Sustainability comes first when we talk about the trophy for our Moving Minds Award on 21 September 2022. Every year, the centres of expertise at UCLL Research & Expertise provide an innovative piece of craftsmanship.
In the past, we were allowed to award specimens that were 3D printed in our labs, laser-engraved, made in authentic bronze-green oak, manufactured in a bespoke workshop and composed of organic building materials.
On Wednesday 21 September, we awarded a very special one. The trophy for the winning top project Sunshine in a box is made in apple leather and enclosed in a frame made of recovered apple crates.
The bright minds at our Sustainable Resources expertise centre are not at their wits' end: their labs frequently smell of apples and their final product is very close to the real thing. The apple leather is a promising alternative to both animal leather and artificial leather.
Colleagues Evert Vanecht and Joachim Hayen took care of the apple material, Michiel Kragten of the communication department conjured up a clever design from his laptop and Roel Conings finished the end product in the Technology Centre in Diepenbeek.
Top teamwork to put a top project in the spotlight. And that's where all Moving Minds wins.