ACT Award

Case-owner Urban Funghi aims to produce tasty, fresh and local gourmet mushrooms. As the time that the ACT project was carried out, Urban Fungi grew oyster mushrooms indoor on a substrate made of organic straw. However, they wanted to become more circular and locally integrates. The ACT student team was asked to give advice on what local waste streams could be converted to substrates made from local waste, and how to extend the assortment of mushrooms that they are growing.

The ACT student team conducted a scientific literature review, held interviews with mushroom producers and visited local waste producers. The students developed three scenarios for converting local waste streams into suitable substrates and for which marketable mushrooms can be grown on these substrates. Based on this, the ACT student team provided recommendations that Urban Fungi could immediately put into practice.

A traditional pig-farmer in Haaksbergen, Twente, has decided to gradually terminate his farming business and to lease his land to LC Energy for a solar energy park. Solar energy panels will be installed on his land. The ACT student team is asked to describe scenarios for combining solar fields with the improvement of biodiversity and/or other functions that can be translated into a feasible business case.

The ACT student team conducted a literature review, interviewed a wide range of stakeholders and worked closely with the case-owner. They worked on different scenarios for this piece of land in terms of multiple land-use solar fields, which ultimately resulted in one fully developed design and plan. This plan was submitted to the municipality and region for implementation. The plan has been approved and it is now only a matter of time before it becomes reality. The results of the ACT student team also helped the case-owner obtain a subsidy.

Case-owner Tomás Tigchelaar Lourenço wants to make more people aware of the fact that a lot of products contain sugar and he wanted to get insight into why people are buying unhealthy products. The ACT student team was asked to map different in-store strategies that were used by supermarkets and advice the case-owner on an awareness campaign.

The ACT student team performed a literature research, conducted an observational study in seven supermarkets and held interviews with two experts and a supermarket manager. The ACT student team mapped 37 in-store strategies that were used to sell products and make more profit. Furthermore, they gave advice to the case-owner about focal points that should be kept in mind when setting up an awareness campaign.

The Sultans Trail is a long-distance hiking and cycling trail from Vienna to Istanbul. Case-owner the Sultans Trail Association wants to develop the Sultans Trail into the new Camino route of South-East Europe, opening up for the international walking and cycling tourist. The ACT student team was asked to advice on how the Sultans Trail could attract potential tourist to South-East Europe. Furthermore, they were asked how the trail can be developed into a smart destination in a sustainable way minimizing the ecological footprint.

The ACT student team conducted a literature research, extensive market research and consulted experts. The ACT student team created a detailed report with recommendations on how to approach target markets and ideas for the route. The report will be used as a lobbying tool at regional and EU level, as well as be presented at various industry conferences.

More and more farmers are looking for natural alternatives to fight parasites. Case-owner Foundation Platform Natural Animal Husbandry wanted more information about natural remedies and scientifically proven alternatives to the synthetic ectoparasites. The ACT student team was asked to research what natural remedies are available to deter or reduce ectoparasite infection on ruminants.

The ACT student team performed a literature research and distributed and analysed a questionnaire. Furthermore, they interviewed academic experts, veterinarians, conventional farmers, synthetic medicine producers and a biodynamic farmer. The results of these methods gave insight into the perception of the different stakeholders in different countries on the use of natural alternatives for synthetic anti-parasites. The ACT student team created a database containing 325 natural remedies, of which ten remedies where been described in more detail.