Urban Air Quality Challenge

The first meeting within the participants of the international interdisciplinary project on urban air quality was carried out in Eindhoven, Netherlands. This initiative started from ACE, a group of universities from all around the world such as the Eindhoven Technical University, OCAD University, d.School Paris and more, who set out to tackle the problem of air pollution in urban areas through a collaborative project. This meeting reunited 19 students from bachelor, master and doctorate studies from different countries and backgrounds with the objective of learning about the issue in hand, measure the pollutants, talk with the local authorities, meet the coaches and other participants, form groups, and start drafting a general research plan for the five next months that the project will last.

One month after the first encounter, the groups have already been through several challenges: working with people from other areas of study, with different ways of learning, in various time zones, while facing their daily responsibilities, are elements that burden and enrich the results at the same time. We’re learning not only about air pollution and the mitigation methods, but also about working in a new environment, with points of view we’d never imagined, with inputs we’d never thought of. Furthermore, we learned to see the whole picture, the countless stakeholders, their interests and their roles, and the causes and consequences of our own actions; we tried to have an integral vision on the challenge of urban air pollution.

Now, with only five months and two meeting trips from the final presentation, effort and commitment are vital. We must work in teams, collaborate online, bring our abilities and experiences to the table and give our best. Efficient communication, flexibility in decision-making, devotion and passion in each group are key elements to reach our common goal: a solution to air pollution.

Lauren Wong, Student of Energy Engineering