Engineering: Connecting Cosmos & Consciousness - Groep T

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Dr. Geert Waeyenbergh, campus coordinator Intelligent Mobility. GROUP T goes for sustainable mobility Intelligent mobility: new focus, new campus We already had Intelligent Mechanics, Intelligent Manufacturing and Intelligent Electronics. As of 2011- 2012, a new master focus will be added to these: ‘Intelligent Mobility’. At the same time GROUP T will set up a new campus in the Leuven Business & Research Park amidst high-tech companies. The new campus will be home not only to the Solar Team and the CQS GROUP T Racing Team but also to a research and development center for mobility. We spoke to the campus coordinator Dr. Geert Waeyenbergh. GROUP T - LEUVEN ENGINEERING COLLEGE 8 Flanders is setting itself up as the logistic epicenter of Europe ever more emphatically. To meet the growing demand for logistics staff, GROUP T started up the International Postgraduate Program in Logistics Management four years ago. “GROUP T’s engineering students, too, have found their way to sustainable mobility”, Geert Waeyenbergh says. “For starters there is the Solar Team that, six years after the first team with the first Belgian solar car, is now working on an even more proficient version to participate in the prestigious World Solar Challenge in Australia, regarded as the unofficial world championship for solar powered cars. Following in the footsteps of the Solar Team was the CQS GROUP T Racing Team. This is a group of 31 passionate master’s students who went to work on two specimens of the legendary old timer 2CV and turned them into modern environmentally friendly race cars: one hybrid and one electric. Not only technologically but also logistically a tour de force.” Broad and diverse The expertise that GROUP T has accumulated in the field of logistics and mobility is now centered in a new master focus in the Electromechanical <strong>Engineering</strong> program and in a new campus. “Intelligent Mobility deals with the sustainable, applying smart solutions”, Geert Waeyenbergh clarifies. “The application area is very broad and diverse. One example involves electric or hybrid cars fitted with intelligent recharging systems. Another example would be vehicles that can warn each other against accidents or traffic jams. Intelligent Mobility also has to do with choosing materials or production methods that have as small an impact on the environment as possible and with optimally gearing transportation systems to one another.” The new master focus comprises four courses for a total of 15 credits. “The first course ‘Transportation and Mobility Management’ covers supply and jg. 20, nr. 3, 16 augustus 2011 demand in the area of transportation, the optimal use of transportation modes but also safety and risks in the world of transportation”, according to Geert Waeyenbergh. “The students also learn traffic simulation techniques like measuring the effect of a rotary on a busy intersection.” “More and more electric vehicles are entering the market place, but are not yet given enough attention.” The three other courses are more technical in nature. “In ‘Vehicle Systems’ we explore drive trains in vehicles, the latest developments in combustion engines, electric and hybrid power trains as well as data transmission and communication systems in modern vehicles. The course ‘Vehicle structures’ is aimed more specifically at new materials, lightweight structures, the dynamic and aerodynamic behavior of vehicles and active control systems. Finally, in ‘Sustainability: Aspects of Mobility’, we deal with topics like ecodesign and life cycle engineering, various energy sources and transportation systems.” Multifunctional The new GROUP T campus will serve a very multifunctional purpose. As stated above, the campus offers the Solar Team and the CQS GROUP T Racing Team spacious and safe accommodation. But there’s more. “The campus can also serve as space for seminars, practical sessions and laboratories where students will be able to conduct experiments on the electric and hybrid vehicles that are available there”, Geert Waeyenbergh continues. “The results of their experiments can immediately be fed back into the theory so that a beneficial cross-fertilization is established. The new campus also allows students to engage in bigger projects. This way, we want to create a breeding ground for new Solar or CQS teams.” The Intelligent Mobility campus, in addition, is also developed into a professional research center. “We will set up research projects there on the optimization of battery packs or on electrically geared reluctance motors”, explains Geert Waeyenbergh. “We will focus primarily on innovative lightweight structures, recyclable bio-composite materials, electric propulsion systems and intelligent vehicles.” Educational and recreational Geert Waeyenbergh and his colleagues are also closely involved in the ‘Electric Vehicle for O’ (EV4O) project of the Flemish government which aims at creating an educational and recreational environment to familiarize the greater public and young technical people in particular with electric vehicles. “More and more electric vehicles are entering the market place, but we find that the new technologies are not yet given enough attention in the education of mechanics and technicians”, Geert Waeyenbergh observes. “We want to do something about that. Also, together with the province of Vlaams-Brabant, we intend to install charging stations for electric vehicles near a number of tourist attractions. People will be able to visit these attractions with an electric car. At the same time, they will discover new and intelligent forms of mobility.” Campus Intelligent Mobility Haasrode Business & Research Park, Technologielaan 11, 3001 Leuven. Y.P. 03183_INGENIEURS_Interview_3_20.indd 8 11/07/11 17:02
Ondernemersdag 2011 GROEP T campus vol bedrijven Op 9 maart 2011 organiseerde GROEP T – Internationale Hogeschool Leuven opnieuw een Ondernemersdag. De hele campus werd omgetoverd tot een forum waar (Vlaamse en internationale) ingenieursstudenten, docenten en ondernemers elkaar op een professionele manier konden ontmoeten. Dit jaar kende de Ondernemersdag een ware toeloop. Niet minder dan 110 bedrijven en organisaties meldden zich aan. Hiermee was alle beschikbare standruimte op de campus ingenomen en zag GROEP T zich voor het eerst genoodzaakt bedrijven te weigeren. Het succes van de Ondernemersdag bevestigt dat het herstel op de arbeidsmarkt wel degelijk is ingezet. Eerder berichtte de federale overheidsdienst Economie dat er nu al meer Belgen aan de slag zijn dan vóór het uitbreken van de financieel-economische crisis in het najaar van 2008. Door de impact van de bankencrisis op het bedrijfsleven en het bijbehorende verlies aan jobs daalde het aantal werkende Belgen van 4,66 miljoen in het derde kwartaal van 2008 tot 4,41 miljoen in dezelfde periode van 2009. Om in 2010 opnieuw te stijgen naar 4,88 miljoen. Of een stijging met 22.000 werkende Belgen tegenover het begin van de crisis. In Vlaanderen tekent zich dezelfde positieve trend af. In het derde kwartaal van 2010 waren er bijna 2,76 miljoen Vlamingen aan de slag. Dat zijn er 55.000 meer dan op het dieptepunt van de crisis in 2009 en 15.000 meer dan in het najaar van 2008, vlak vóór het begin van de crisis. Het gaat om het hoogste aantal werkende Vlamingen van de afgelopen jaren. Nu zijn er 125.000 werkende Vlamingen meer dan 5 jaar geleden. Volgens de VDAB zijn het vooral de ingenieurs en informatici die in trek blijven. Beiden zijn al langer knelpuntenberoepen, maar nu komt de vraag wel extra sterk naar voren. In het voorjaar van 2011 alleen al ontving de dienst 30 % meer vacatures. Dit verklaart mee het succes van de Ondernemersdag van GROEP T. Jobs en projecten Overigens is de Ondernemersdag niet alleen een jobbeurs. Het is eveneens een projectenmarkt voor derdejaars die uitkijken naar een interessant onderwerp voor hun masterproef. Ook studenten die opteren voor GROEP T’s tweejarige masterformule met een aanvullend traject van 2 semesters in een onderneming vinden hun gading. Net zoals al wie na zijn/haar studie nog wil verder studeren. Bij de deelnemers niet alleen multinationals, maar ook KMO’s, selectiebureaus en overheidsbedrijven. Dankzij de medewerking van VOKA-Kamer van Koophandel Leuven was ook de Leuvense bedrijfswereld opnieuw goed vertegenwoordigd met o.m. de K.U.Leuven, de Universitaire Ziekenhuizen, Terumo, IMEC, Melexis, PEC, Materialise, BEST, enz. De Ondernemersdag van GROEP T is trouwens al lang geen lokaal of Vlaams onderonsje meer. Door de aanwezigheid van vele buitenlandse studenten – 20 % van de populatie komt uit Azië – heeft het evenement een sterk internationaal karakter. Deze studenten vormen een interessante doelgroep voor ondernemingen die internationaal bedrijvig zijn. Dat verklaarde meteen de aanwezigheid van de baggerbedrijven Jan De Nul en DEME. Y.P. Volgende editie: woensdag 22 februari 2012 www.groupt-t.com On 9 March 2011, GROUP T – International University College organized an Entrepreneurs Day again. The entire campus was magically transformed into a forum where (Flemish and international) engineering students, teachers and entrepreneurs could meet each other at the professional level. This year, there was a true rush for the Entrepreneurs Day. No less than 110 companies and organizations presented themselves. This occupied all available exhibition space and, for the first time ever, GROUP T was forced to turn companies down. GROEP T - LEUVEN ENGINEERING COLLEGE jg. 20, nr. 3, 16 augustus 2011 9 03183_INGENIEURS_Interview_3_20.indd 9 11/07/11 17:02
Page 1 and 2: interview verschijnt driemaandelijk
Page 3 and 4: Prof. Dr. Ingrid Ilsbroux, the new
Page 5 and 6: The GROUP T delegation at Dire-Dawa
Page 7: Prof. Mohan Kumar from the Manipal
Page 11 and 12: perceives more In Suzhou (the Venic
Page 13 and 14: Dr. ir. Pauwel Goethals, winnaar va
Page 15 and 16: Wetenschapscommunicatie bij GROEP T

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