This year, Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht are celebrating 385 years of science in Utrecht. The theme of this lustrum: Creating tomorrow together. Sounds logical, doesn't it? After all, we can only achieve a better world by joining forces. And our alumni turn out to be particularly good at this. In this lustrum year we will be talking to a number of alumni about how they see the future and with whom they are working extremely hard to reach a better tomorrow.
"We connect Utrecht residents that normally wouldn’t interact" - Lineke Maat
"If the coronavirus pandemic has made anything clear, it’s that we can’t all stay isolated in our respective fields. The solutions have to come from all possible perspectives" - Marion Koopmans
Together with her colleagues, Floortje Geerdink (Law) is committed to a safe society in which justice is predominant. I stand up for society and the victim. And at the same time, I always look at the person of the suspect. How do we ensure that the suspect makes a different choice next time?
There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way. That is a well-known Buddhist wisdom. For Maikel Kishna (Science- and innovation Management), taking a step every day is also the way to start the transition to a circular economy. 'I see major challenges for the Netherlands.'
The clothing industry emits more CO2 than international aviation and sea transport combined. The sector is also a major consumer of water. But can you change this as an individual? Lena Hartog (University College Utrecht), climate activist and director of CollAction, is convinced that it can and also knows how.
"You can really make an impact if you also build sustainable homes for people who aren’t specifically looking for that" - Gert van Vugt and Jacintha Baas
"People tend to think that success is determined entirely by individual choices, or that there are a few secret tricks to it" - Rutger Bregman
An important moment for Rutger Bregman was during his History degree programme, when he realised that he wasn’t cut out for a career in academia after all. 'I decided to only write things I understood myself.’
Between 2007 and 2010, the Netherlands experienced the largest Q fever outbreak ever reported in the world. Jesper Weehuizen (Medicine) was still in secondary school at the time. Now he is conducting doctoral research on this disease at UMC Utrecht.
And more...In this lustrum year we will be talking to even more alumni about how they see the future. So keep an eye on this website for more inspiring stories.
"To promote access to drugs, collaboration is essential. However, it can often be complicated as well" - Thomas Dorlo
