Copenhagen, Denmark – 21 August 2021 – Wetskills Challenge Day 7
By Alisa van Gent (Wageningen University and Technical University of Delft)
Today, we are already half-way through the program. Therefore, it was a very nice moment to share ideas between groups and give tips and feedback upon each other’s projects. After a nice sleep in on Saturday morning, we started this Wetskills day with an innovation carousel. It started with some chaos, but we managed to all hear what the other groups work on and present our own ideas. It was a very good practice for our pitch on Thursday. This was actually the first time I heard what the other teams were exactly working on.
For most of us, these days of the program are about getting from (several) abstract ideas towards a more presentable, concrete solutions. This can sometimes be a bit difficult, because you want the idea to be innovative and attractive. But I think we managed by now to narrow down to one idea as a group.
After the carousel, my group and I went upstairs and decided to summarize everything we heard that morning. It was nice to be together as a group for the first time, since one of our team members has been in quarantine for the last 5 days. After lunch we had a nice walk in the sun around one of the lakes close to our hostel. I enjoyed the milder temperatures and the sunshine on my face while chatting with my team members. In the afternoon we continued to work on our poster and paper, which becomes easier when you know what direction you want to take as a group. Then, we went out for a drink, to treat ourselves after a hard week of work. Walking back to the hostel resulted again in a really nice walk by the lake in the lovely Danish summer weather.
We had a taco dinner tonight at the hostel. Everybody was too hungry to take any photos of the food. So you have to believe me when I say it looked absolutely wonderful, with all the colours, and it was very tasty as well! We had an interesting discussion about snacks from different countries. While some of the Dutch are very proud of the frikadel and paprika chips, our Danish participant didn’t know that we cannot buy cinnamon buns in the Netherlands. Also I learned something new about the magic masala snack which is supposed to be the best chips from India. Maybe the innovative idea of today is cinnamon chips.
As I am writing this, some of the group members are walking to Nyhavn, which is a very famous street with bars next to the water. Tomorrow morning I leave early to see Mons Klint, which is a cliff located south of Copenhagen, so I will sleep in early. Goodnight!
