Utrecht University Experts Receive Doctoral Grants
Ilse Rovers, a lecturer of environmental sciences at Avans Hogeschool, and Hiske Vaarwerk, a teacher of generic and medical math at the nursing and care department of ROC Midden Nederland, have received an NWO Doctoral Grant for Teachers to do research at Utrecht University for the next five years. The grant, which will eventually lead to a doctoral degree, enables the laurates to improve the quality of education and strengthen the link between research universities and universities of applied sciences.
Expanding the palette of mycelium materials for sustainable textiles
Most of the materials we use today have heavy carbon and waste footprints, adding to the degradation of the planet. Mycelium, however, grown out of waste streams bonded with fungal fibers, is biodegradable and carbon neutral, and can therefore contribute to the development of more sustainable materials for our everyday use, from clothing to buildings to packaging. But current mycelium-based materials (MBMs) are produced by utilizing only a few fungal species, which limits the range of materials and products that can be created.
With the Doctoral Grant for Teachers from NWO, Ilse Rovers will research the unique mycelium properties of different fungi with the aim of expanding the palette of MBMs, specifically for textiles. Each species of fungi has unique mycelium characteristics that can confer different physical properties to the materials: elasticity, rigidity, porosity, thermal insulation, and much more. When this variation of material properties is considered, the potential uses of MBMs may become even larger than they are today. This PhD-project will ultimately add to the growing body of work on bio-alternative design solutions for the textile industry, in which Utrecht University has a long-track record.
A tedious school subject for many, math is indispensable to almost every aspect of life. For nurses, it is incredibly important to be able to properly calculate how much medication to give to a patient, as giving too much or too little could cause serious harm. Concerns are growing that the teaching of medical math in secondary vocational education (MBO) is not always up to par. So how can education of medical math among nursing students be improved to prevent mistakes?
Hiske Vaarwerk will tackle this question in her research at Utrecht University, thanks to the Doctoral Grant for Teachers. She will first investigate the contribution of potential underlying factors to medical calculation, such as language ability, working memory and affective processes. Based on the outcomes, Vaarwerk expects to develop appropriate interventions to improve students’ medication calculation skills.
Vaarwerk will carry out her research at the Department of Education and Pedagogy, with Prof. Dr. Elise de Bree (Utrecht University) and dr. Sanne van der Ven (Radboud University), as supervisors.
Doctoral Grant for Teachers
The Doctoral Grant for Teachers offers teachers the possibility to gain research experience at universities in The Netherlands. Awarded by the Dutch Research Council, this 21st funding round has awarded 4.6 million euros to a total of 23 laureates.