Holland WebWeek Groningen: research, IT and design

Holland WebWeek Groningen (16 - 19 September) is a four-day festival in and around the Ebbinge quarter and Infoversum, at which the IT sector in the northern Netherlands has an opportunity to present itself. The main theme of the festival is Tomorrow’s way of life. Researchers from the University of Groningen will be giving various presentations.

Data science and systems complexity is just one of the major scientific themes being studied in Groningen. Researchers and computer technicians are searching for ways to process and organize the huge volumes of data generated by research, in online stores and with search engines. The creative industry has proved to be a valuable ally.

The IT/creative/online industry has developed into a key economic area for the region, and employs more than 6,000 people. This alone is good reason for a festival promoting its worth.

The Holland WebWeek Groningen encompasses eight separate themes (Agri, Commerce, Health, Education, Culture, Research, Security and Energy). They will all be introduced on Thursday and Friday by a keynote speaker; trend watcher Vincent Everts will do the honours on Thursday, and on Friday, it is the turn of designer, artist and sustainability pioneer Daan Roosegaarde . Their introductions will be followed by specialists giving demonstrations and presentations, and exploring inspirational items.

Bart van de Laar of Science LinX , the University of Groningen’s own science centre, is responsible for organizing the programme for the Research theme on Friday 18 September. The session will explore the question of how Big Data, research and visualizations can boost each other’s impact.

This particular theme offers researchers an opportunity to expand their knowledge in relation to the link between research and visualization, for example. The programme includes speakers from the Data Science & Systems Complexity research group of the Faculty of Science and Engineering (formerly known as the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences) at the University of Groningen, and from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) Complexity programme. In other words, science is well represented! For this reason, a limited number of tickets for the Research theme are being offered to researchers from the University of Groningen at a reduced rate (€ 75). For more information, see below.

There is obviously a lot more going on during the Holland WebWeek Groningen. On Saturday 19 September, various IT and gaming companies and training programmes will be giving special presentations for the public. In just one day, 100 girls will be taught the ins and outs of programming, the finalists of Startup050 will perform and visitors will be introduced to the ‘Game hall of the North’.

The Battle of Schools deserves a special mention: this is a non-stop 48-hour battle between students taking IT/multimedia courses at senior secondary vocational institutes and universities of applied sciences in the north of the Netherlands. The aim is to come up with working solutions to cases, challenges and assignments submitted by businesses/business institutes, within the time allocated.

The full programme is available on the site, which also explains how to apply for tickets. A limited number of tickets for the Research theme are being offered to researchers from the University of Groningen at a reduced rate (€ 75 euro). If you are interested, please contact Science LinX staff member Eva Teuling at e.teuling@rug.nl before 5 September. Please note that a large part of the program will be in Dutch!