Last week, a group of students of the ISIGE Institute, enrolled in the master program “ingenierie et gestion de l’environment” (environmental engineering and management) at the Ecole des Mines de Paris were in Amsterdam. The one-week long trip, guided by Miranda Schut, introduced the students group to different initiatives within the areas of the circular economy and social innovation in Amsterdam and included site visits and presentations by different local entrepreneurs, researchers and experts.
During this trip the students discovered the newest residential neighborhoods of Amsterdam: NKSM, Java Eiland and Ijburg; the formerly industrial site of Buiksloterham, now the site of Amsterdam’s first circular neighborhood, and the creative district of NDSM. Presentations on Amsterdam’s waterfront development by Gert Urhahn, innovation by and for citizens by Ivonne Jansen-Dings from the Waag Society and the presentation of the two research projects R-Link and Co-ReUs completed the students overview on the city’s urban innovation ecosystem.
To round the trip, the visit covered also socially innovative projects in Amsterdam through a visit to two initiatives in the eastern part of the city: BOOST where a group of local residents, young entrepreneurs and refugees collaborate to create integration opportunities for Amsterdam newest residents and the Zero Wate Lab, a neighborhood initiative for waste recycling and upcycling.
