Knowledge and Demo Day #27

This year’s first Knowledge and Demo Day will be a special edition for our Amsterdam InChange programme. With Saskia Bosnie in attendance as the new programme director.

Sound interesting to you? You are welcome to join. Let us know and send a short motivation to pelle@amsterdaminchange.com. The Knowledge and Demo Day is from 12:30-17:00, with drinks afterwards.

Knowledge session

Big Tech | Sander van der Waal (Waag Futurelab)

Digitalisation has become an integral part of our society. As AI develops, our dependence on digital technology is only increasing. With this, we are also creating dependencies for ever greater aspects of our society to technology providers, who generally have to be based in the U.S. or in China.

Political developments in America and the positioning that CEOs of big-tech companies have taken in it are leading to increasing discomfort about these dependencies. It can also be done differently. In this knowledge session we look at the world behind our technology, and what opportunities we have to get a better grip on our technology.

Sander van der Waal of Waag Futurelab takes you through the threats surrounding technological dependencies. He also gives concrete tools and choices you can make to get a grip on your technology yourself.

Workshops

Energy | Residents’ participation in heat networks | Wouter Huver (Municipality of Haarlemmermeer)

The Municipality of Haarlemmermeer started a participation process for energy transition in Rijsenhout, initially as a testing ground for natural gas-free neighbourhoods. After the subsidy failed, a competition was held, from which two winning ideas emerged: an aquathermal heat network and a neighbourhood battery. Enthusiastic residents developed these further and are now, together with the municipality, on the eve of acceleration. This raises questions about cooperation and division of roles. In this working session we explore: How to let resident initiatives flourish? How to divide roles effectively? And how to deal with responsibility and participation?

Digital | Joining regional forces for a national AI strategy | Laetitia Stuijt and Bart Krull (Amsterdam Economic Board)

The Netherlands want to strengthen their position in AI with, among other things, the planned AI Factory in Groningen and the recently announced European investments in AI infrastructure. To make the most of these opportunities, cooperation between AI regions is essential. How can Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Groningen strengthen rather than compete with each other? In this interactive working session, we bring together specialists from various fields to explore this issue in depth. We explore how the regions can complement each other to strengthen the national AI strategy and what concrete steps are needed to make this happen.

General | Mobifree: contribute to the development of ethical mobile innovation | Simone van der Burg and Danny Lämmerhirt (Waag Futurelab)

Cell phones and apps make public organizations vulnerable. Municipalities, ministries and knowledge institutions are losing control of their data through dependence on commercial software. But it can be done differently. By using open-source software and systems adapted to the needs of public organisations. If these could design their ideal cell phone, what would that look like? In this interactive workshop, we will tackle this question. Together we will identify the conditions and requirements for an ideal mobile work phone. This workshop is organised as part of the NGI project Mobifree.

Mobility | Zero Emission City Logistics: the Food Center Amsterdam case study | Interdisciplinary graduation circle

Four HvA students, Stan, Vanessa, Jay and Chanel, are delving into the Zero Emission City Logistics topic with our interdisciplinary graduating class. With a focus on the Food Center Amsterdam (FCA), they are mapping what the entrance of Zero Emission Zones and the mandatory shrinkage of FCA means for this logistics Hub. Their research also focuses on the ‘micro entrepreneur’ in the food sector, and their challenges and opportunities in the transition to zero emission transport. For inspiration and a good idea of what has already been done, in this session the students will engage with specialists from our network who are up to date on research and policy on this topic.

Pitches

Amsterdam InChange closes the afternoon with three pitches on ongoing projects in its network. Where does the network stand now? And what are the plans for 2025?

• Utilities hubs
• 27 loading docks in Amsterdam
• Zero-emission urban logistics