After the Challenge – Annie Berendsen
Annie participated in the Urban Greenhouse Challenge ‘2 with her team TeAMSpirit. Their team designed “The Turtle”, a circular urban farm aimed at reconnecting urban citizens to the natural environment. Their design won third place in the finals in August 2020. Right now, Annie is following up her participation in the Urban Greenhouse Challenge with a start-up she began with some of her previous team members. What’s life like for Annie after the Urban Greenhouse Challenge ‘2?
How did you experience the challenge?
It was the perfect way to bring everything I’d learned so far a step further. I was team captain of TeAMSpirit, and it was so inspiring to see how an interdisciplinary team can actually bring out the best in one another. We surprised a lot of people - including ourselves - with the innovative and creative end result: “The Turtle”. This way of working is really something that I want to pursue.
What are your plans?
Together with two fellow team members, Hanna Winters and Titus Venverloo, I founded a start-up: Young Urban Engineers. Here we connect interdisciplinary teams of students to real-life projects, just like we ourselves experienced in the Urban Greenhouse Challenge. We hope our start-up will give companies a fresh perspective on contemporary urban issues.
How can we follow your next steps?
You can follow my journey on my LinkedIn and, if you are interested in following my start-up, then make sure to check our Young Urban Engineers LinkedIn.
What is your ultimate tip to other students?
Don’t hesitate to approach people! I have learned so much by just trying to get in touch with businesses, academics or experts from various fields. In my experience, you get many more responses than you would expect. Talking to someone in a certain field always adds to your understanding of the issue.