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Data Science Research
It was the summer of 2021 when I (Jene van der Heide) entered the office of WDCC for the first time. I was interested in a job opening they had. It had something to do with KB (‘Kennis Basisprogramma's’) and Investment themes on the topic of Data Science and AI. Next to the attractive role as programme manager and digital content I was also enthusiastic about the WDCC as such. WDCC is special, because WDCC is common ground. And I like common grounds; you need common grounds to build high performing organisations on. After sharing my enthusiasm and my intended approaches to run KB and Investment Theme programmes I got hired. Since then, I had a great time exploring WUR and finding my way to lead programmes on digitalisation (DDHT, WMG and Digital Twins). But programmes end. And that's a good thing. KB programmes are linked with the strategic plan period and since we enter a new strategic plan period from 2025 on, the running KB programmes will end. New KB programmes will be setup for the new strategic plan period (2025-2028), but no more with the WDCC as host. This means I move from the (digital) common ground WDCC, to the (strategic) common ground CSA on the first of January 2025.
So, this will be my last update as a WDCC member for this newsletter. I guess you'll see my KB updates from now on in the CSA newsletter.
Wageningen Model & Data Day (WMDD)
The WMDD is an annual day to connect people / knowledge on model and data management. The WMDD is a KB event organised together with the Research Data Management group. The WMDD has a strong focus on digital, because we develop and use increasingly digital modelling methods to explain, discover and predict. Every year the WMDD grows in topics and visitor numbers. You are invited for next year!
This year we had the launch of the Wageningen Guidelines on Model Management, a milestone for WUR!
I invite you to take notice of these guidelines: Wageningen Guidelines on Model Management. In the figure below, the general rules to which we should comply. After reading the guidelines, you may want to visit the Model Gallery and the Good Modelling Practice Wiki to see what models are already registered and audited: Model Gallery / GMP (wiki).
Digital Innovation Expo
Next to the WMDD, the Digital Innovation Expo is an event to visit when working on digital stuff at WUR. This annual event is organised to show case and experience the digital tools and methods developed, and to meet the researchers who worked on these. Over 15 demonstrations were present, from LLM experiments to robotics. Since digitalisation will be an important topic in the new WUR Strategic Plan, Luc Boelhouwer (Head of Information Management) introduced the Digital Strategy to the attendees. Next to Luc Boelhouwer we had the Digital Shapers on stage, to inspire and challenge us on dealing with a changing digital landscape. You can find the list of demonstrations below, feel free to reach out to the respective researcher for more information.
| Researcher: | Demonstration: |
|---|---|
| Wieger Wamelink | Crop growth on the Moon, Mars and in space |
| Michele Tufano | EatPol: Tracking eating behavior in real-time |
| Inder Kumar | The Digital Agri Hub platform |
| Leonieke Bulk, van den | Using large language models to extract food safety hazards from the scientific literature |
| Chao Zhang | Rapid detection of salmon louse larvae in seawater based on machine learning |
| Xinxin Wang | Sága, a Deep Learning Spectral Analysis Tool for Fungal Detection in Grains— A Case Study to Detect Fusarium in Winter Wheat |
| Ard Nieuwenhuizen | "Robotics demonstrations" |
| Theodoor Akkerboom | Graphical User Interface for automatic survival prediction of undersized flatfish |
| Will Hurst | The Data Factory |
| Will Hurst | DigiFungi |
| Selwin Hageraats | Ultrafast signal decomposition for disease detection, glare removal, and other (spectral) image processing challenges. |
| Kees Lokhorst | Cooperative robots for a clean dairy barn environment |
| Jurrian Doornbos | The ICAERUS Drone Data Analytics Library |
| Elles te Winkel | Digital Twin, real time stikstofstromen op agrarische bedrijven. |
| Cristina Huidiu | How will Language models change scientific search and discovery? |
| Christina Cappello | Counting cocoa pods on a tree using a mobile app and machine learning |
| Wouter Veltkamp | Building a Style Dictionary for collaborative design and UI/UX innovation |
| Arjan Vroegop | Interactive 3D simulation environments for Vision+Robotics |
| Marielle Timmer | Use digital technology as enabler for targeted nutrition: |
| Lorijn Rooijen, van | Food Research Synergizer |
| Robert Ven, van de | Learning from Demonstration for Harvesting: Setup with robot indoors |
| Thomas Hagenaars | Enhancing impact of WBVR's epidemiological modelling for prevention and control of livestock disease |
| Harmen Doekes | RAMSMART: a tool for Real-time, Automated and Multi-Species Monitoring of animal Activity in Research Trials |
| Johan Bucher | BABETTE, an 4D plant reconstruction platform |
| Puneet Mishra | Robust machine learning : A novel paradigm to bring in practise |
| Gitte Schober | Wageningen Impact Catalyst AI Buddy |
| Joep Tummers | Unlocking Research Efficiency: A Demonstration of the Easy Questionnaire Tool |
| Remco Suer | Next generation sensors for emission and environment monitoring |