100 million investment in research into global issues

 Global issues around health, food, energy and sustainability – Wageningen University & Research, Eindhoven University of Technology, Utrecht University and University Medical Center Utrecht are intensifying cooperation and forming a new knowledge alliance. Over the next eight years, they plan to invest €100 million in joint research and education projects to solve global issues. The institutions are combining their complementary expertise to find solutions to issues involving health, food, energy and sustainability. The official launch of the new knowledge alliance will take place today, with Minister of Education Ingrid van Engelshoven in attendance.

Arthur Mol, Rector Magnificus Wageningen University and Vice-President of the Executive Board of Wageningen University & Research:

“Wageningen is a global player when it comes to knowledge in healthy food and the living environment. There is still so much to be gained from research involving cooperation between our scientists and colleagues from other disciplines and universities. That is what we are doing in this knowledge alliance. We are bringing together young researchers from four leading institutions and making it easier for students to take courses outside their university. This is how you achieve groundbreaking research results and more educational flexibility.”

Preventive Health 

The motto of the cooperation is ‘Challenging future generations’. The challenges facing future generations are substantial, but so are the opportunities to meet them: these four institutions complement each other perfectly. The focus of the cooperation will be on the societal challenges involving health, energy, food and sustainability. One of the themes of the cooperation is Preventive Health. By means of artificial intelligence and basic research (e.g. with organoids), better early detection methods will be developed and it will become possible to prescribe medication that is adapted to each individual patient. This, combined with a healthier lifestyle, will allow people to live longer, healthier lives and reduce the burden on the health care system. Together, TU/e, WUR, UU and UMC Utrecht have the required data, technology, knowledge and facilities.

Circular Society

A second theme of the cooperation is Circular Society. The transition to a sustainable society is one of the European Commission’s top priorities. Its aim is to achieve a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030. The partners have been cooperating in the field of solar fuels and the modelling of climate change for some time now. Within this new initiative, new methods will be developed to reduce the impact on the environment and limit the harmful effects of climate change and pollution on health.

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Source: WUR.nl