Vlissingen, the home of the new Knowledge Centre. Photo: Shutterstock In collaboration with Utrecht University, and HZ University of Applied Sciences and University College Roosevelt in Zeeland, Wageningen will be investigating themes such as salinization, landscapes that act as flood protection, and circular agriculture. Over the next few months, a coordinator will consult with the partners to determine the specific topics that the centre will tackle.
Students
Tammo Bult, the Wageningen Marine Research director and a member of the Delta Knowledge Centre working group, also envisages collaboration in education with students doing exploratory studies and WUR sending professors and lecturers to the Zeeland partners on secondment. ‘I expect we will get extra resources for the supervision of students.’
Regional centre
Bult also hopes to see joint research projects. WUR is already active in Zeeland through the Yerseke regional centre. ‘I hope we can build that centre up into a broader WUR hub through which other science groups can carry out research in Zeeland too.’ Bult thinks the Knowledge Centre in Vlissingen will only employ a few people, with most of the activities taking place at the Zeeland partners.
The Vlissingen centre is funded by the government, to the tune of 68 million euros for a period of 10 years.