Last February EPIC in Hamburg kicked off: a project in which students from all over the world work together on an assignment. Construction engineering student Nick Brummelhuis is participating in the international project with his Smart Solutions group. "Students from other countries look at things differently."
Hi Nick, what exactly did the kick-off look like?
“We have been in Hamburg for a week, at the technical university. There the assignment was made clear and we met our international fellow students through team building activities such as building towers. We also received lectures on intercultural topics. We are in a group with two Norwegian students and five students from Brazil, so you can imagine that there are differences in culture."
How did it go?
"Good. As you can expect it is a little awkward at first, but after an hour and a half it was actually nice. We get along well and everyone can say what he or she thinks. The girls from Brazil are quite Western oriented and there were no crazy differences.”
How do you look back on the week?
“It was fun, definitely recommend it. You speak English for a week with people you didn't know at first. It worked out well and it was a great week. You really do other things than you would at school. "
Why do you participate in EPIC?
“We were approached by teachers to address this during the Smart Solutions Semester. We thought that would be a good idea, because it is not a regular project. It’s much more international. Students from other countries view things differently and the girls from Brazil know exactly what the problem is: they have seen it with their own eyes. But the biggest reason is working together on an international level, because in the future that will be quite normal in a company. In that sense it is a good learning experience."
How are you going to work together for the rest of the year?
“We agreed to hold a Skype meeting every Monday evening, for the Brazilians it is Monday afternoon. That way we can see each other for an hour and keep each other informed of the progress. We also have a WhatsApp group where we keep in touch.”
What does the assignment that you work on entail?
“We are going to map the plastic pollution of some Brazilian rivers and write a plan on how we can tackle that pollution: with which methods can the plastic be removed from the water, how should it be processed and is it financially feasible? Together with the Saxion students we make a portfolio within the framework of the Smart Solutions Semester and all together we make a map of Brazil, where you can click on the rivers and immediately see what kind of plastic there is and how, when and where you can remove it from the river in the best way possible. A step-by-step plan to implement that: that is our goal. We do that in close collaboration with the University of Brasilia, which has a lot of experience in that field.”
What did you learn from this project?
“As a student of Construction Engineering, I am professionally taught how to process plastics. And what we encountered in Hamburg in particular was the challenge of organizing it in such a way that you are productive with ten people. It is important that you are all focused on that common goal and that is what you may be doing better unconsciously during the project."
