On Tuesday October 29th we were able to welcome a full bus with (German and International) Master students from the University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer received for a 'safari' in the field of sustainability.

The first stop – Sparck Technologies, Drachten

All involved ICD companies have shown how they work on improving sustainability aspects in different stages of the life cycle of high-tech systems. The first was Sparck Technologies. They save a lot of material, energy and CO2 emissions with their systems. The system ensures a box folded exactly to size.

Students could see in the departments how these systems were built in their complexity. Then they are tested at the module level. Finally, the final assembly itself (with also complete function tests) could be viewed.

The safari continues via the SKILL building/Philips to BD Kiestra

From the Sparck location, the 60-person group (very sustainable🌱) left on foot for the SKILL building. PhilipsHere Wilbert Zwart gave an extensive view on reducing energy and material consumption within the Philips Drachten factory. Jeljer the Farmer gave an inspiring look behind the scenes at the design phase. After all, much of the “footprint” is already determined here through design choices. Which considerations are now dominant in designing a sustainable product?

Then on to BD Kiestra Total Lab Automation, on the other side of Drachten. There it was mainly about the big question: what do you do with your system at the end of its lifespan? What can you still do with it as a system, subsystem or separate parts. And where do I dismantle my system? Which parts can possibly be harvested as spare parts? Maarten Rijken and Wouter Kuiper also took the group into the R&D lab. Here the group got an idea of how diverse the types of systems are that BD supplies worldwide.

On to Variass in Veendam

The last part of the 'safari' meant a complete shift to Veendam, to VariassHere the students were given a clear presentation of Nico van der Dussen. It also became clear that the re-use and remanufacturing of electronics is starting to take off. This is very important, because all high-tech systems are full of electronics.

Here again, the design phase is crucial, as this determines 70% of your sustainability performance of the product. The final tour in 5 small groups was very interactive. Despite the long day and the large amount of information, the first four students already left their CV with the request for internships. And that is what it is all for!