Study tour 2021 – Rising Technology
A group of 21 electrical engineering students studying at the University of Twente are organizing a study tour. Originally this study tour would go to Japan in the summer of 2020. Due tot the COVID-19 pandemic this study tour had to be changed to a different destination. In the fall of 2021 we will travel to Switserland, Austria, Italy, Germany and France where we will visit numerous companies and universities in the different countries. Besides visiting companies and univeristies we will spend time to find and emerge ourself in the different cultures of these countries.
Theme
The main theme and name of the study project is Rising Technology (技術の新進 – gijutsu no shinshin), which was related to the destination of Japan and refered to the high-paced advancements made in the electronic industry. Luckily Japan is not the only country where high-paced advancements are made in the electronic industry. In Europe the industrial development is at another point compared to Japan and focusses on different industries, but the theme can still be applied when looking at technologies that are rising in the industry and gaining more attention. Advancements like autonomous vehicles, renewable energy, healthcare and numerous other technologies are getting more attention and will be huge focus points in Europe for the coming years. By visiting universities and companies in Switserland, Austria and Italy, Germany and France we hope to get an opportunity to experience these developments for ourselfs while learning about the companies and their working environment.
Bas van Laerhoven
Chairman of the study tour Rising Technology 2021
News
Back to the Netherlands
Dear reader, I am writing this daily update with mixed feelings. Because this updates marks the final day of the study tour. And while I am desperate for a good night sleep I am also remembering the activities of the past three weeks. When we departed three weeks ago we had a general idea of our planning, a good motivation and a comfortable budget. During the trip we planned a lot on the spot and everyone was involved in making the study tour a succes.
Italian cooking class and Japanese dinner
We have all tasted the delicious food that the Italians can cook, but today we took it to the next level. We decided to learn how to cook some of the original Bolognese recipes by attending an Italian cooking class. 2 cooks guided us in making Tortellini, a Tagliatelle cake and Gnocchi. After making the food and waiting for a bit, we had lunch with our own made pasta. Guess what, it was delicious!
Antennae and culture in Bologna
This morning we visited the IRA radio astronomy station. This facility in the beautiful countryside of Bologna features a few extremely large antenna setups for observing our universe. After a technical presentation about the signal perception and processing, we received a tour around the premises. In the late afternoon our very own Prof.dr.ir. Stramigioli provided us with a tour through the city center of his hometown Bologna. We had a look some old university buildings and enjoyed some of the best gelato available.
The full Parma experience
Hello readers, Today was another interesting day. We visited no less than three cities. We woke up in our hotel in Milan where we enjoyed our breakfast and packed our bags. After that we entered the bus towards the university of Parma. At the university they gave us two presentations about communications engineering and computer vision. After the presentations they gave us a quick tour through their different labs which gave us a lot of insight in how they arrange their research.
Wrapping up Milano
Welcome to the summary of our last day in Milan! We started the day early as we were visiting Milans technical university, Politecnico di Milano, in the morning. We traveled via metro and train to the Bovisa campus, where the department of energy is located. Here, we got to see the laboratory of the Converters, Electrical Machines and Drives Group which hosted a testing setup for a gearbox-less windmill generator. Our knowledge on electrical machines was challenged and we got a nice demo of the machine in action.
Science and tech museum and guided tour
Ciao tutti, Today started a bit slow. Not because our schedule was empty, but because the breakfast at the hotel had table service, and only one employee was actually servicing tables. Nonetheless, we all managed to be ready in time to go to the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Technologia Leonardo da Vinci (which roughly translates as ‘National Science and Technology Museum Leonardo da Vinci’). At the start of the museum, we were greeted by an exhibition describing 100 years in 25 colours, from Black Hand to Gilets Jeunes.
Travelling day! Approaching the final country
Hello readers, Here I am again with another daily update. This update marks the start of the final phase of the study tour. This morning we left Grenoble and we started our journey towards the last country, Italy! The remainder of the study tour we will visit several locations in Italy. The theme of today is mostly travelling because it takes some time to get to Milan, which is the first destination.
Let’s go for a hike
Whereas for most of us their study began with the Storming of the Bastille during the Kick In, none of us had actually ever ‘stormed’ a ‘real’ Bastille in Grenoble in France. Up until today. Although it was not really ‘storming’ the Bastille, after about an hour of climbing and walking, we managed to get on top of the old fortress that was firstly build in 1592 and has a height of more then 200 meters relative to its surroundings.
Visiting research institutes in Grenoble
Bonjour à toutes et à tous, After 2 days in Geneva, it is already time to move to the next country in our study tour, namely France! The day started with a good breakfast, after which we were ready to start the journey to Grenoble. It was a foggy morning, so we were a bit hesitant on whether we could enjoy some views during the ride. Fortunately the fog cleared fast, and we were able to enjoy the beautiful views on the French Alps, while some other people took the time to get some extra sleep.
High Tech day in French speaking Switzerland
After our first night in Geneva and an early rise, we set off to Omnisens in Morges, Switzerland. This company designs, produces, installs and maintains equipment and software to monitor temperature and stress along pipelines and cables using fiber optic cables. They are able to accurately (down to a few meters) detect leaks, faults, people doing different things and many other things. They can detect these things this accurately over many tens of kilometers using just one fiber optic cable with one machine.