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To find solutions for societal challenges in a sustainable way : that is HOGENT's ambition. It wants to realise this ambition through applied scientific research based on an interdisciplinary approach and with the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDG) as a guideline.
Achieving a sustainable social impact has been a fundamental element of HOGENT's mission for years. HOGENT does not only want to achieve this mission through education, but also through its applied scientific research. Specifically, HOGENT strives to provide answers to the needs of professional practice and to anticipate broad societal challenges.
Ecological, social and economic sustainability and co-creation with the professional field, policymakers and citizens are key here.
Moreover, HOGENT believes that you can only respond efficiently to the complexity of current and future social challenges through an interdisciplinary approach. This interdisciplinarity also boosts critical thinking about the boundaries of one's own discipline.
These principles of the HOGENT research policy are strongly in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, which are the guideline of the HOGENT research agenda: what is the impact of research on a larger scale, in the long term, with regard to other societal challenges?
Problem driven
However, it is not correct to deal with sustainable development objectives as separate issues. They are an integrated agenda that requires a systemic approach that takes account of the interactions between the various objectives and their effects.
Interdisciplinary research centres can help realise this ambition. Using societal issues, rather than specific disciplines, as a starting point to bring researchers together is in line with the problem-driven nature of applied scientific research. The resulting accumulation of expertise and projects allows HOGENT to better reach stakeholders and create more impact.
Moreover, by concentrating research resources on a limited number of well-chosen items (see below), the research gets more focus. In this way, the research culture will further develop and HOGENT will profile itself even better as a knowledge institution with credibility and a visible social impact.
Systems thinking
The research centres will work according to the principles of system thinking, of which the starting point is sustainable development within the ecological and social limits determined by the planet's viability and by human rights.
The research centres work closely together with relevant internal and external stakeholders with whom they want to bring about sustainable and measurable change in attitudes, motivation, knowledge and skills. As an open meeting place, they provide a platform for cooperation and exchange between researchers and in co-creation with teachers, students, partners from the professional field, from academies, governments, citizens, and so on.
In addition to research projects, the research centres also accommodate consultancy, student projects, work placements and papers.
The research centres
1. Care and Welfare
The care and welfare sector faces major challenges. The research centre focuses on the innovation of care and welfare processes and interventions, with quality of care and welfare as the guiding principle. The 360° approach stands for a person-oriented, network-oriented and environment-oriented approach.
2. AgroFoodNature
This research centre is active at the interface between agriculture and horticulture, food and nature. The researchers are striving for a sustainable use of open space based on sustainable food production with a diverse and healthy supply, a stable supply of green raw materials and a sustainable use of natural resources.
3. Health and Water Technology
Health and Water Technology carries out research on accurate chemical, biochemical, biomedical and biotechnological analyses. The research centre works on data processing, circular and biobased economy with a focus on water quality, water purification, biomedical diagnostics and the interactions between micro-organisms, both in water and in humans.
4. EQUALITY ResearchCollective
This research centre aims to contribute to promoting the quality of life and guaranteeing the human rights of persons in vulnerable situations by counteracting structural processes of social exclusion. The research is shaped in co-creation with people in vulnerable living situations themselves, in which shared ownership is paramount.
5. Substance use and Psychosocial Risk Behaviours
This research centre focuses on the fields of prevention, treatment and aftercare in the perspective of the continuum of care, in the themes of legal and illegal drugs, psychosocial well-being, nutrition and exercise, and violence and crime.
6. Sustainable use of space and mobility
Sustainable Use of Space and Mobility stands for applied research into sustainable space and mobility in cities and towns. The research centre aims to achieve social impact in four key areas: (re)use of space, quality housing, sustainable mobility and spatial instruments.
7. Research Centre for Sustainable Organizations
This research centre focuses on research into optimising sustainable transitions and innovations in the field of work and business. They investigate new ways to be economically successful through the creation of social added value. The mission of this research centre is: transforming business for social innovation.
8. eCO-CITY
How do people live (together) in a sustainable, equitable and liveable way in an urbanising environment and how can this be supported? eCO-CITY generates a social, cultural and spatial focus on urbanisation issues. In order to generate a sustainable impact on the city of the future, this research is developed in co-creation with citizens, professionals, policy makers and students.
9. Futures through Design
This research centre systematically uses design as a creative, investigative, participative and solution-oriented process to initiate and guide the transition to a sustainable future. The researchers create physical and mental space for innovation, with opportunities for both practical applications and global solutions. They explore opportunities and stimulate 'out of the box' thinking, thus feeding the public debate.
10. FTILab+
The FTI lab+ promotes the interaction between technology and society and supports companies in their necessary transformation into companies focused on advanced materials, digitisation, sustainability and growth markets. This automatically addresses other challenges such as demographic change and climate change.
11. Research Centre for Learning in Diversity
This research centre wants to investigate formal and informal (a)typical learning in a diverse society in an interprofessional way.
12. Centre for Applied Data Science
Applied research for sustainable challenges requires multidisciplinary expertise in data sciences. The Centre for Applied Data Science guarantees methodologically sound acquisition, management and analysis of all kinds of data. The approach to problem solving is supported by the use of the latest technologies in data sciences. The Centre for Applied Data Science brings together a wide variety of experts from different research fields, and aims to consolidate sustainability through data.