After several info-meetings on the Urban Greenhouse Challenge and some preliminary preparations made by students, the official kick-off of the second edition of the Urban Greenhouse Challenge is approaching. This kick-off will take place on the 15th of October from 12:00 – 14:00 in Orion (Noordzaal) and is open to everyone interested in the Urban Greenhouse Challenge. The event is part of VertiFarm, a conference on vertical farming organized by the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) which will be held on Wageningen Campus.
What to expect during the kick-off?
Arthur Mol, Rector Magnificus of Wageningen University, will open the official kick-off event with a word of welcome. Thereafter, it is time to introduce two members of the Jury of the Urban Greenhouse Challenge: Cindy van Rijswick (Rabobank) and Tiffany Tsui (DGD), who will also give a presentation and join a panel discussion afterwards. This panel discussion will be facilitated by Francesco Orsini from ISHS (International Society for Horticultural Sciences). The event will be closed off with a lunch and an opportunity for networking.
Jury members on new trends in horticulture and metropolitan farming
Cindy van Rijswick is Senior Industry Analyst Fresh Produce at Rabobank and has published reports on topics covering the complete supply chain, from grower to consumer, including vertical farming and the European greenhouse industry. During the kick-off event, Cindy will give a talk on ‘Healthy Perspectives: Opportunities in Fresh Produce’ and provide a helicopter view on consumer, supply chain and production trends that are driving the global horticulture sector into new directions.
Tiffany Tsui is Director Strategy Asia at Dutch Greenhouse Delta (DGD), a network organization representing the leading companies in the agro- and horticulture sector and is Executive director of the Vertical Farm Institute (VFI). Furthermore, she is Expert & Author for “Green Cities in China” amongst others. Tiffany Tsui will present ‘Metropolitan Farming - the next Green Revolution for the City of the Future’ and will in her talk also relate to the Greater Bay Area in China, which is the site of this year’s Urban Greenhouse Challenge.
The Urban Greenhouse Challenge
During this second edition of the Urban Greenhouse Challenge, students are being challenged to design an iconic and circular urban greenhouse for the city of Dongguan, which is part of the Greater Bay Area in China. The urban greenhouse that the student teams design has to produce safe and healthy food for the local neighborhood and commercial markets, and stimulate a healthy lifestyle and interactions with city dwellers. The Urban Greenhouse Challenge invites interdisciplinary student teams from all around the world to participate. So far, more than 110 students have already registered to participate in the Challenge and the University of Sao Paulo, China Agriculture University, Cornell, UC Davis, The Ohio State University, Unilasalle (France), and University of Bologna are forming their teams as well. Student (teams) can register for the challenge here.