The rapid growth and development of the Dutch dairy industry has brought a lot of challenges. These are related to the influence on our landscape, the pressure on biodiversity, the reduction of emissions and the improvement of animal welfare. The transition to a sustainable dairy industry that respects animals and the environment is a complex endeavor that will require all involved parties to cooperate and work together on solutions.

With an interdisciplinary team of students and in close collaboration with the dairy sector, you will work on the following question: How can dairy farms still exist in the future, in a healthy, sustainable and economically feasible way, from the perspective of the animals, the environment, as well as the farmers?

This challenge is aimed at third-year bachelor and master students from all disciplines in our alliance institutions in Eindhoven, Wageningen and Utrecht.
When working on this challenge, students are encouraged to use an interdisciplinary approach. Projects can combine technical, political, economic, social and sustainability disciplines. The proposed projects can take the form of a prototype (for example of a device, a platform, a tool), a system or a policy, depending on the expertise of the students and their chosen direction. In a period of 100 days, students are challenged to redefine this broad challenge into a specific problem definition and propose a project plan.

Practical Information

• The challenge starts on February 9th, 2026 and ends on March 8th, 2026
• The study load is 6 EC
• This course is for Bachelor and Master students

Teaching Method

We organize four live events at different locations. These take place as much as possible on dairy farms. These live events will take place as much as possible on dairy farms. To fairly distribute travel time for all students, we try to choose locations that are close to one of the institutes.

The educational design is divided into different phases with increasing responsibility: there will be no exams, but attendance during all live events is crucial. The assessment is based on a project proposal combined with a final presentation and an individual reflection report.

Registration

Deadline is on the 11th of January 2026, 23:59

TU/e via: EduXchange
WUR via: OSIRIS code YWU32306
UU and UMC via: EduXchange