Netherlands
  Direct Tel: +31612032979
  E-mail: jan.hans@nhlstenden.com
  Website: https://www.nhlstenden.com/en/locations/netherlands-emmen
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhr-j-hans?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3BixBqvKQeScSRGr276A07ag%3D%3D
- URL: https://www.nhlstenden.com/en/locations/netherlands-emmen
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #nhlstendenEmmen #nhlstenden
- URL: https://www.nhlstenden.com/en/research/professorships/sustainable-plastics
In case my initiative is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my initiative in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
Social Media

Description of the initiative
Please provide a summary of your initiative
Every minute, an average of one rubbish truck of plastic is dumped into the ocean. So we face a huge challenge worldwide to stop plastic pollution. Such 'wicked problems' call for innovative solutions that can only come from cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Despite the fact that professional practice demands it, engineering students do not work together with fellow students from other study programmes on the same learning objectives during their studies, or do so on a very limited scale. In addition, they only come into contact with organisations outside the walls of a university of applied sciences at a late stage. All this leads to a distorted picture of the future working environment. And that while complex social problems, such as the plastic soup, actually require a transdisciplinary approach to achieve innovation.
NHL Stenden is a multi-campus university of applied sciences with locations at home and abroad. Students experience the distance and travel time between locations in the northern Netherlands as a barrier. In the new course 'Plastic Soup: Close the Loop', we create an activating hybrid studio in which a multidisciplinary student population is challenged to jointly solve plastic waste-related problems within the Northern Netherlands business community. In doing so, they will apply the designthinking cycle. This innovation will lead to engaged students who are able to collaborate beyond the boundaries of their own discipline and actively learn by working on issues with companies in the professional context. The hybrid (offline-online) learning environment will also minimise travel time between different locations.

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with 5 key words.
cradle-to-cradle

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
sustainability

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
transdisciplinaitity

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
designthinking

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
education

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of sustainability and how these have been/will be met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Please see attached project description for full information.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Please see attached project description for full information.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Please see attached project description for full information.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the initiative and civil society have been/will be involved in the initiative and what has been/will be the impact of this involvement on the initiative
Please see attached project description for full information.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the initiative.
Please see attached project description for full information.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your initiative. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
Please see attached project description for full information.

Please highlight the innovative character of the initiative, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the initiative
Please see attached project description for full information.

Please describe which elements of your initiative could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
Please see attached project description for full information.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your initiative.
Please see attached project description for full information.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the initiative addresses by providing local solutions
Please see attached project description for full information.

Please detail the scope of progress in the implementation of the initiative. This can include already demonstrated results/outputs related to the chosen Prizes category, and the already achieved benefits from the initiative for direct and indirect beneficiaries. This can also include a development plan of the initiative, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application, and including envisaged results and benefits from the initiative
Please see attached project description for full information.

Please provide documents that demonstrate the maturity level of the initiative and commitment to implement the initiative in practice (e.g.: evaluation report, final or mid-term initiative report, certification, publications, building permit, grant agreement, letter of support, partnership agreement, etc.)
PDF
PDF
If relevant, please describe how your initiative contributes to developing new competences, especially in the context of the European competence framework on sustainability.
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Please attach at least 6 high resolution images or visual representations of your initiative to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below.
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By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed initiative has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the initiative and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their initiatives, initiative, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted initiative, initiative is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes