Rapid prototyping as a faculty-wide activity: An innovative approach to the redesign of courses and instructional medthods at the University of Twente

At the Faculty of Educational Science and Technology (Toegepaste Onderwijskunde, T.O.) of the University of Twente a revolutionary process of institutional change is occurring. Under the banner of C@MPUS+, we have made a commitment to blend the best of our old values of good teaching and an attractive campus life with new didactics and advanced technologies so that we can extend our already unique curriculum and instructional practice over distance and time, as well as enrich it

Comparison of thermal performance of 3D printer liquefiers through finite element models

Open source 3D printers have experienced an intense expansion during the last years, mainly because of their accessibility and the vast availability of information thanks to user communities. This fact presents researchers with a perfect context for hardware innovation, by improving the overall printing process, also in terms of durability of the printing machine. A 3D printer liquefier must transmit heat to the thermoplastic material in order to extrude it, reaching temperatures above 200 degrees for some materials like ABS on the tip of the nozzle. The design of the heating process must comply with keeping the balance between proper heating of the material and controlling the temperature along the extruding body, so that the printer itself is not harmed for overtemperature. On the other hand, the design must guarantee that the melting front is located in an intermediate point between the nozzle tip and the entrance of the raw material, to minimize pressure drops in the system, and so decreasing the demanding energy to the feeding motors. An alternative design of the heating system, Twist3D, is proposed in this paper.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Performance measurement procedures that support innovativeness rather than hamper it

This paper addresses the contemporary challenges in increasing firm-level innovativeness and developing appropriate performance metrics. The authors discuss these challenges and provide a literature review on the innovation enhancing factors in service industries. They subsequently study the case of a multinational telecom company that tries to renew its innovative capabilities after a restructuring. An interpretative approach, based on employee focus group interviews and an extensive management workshop, is taken to co-develop context specific factors that enhance innovativeness. These factors include, amongst others, personal recognition and acknowledgement for an innovative achievement, available time, customer intimacy, and a clear innovation strategy. The identified factors will be used in a follow-up research aimed to develop performance measurement procedures that support the company to develop and exploit its innovative capabilities

Circular Economy Case Studies & Snapshots

The National Zero Waste Council Circular Economy Working Group, in collaboration with the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, commissioned circular economy case studies within a North American context to understand opportunities for scaling circular economy business models in Canada. To showcase a range of business models, they selected the business listed below which provide at least one example of the five circular economy business models identified in the 2014 Accenture report titled Circular Advantage. Product-as-a-service is a cornerstone business model for the circular economy; therefore, instead of providing an individual case study, several business snapshots were selected to showcase how product-as-a-service can be a successful business model across all sectors