Study Abroad Guide
For Fontys ICT
One takes three countries, thirty students, three challenges with social urgency, five projects and one common focus. These are the main ingredients of Mega Project: Sustainable Living. This pilot project gives students from Belgium Campus iTversity South Africa, Hogeschool PXL Hasselt and Fontys School of ICT (FHICT) the opportunity to tackle global social issues in sustainability together. An international, intercultural and innovative project that seamlessly connects to FHICT's ambition theme Global Acting.
If there is one cross-border field, it is ICT. Today's ICT professional thinks and acts beyond national borders. After all, we are all world citizens, with identical issues that do not allow themselves to be stopped by borders. This global citizenship is the mainstay of the Global Acting theme. In the international, intercultural Mega Project Sustainable Living, FHICT students from the ICT & Cybersecurity and ICT & AI specializations therefore worked closely with Belgian and South African students and companies last semester. Their common goal: to find innovative ICT solutions for pressing social challenges such as waste management and smart cities, in line with the UN's sustainable development goals. A perfect learning environment for international students to acquire both hard, technical skills and soft, social skills. Indispensable luggage for the further ICT career.
Smart waste bins and bags for South Africa
The participating students formed six project groups to tackle the three challenges: waste management, air quality and energy transition with innovative, creative solutions. Two groups tackled the waste problem in South Africa. A situation sketch: in 2017, the country generated 55.6 million tons of ordinary residual waste and 52 million tons of hazardous waste, respectively. Most of this is not recycled. The first group looked at solutions that turn waste into reusable products, and also reduce the gap between rich and poor. Their ideas included smart waste bins, waste collection centers accessible to every resident, and profitable upcycling initiatives.
The second group focused on the approximately 215,000 waste pickers in South Africa who resell waste to recycling companies. By addressing not only the waste problem, but also the substandard working and living conditions of these often overlooked players in the recycling economy. Citizens are encouraged through a mobile app and website to separate waste into trackable bags that the waste pickers pick up. This saves a lot of time per collection round, allowing them to resell more waste. Participating citizens are rewarded for their efforts with perks from retailers who participate in the project.
Living more sustainably and healthily with AI
The topic of energy transition was also enthusiastically embraced. The question: design user-friendly software tools for an off-grid energy management system that optimizes the management of reusable energy for households. Using AI and machine learning, two teams went to work on an application that collects insightful data on predicted energy production (from solar panels, for example) and consumption. One team focused on the front-end and the other team took care of the backend. The third energy transition team plunged into solar panels and radiation. How do we get synergy between produced and needed solar energy so that production and consumption are balanced? The solution? A machine learning device that predicts the amount of energy produced, taking into account ambient temperature, solar panel temperature and solar radiation.
An AI application that improves air quality in homes at Boekel Ecovillage was the challenge for the final team. Their approach? Turn the biggest polluter in the house into the biggest improver. In other words: a better environment starts with a more aware resident. By putting sensor data and external data such as weather forecasts into an algorithm, the air quality is predicted. Thanks to this knowledge and smart tips from the application, the resident can take simple but effective precautions. For example, by bringing plants into the house for a better air balance. Or by turning off lights and appliances to reduce CO2 levels.
Boundless do-gooders
Five completely different, but all creative solutions to issues for which the whole world is looking for answers. The Mega Project: Sustainable Living shows that a better world starts with you, but together you are much stronger. Exactly that boundless vision that Global Acting is committed to.