Access Twente: One Alumni Connection Away Transistor (https://transistor.fm) https://feeds.transistor.fm/alumni-utwente Join Joe Laufer as he explores the global alumni network of the University of Twente, one conversation at a time. In each episode, he connects with an UT'er somewhere in the world, often found through a simple LinkedIn search and message, to hear their story, career journey, and insights. Whether you're a current student, a recent graduate, or have been away from campus for a while, this podcast from the University of Twente Alumni Office aims to inspire you to also start accessing your worldwide UT community - reach out, make a connection, and start a conversation! Comments or Suggestions? Reach out to us! alumni@utwente.nl © 2026 University of Twente b28fcd6c-f8da-5f11-8894-4ba2055c5b42 yes en Wed, 30 Sep 2026 17:59:53 +0200 Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:31:40 +0200 https://www.utwente.nl/en/alumni/ https://img.transistorcdn.com/bMgQBXOO5CcHsdKI0rVvlM2phK8QKoTbyxFf6l88WDg/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS81NjEz/YTdlMTA1YzlhNzRl/YWRkYzg1OTEwMGVk/MjQzMC5wbmc.jpg Access Twente: One Alumni Connection Away https://www.utwente.nl/en/alumni/ episodic Joe Laufer Join Joe Laufer as he explores the global alumni network of the University of Twente, one conversation at a time. In each episode, he connects with an UT'er somewhere in the world, often found through a simple LinkedIn search and message, to hear their story, career journey, and insights. Whether you're a current student, a recent graduate, or have been away from campus for a while, this podcast from the University of Twente Alumni Office aims to inspire you to also start accessing your worldwide UT community - reach out, make a connection, and start a conversation! Comments or Suggestions? Reach out to us! alumni@utwente.nl Join Joe Laufer as he explores the global alumni network of the University of Twente, one conversation at a time. University of Twente Alumni Office No No S01E03 Enschede to Uganda: Peter Huisman on Entrepreneurship, Sustainability and Impact 3 3 S01E03 Enschede to Uganda: Peter Huisman on Entrepreneurship, Sustainability and Impact full 59b6a147-df15-48d2-890c-bce9fb2e7482 https://share.transistor.fm/s/93bcd425 In this episode, Joe speaks with Twente alumnus Peter Huisman, an entrepreneur working at the intersection of technology, sustainability and impact in Africa. Peter studied Electrical Engineering at the UT, and his career eventually took him from the Netherlands to Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda. Peter shares how this journey led him to help build solar company SolarNow and later to found Urban Greens, an agri-tech company exploring more sustainable ways of producing food in cities.

Along the way, Peter reflects on what it takes to build impactful and sustainable businesses in Africa, what he looks for in entrepreneurs through his work with VC fund Persistent, and how lessons from his time on the Twente campus continue to shape the way he works today.

  • (00:00) - Introduction & podcast concept
  • (00:24) - Meet Peter Hausman
  • (00:50) - Electric Engineering & Campus Leadership
  • (02:28) - Leaving the Netherlands for Africa
  • (04:15) - Culture Shock & Learning to Adapt
  • (04:57) - Building SolarNow
  • (07:45) - From Solar Energy to Urban Farming
  • (09:57) - Rethinking How Cities Produce Food
  • (11:44) - Urban Greens in Five Years Time
  • (12:43) - Success Factors of Entrepreneurs
  • (14:05) - Impact & Sustainability in Companies
  • (16:10) - What Twente Still Brings to His Work
  • (18:17) - Advice: Making an Impact with Technology
  • (20:13) - UT Memories & Reflections
]]> In this episode, Joe speaks with Twente alumnus Peter Huisman, an entrepreneur working at the intersection of technology, sustainability and impact in Africa. Peter studied Electrical Engineering at the UT, and his career eventually took him from the Netherlands to Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda. Peter shares how this journey led him to help build solar company SolarNow and later to found Urban Greens, an agri-tech company exploring more sustainable ways of producing food in cities.

Along the way, Peter reflects on what it takes to build impactful and sustainable businesses in Africa, what he looks for in entrepreneurs through his work with VC fund Persistent, and how lessons from his time on the Twente campus continue to shape the way he works today.

  • (00:00) - Introduction & podcast concept
  • (00:24) - Meet Peter Hausman
  • (00:50) - Electric Engineering & Campus Leadership
  • (02:28) - Leaving the Netherlands for Africa
  • (04:15) - Culture Shock & Learning to Adapt
  • (04:57) - Building SolarNow
  • (07:45) - From Solar Energy to Urban Farming
  • (09:57) - Rethinking How Cities Produce Food
  • (11:44) - Urban Greens in Five Years Time
  • (12:43) - Success Factors of Entrepreneurs
  • (14:05) - Impact & Sustainability in Companies
  • (16:10) - What Twente Still Brings to His Work
  • (18:17) - Advice: Making an Impact with Technology
  • (20:13) - UT Memories & Reflections
]]> Wed, 30 Sep 2026 17:59:53 +0200 Joe Laufer Watch on YouTube Joe Laufer 1344 In this episode, Joe speaks with Twente alumnus Peter Huisman, an entrepreneur working at the intersection of technology, sustainability and impact in Africa. Peter studied Electrical Engineering at the UT, and his career eventually took him from the Netherlands to Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda. Peter shares how this journey led him to help build solar company SolarNow and later to found Urban Greens, an agri-tech company exploring more sustainable ways of producing food in cities.

Along the way, Peter reflects on what it takes to build impactful and sustainable businesses in Africa, what he looks for in entrepreneurs through his work with VC fund Persistent, and how lessons from his time on the Twente campus continue to shape the way he works today.

  • (00:00) - Introduction & podcast concept
  • (00:24) - Meet Peter Hausman
  • (00:50) - Electric Engineering & Campus Leadership
  • (02:28) - Leaving the Netherlands for Africa
  • (04:15) - Culture Shock & Learning to Adapt
  • (04:57) - Building SolarNow
  • (07:45) - From Solar Energy to Urban Farming
  • (09:57) - Rethinking How Cities Produce Food
  • (11:44) - Urban Greens in Five Years Time
  • (12:43) - Success Factors of Entrepreneurs
  • (14:05) - Impact & Sustainability in Companies
  • (16:10) - What Twente Still Brings to His Work
  • (18:17) - Advice: Making an Impact with Technology
  • (20:13) - UT Memories & Reflections
]]> Twente alumni, Career development, Networking, Entrepreneurship, Sustainability, Social impact, Innovation, Solar energy, Urban farming, Agri-tech, Climate technology, Africa, Uganda, International careers No S01E02 Taipei to Enschede and beyond: Rebecca Chu on Learning and the Power of Mistakes 2 2 S01E02 Taipei to Enschede and beyond: Rebecca Chu on Learning and the Power of Mistakes full 1887ae83-9ac3-42c1-b9d7-5b91bf8c477f https://share.transistor.fm/s/d6f3c207 In this episode, Joe speaks with Twente alumna Rebecca Chu, now an AI Learning Analyst at Docebo. Starting with her move from Taiwan to the Netherlands to study Educational Science and Technology at UT, Rebecca shares how her passion for helping people learn led her from teaching Mandarin and creating online educational content to researching virtual reality as a tool for personality assessment and building AI-powered learning systems.

Along the way, Rebecca reflects among other things on learner empathy, responsible AI, the opportunities that can come from a single LinkedIn message, and why mistakes can be one of the most valuable parts of a career journey.

  • (00:00) - Introduction
  • (01:21) - Moving from Taiwan to Twente
  • (03:31) - UT experience: studying during COVID
  • (05:35) - International community & collaboration
  • (06:52) - Finding opportunities through LinkedIn
  • (08:43) - VR research: assessing personality traits
  • (10:57) - From VR to AI-powered learning
  • (12:36) - Language teaching & learner empathy
  • (15:33) - AI roleplay & communication skills
  • (17:46) - Human-centered AI & responsible design
  • (19:46) - Career advice: the value of mistakes
  • (21:59) - LinkedIn & reaching out
  • (23:28) - Closing remarks
]]> In this episode, Joe speaks with Twente alumna Rebecca Chu, now an AI Learning Analyst at Docebo. Starting with her move from Taiwan to the Netherlands to study Educational Science and Technology at UT, Rebecca shares how her passion for helping people learn led her from teaching Mandarin and creating online educational content to researching virtual reality as a tool for personality assessment and building AI-powered learning systems.

Along the way, Rebecca reflects among other things on learner empathy, responsible AI, the opportunities that can come from a single LinkedIn message, and why mistakes can be one of the most valuable parts of a career journey.

  • (00:00) - Introduction
  • (01:21) - Moving from Taiwan to Twente
  • (03:31) - UT experience: studying during COVID
  • (05:35) - International community & collaboration
  • (06:52) - Finding opportunities through LinkedIn
  • (08:43) - VR research: assessing personality traits
  • (10:57) - From VR to AI-powered learning
  • (12:36) - Language teaching & learner empathy
  • (15:33) - AI roleplay & communication skills
  • (17:46) - Human-centered AI & responsible design
  • (19:46) - Career advice: the value of mistakes
  • (21:59) - LinkedIn & reaching out
  • (23:28) - Closing remarks
]]> Fri, 31 Jul 2026 10:17:55 +0200 Joe Laufer Watch on YouTube Joe Laufer 1421 In this episode, Joe speaks with Twente alumna Rebecca Chu, now an AI Learning Analyst at Docebo. Starting with her move from Taiwan to the Netherlands to study Educational Science and Technology at UT, Rebecca shares how her passion for helping people learn led her from teaching Mandarin and creating online educational content to researching virtual reality as a tool for personality assessment and building AI-powered learning systems.

Along the way, Rebecca reflects among other things on learner empathy, responsible AI, the opportunities that can come from a single LinkedIn message, and why mistakes can be one of the most valuable parts of a career journey.

  • (00:00) - Introduction
  • (01:21) - Moving from Taiwan to Twente
  • (03:31) - UT experience: studying during COVID
  • (05:35) - International community & collaboration
  • (06:52) - Finding opportunities through LinkedIn
  • (08:43) - VR research: assessing personality traits
  • (10:57) - From VR to AI-powered learning
  • (12:36) - Language teaching & learner empathy
  • (15:33) - AI roleplay & communication skills
  • (17:46) - Human-centered AI & responsible design
  • (19:46) - Career advice: the value of mistakes
  • (21:59) - LinkedIn & reaching out
  • (23:28) - Closing remarks
]]> No S01E01 Enschede to Zurich: Michelle Geerlings on Visual Thinking and Taking Initiative 1 1 S01E01 Enschede to Zurich: Michelle Geerlings on Visual Thinking and Taking Initiative full 80a1f22a-ef9c-4be0-9770-89cf2e488ff7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOmIFDf9kNg In this episode, Joe speaks with Twente alumna Michelle Geerlings, now Country Director Switzerland at Flatland.  Starting from her time studying Industrial Design Engineering at UT, where she was actively involved in S.G. Daedalus and Bedrijvendagen Twente, she went on to gain international experience at TU Delft, including projects in Kenya and Japan. Michelle shares how she transitioned afterwards from a 2020 internship into opening her company's first international office in Zurich.

Along the way, Michelle reflects among other things on visual thinking, her work on human-centered AI policy, and the value of volunteering.

Here is the video version

  • (00:00) - Introduction & podcast concept
  • (01:08) - UT experience: Industrial Design & student life
  • (03:20) - Organizing Bedrijvendagen Twente
  • (04:37) - TU Delft journey: global experiences
  • (07:01) - AI thesis: shaping policy for real-world impact
  • (09:24) - Entrepreneurship: starting Studio Mies
  • (11:57) - Building Flatland Switzerland
  • (13:50) - What is visual thinking?
  • (15:36) - Volunteering & personal motivation
  • (17:02) - Hiking project & personal interests
  • (18:49) - Advice for students & graduates
  • (20:37) - LinkedIn & reaching out
]]> In this episode, Joe speaks with Twente alumna Michelle Geerlings, now Country Director Switzerland at Flatland.  Starting from her time studying Industrial Design Engineering at UT, where she was actively involved in S.G. Daedalus and Bedrijvendagen Twente, she went on to gain international experience at TU Delft, including projects in Kenya and Japan. Michelle shares how she transitioned afterwards from a 2020 internship into opening her company's first international office in Zurich.

Along the way, Michelle reflects among other things on visual thinking, her work on human-centered AI policy, and the value of volunteering.

Here is the video version

  • (00:00) - Introduction & podcast concept
  • (01:08) - UT experience: Industrial Design & student life
  • (03:20) - Organizing Bedrijvendagen Twente
  • (04:37) - TU Delft journey: global experiences
  • (07:01) - AI thesis: shaping policy for real-world impact
  • (09:24) - Entrepreneurship: starting Studio Mies
  • (11:57) - Building Flatland Switzerland
  • (13:50) - What is visual thinking?
  • (15:36) - Volunteering & personal motivation
  • (17:02) - Hiking project & personal interests
  • (18:49) - Advice for students & graduates
  • (20:37) - LinkedIn & reaching out
]]> Thu, 11 Jun 2026 09:34:01 +0200 Joe Laufer Watch on YouTube Joe Laufer 1327 In this episode, Joe speaks with Twente alumna Michelle Geerlings, now Country Director Switzerland at Flatland.  Starting from her time studying Industrial Design Engineering at UT, where she was actively involved in S.G. Daedalus and Bedrijvendagen Twente, she went on to gain international experience at TU Delft, including projects in Kenya and Japan. Michelle shares how she transitioned afterwards from a 2020 internship into opening her company's first international office in Zurich.

Along the way, Michelle reflects among other things on visual thinking, her work on human-centered AI policy, and the value of volunteering.

Here is the video version

  • (00:00) - Introduction & podcast concept
  • (01:08) - UT experience: Industrial Design & student life
  • (03:20) - Organizing Bedrijvendagen Twente
  • (04:37) - TU Delft journey: global experiences
  • (07:01) - AI thesis: shaping policy for real-world impact
  • (09:24) - Entrepreneurship: starting Studio Mies
  • (11:57) - Building Flatland Switzerland
  • (13:50) - What is visual thinking?
  • (15:36) - Volunteering & personal motivation
  • (17:02) - Hiking project & personal interests
  • (18:49) - Advice for students & graduates
  • (20:37) - LinkedIn & reaching out
]]> Twente alumni, Career development, Networking, Visual thinking, International careers No