30 posters at the second Port research poster session!

 

Thirty PhD researchers and their supervisors presented their port research on posters in the World Port Centre on 27 June. The occasion was the “2nd Erasmus Smart Port Rotterdam/Port Research Centre Rotterdam-Delft/Next Generation Infrastructures Poster Session,” hosted by the Port of Rotterdam. Eighty experts and decision-makers attended.

This year’s event was co-organised by Erasmus Smart Port, the Port Research Centre Rotterdam-Delft of Delft University of Technology, and the Delft-based knowledge centre Next Generation Infrastructures.

PhD students from the Universities of Delft, Rotterdam/Erasmus University, Groningen, Eindhoven, Antwerp, Amsterdam and—in addition to last year—Leuven and Hamburg presented their research.

Like last year, the best posters were awarded prizes. A jury, consisting of representatives of the Port of Antwerp, the City of Rotterdam, Next Generation Infrastructures and Erasmus Smart Port, chose the two best papers.

Converting excess wind power into valuable products

The first prize, provided by Erasmus Smart Port Rotterdam, was awarded to Anish Patil, supervised by Hamilcar Knops of TU Delft. His poster was entitled: ‘Converting excess wind power into valuable products: Greening the Port of Rotterdam by “transhipment” of wind’. Jury members considered it the best poster because of its societal relevance. It concerns an innovative topic that poses both a technological as well as a managerial challenge. The jury praised that the research:

  • is strongly related to businesses in the port;
  • is challenging from a scientific point of view because it combines a system approach with clustered production processes; and
  • relates to challenges and opportunities for the Port of Rotterdam.

Finally, the jury liked the clear design of the poster very much.

Business model innovations in intermodal hinterland networks

The second prize, provided by Next Generation Infrastructures, was awarded to Roy van den Berg of TU Eindhoven. According to the jury, his poster, entitled ‘Business model innovations in intermodal hinterland networks:’

  • was clearly related to the Port of Rotterdam Port Vision 2030;
  • was very relevant from a societal perspective because of the importance attached to the hinterland networks of the port of Rotterdam;
  • paid attention to business models—the jury considers this a very important topic for hinterland studies; and
  • is driven from the business perspective as well as from the perspective of port authorities (in the Dinalog framework).

In addition, the jury also considered the design of the poster very clear and structured.

Some 80 visitors—among them experts from expert groups related to execution of the Port Strategy Agenda of the Port Vision 2030 of the Port of Rotterdam—attended the session and were informed of state of the art in port research.

The Dutch newspaper Volkskrant gave prominent attention to two of the posters.