Bio-inspired innovation: towards a circular campus by learning from nature

By studying how nature solves problems, we can create a society that truly cares for the earth. Jaco Appelman , researcher at Utrecht University, is sure of it. At the university, this approach, summarized in the term 'bio-inspired innovation', is being put into practice. The university's Corporate Real Estate & Campus office is working with Appelman and PhD candidate Katharina Hecht , among others, to give the concept a place within the future development of the Utrecht Science Park. Inspiration from nature has been used for some time to make processes more efficient. Take, for example, biomimicry, the science that looks to nature to solve technological challenges. While biomimicry is part of bio-inspired innovation, Appelman explains that bio-inspired innovation has a broader objective.