Do you want to contribute to a biobased economy where organic waste is used as a raw material? Do you want to help to develop sustainable designs, building materials and products with a minimal carbon footprint? Do you want to learn how you can use your knowledge together with other professionals to take concrete steps towards a circular economy in the Netherlands? Then sign up for the Biobased Innovations minor!

Biobased economy for a circular Netherlands by 2050

The Netherlands completely circular by 2050 - that’s the aim of the Dutch government. It means that not only energy but also raw materials and chemicals have to come from renewable resources. That’s why companies, knowledge institutes and the government are working together to replace fossil resources (petroleum/natural gas) by biomass-based resources as part of the biobased economy. What do we mean with the biobased economy? That biomass is used as a basis for food, food supplements, chemicals, materials, transport fuels, electricity and heat. To realize these goals  professionals are needed who can work together in multidisciplinary teams. That’s why HAN has developed the minor Biobased Innovations.

Multidisciplinary

This minor introduces you to different aspects of the biobased economy. Together with other disciplines, you will work on developing biobased, circular and innovative products or building materials. The process of designing and constructing a marketable and circular product from a biobased material (biomass side stream) requires knowledge of chemistry, biology, industrial design, engineering. A multidisciplinary approach is therefore crucial to reach applicable solutions. In this minor you will work on a real-life problem. Together with companies and with students with various (technical) backgrounds you will develop solutions which fit in the biobased economy. In this way, you will learn to work in multidisciplinary team. In this way you will gain the latest knowledge from the sector.

Example: Mycelium as insulation material
An example of a project that could run during this minor is about the use of mycelium-based materials for various applications.. To tackle such a problem, a multidisciplinary approach is needed: A biology student will investigate how to influence the growth of mycelium, an industrial design engineer comes up with a design, and an architecture and construction engineer will test the insulation value and load capacity of the material. Together you build up knowledge and, with advice from the business community, you work towards a marketable product.

Structure

This minor is made up of three parts:

1. In the first weeks you are introduced to various key aspects which are relevant for innovations within the biobased economy.
2. In the second part, you will extend your knowledge on a number of these aspects which are relevant for your final project. You will perform a literature study and follow elective modules.
3. Finally, you will work on a multidisciplinary project in which you learn how to perform research and/or make a design to develop a biobased innovation.

Why choose the Minor Biobased Innovations at HAN University of Applied Sciences - YouTube

In this minor you will learn to look beyond the boundaries of your own study program and to cooperate with other disciplines. You will learn to present your field of expertise to other disciplines in an understandable way. You will  learn about the various aspects of biobased innovations, such as biomass and organic side streams, sustainability, relevant legislation and regulations around use of biomass, the value pyramid, circularity and carbon footprint.

Through the (elective) modules you gain basic knowledge of other disciplines and learn how you can contribute to biobased innovations from your own field of study. For chemists and biologists this will be advanced knowledge about biorefinery and fermentation technology. For industrial design and building engineers, this will consist of knowledge how to design and make biobased materials, how to design experimental setups and execute them, how to calculate the environmental impact using a LCA.

You apply the acquired knowledge in a multidisciplinary project in which you learn to perform research and/or make a design within the biobased economy. You work on the development of a concrete (building) material or chemical, creating a design, develop a product or (part of) a biorefinery process, always in collaboration with fellow students and under the guidance of researchers and other professionals from the work field.

During this minor you work on the following competences:

• Design
• Experimentation
• Analysis
• Quality control
• Reporting and presentation
• Project-based work / project management
• Collaboration
• Professional development

The minor is for students of Architecture and Construction (Building) Engineering, Industrial Design Engineering, Chemistry, Biology (Biologie en Medisch laboratorium onderwijs), and Life Sciences. In total, max.16 students can participate.

General admission requirements for all students:

• Propaedeutic certificate.
• At least 60 ECTS credits in main phase.

HAN students:

- IPS from all courses in the 1st and 2nd year must be completed.
- BML/LS/Chemistry students: · BML/LS: BM5B/LS5B and BM6B/LS6B must be completed (sufficient). 
- Chemistry: the practical assessments (including reports) in the 2nd study year must be at least satisfactory.

Other students:

Admission requirements per degree program:

• Chemistry/biology/life sciences: A pass for all practical (lab skills) subjects including all corresponding reports from the second year.
• For Architecture and Construction Engineering and Industrial Design Engineering there are no further requirements.

The minor is offered in semesters 1 and 2.

The semesters begin on 1 February and 1 September, classes may be planned from the Monday of that week.

In the introductory weeks of this minor you gain knowledge on:

• Sustainable development: Global, EU, The Netherlands, HAN
• Circular economy: circular vs linear, production processes, logistics chains
• Biobased economy: biobased versus fossil based biomass sources, organic and technical raw materials, side streams, CO2 and climate change, value pyramid
• Laws and regulations: EU, The Netherlands.

Next, you acquire the necessary knowledge for the project through elective modules and literature study.

Finally, you will work with at least one student from another discipline in a full-time project based on a question from  a company. You will carry out the project at the Kleefsewaard industrial park in Arnhem and in the laboratories and workshops on the HAN campuses in Arnhem or Nijmegen.

1. You will have a theoretical exam on the subject matter from the common introduction.
2. You will also be assessed on your application of the knowledge gained during the elective modules and literature study in the plan of approach.
3. Finally, you will be assessed on the practical performance while executing the project, on a written project report and on a presentation of the result.

For content information:
Richèle Wind
E-mail: richele.wind@han.nl

Subscribe? Good to know!
- For minors starting in September, after the registration period in March, a draw takes place in April if there are at that time more subscribers than available places.
- For minors starting in February, after the registration period in October, a draw takes place in November if there are at that time more subscribers than available places.

For the minors with places still available applies until the closing of the subscription period: Once a minor is full, it is closed!

In addition, if the number of subscribers after four weeks is below the norm; this minor may possibly be withdrawn. So if you are interested, sign up immediately!

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Note: For HAN students it means that, in case of cancellation of the first choice AFTER the period of decision (this takes a full month) they may re-subscribe for the still available minors.

Even then: Once a minor is full, it is closed!

A good overview of the HAN minors can be found in the minors app! The app is accessible via: http://www.minoren-han.nl/