Endowed chair established at JADS, focused on fruit and vegetable cultivation
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In high-tech fruit and vegetable cultivation, an incredible amount of data is collected and made available in real time. This includes climate, irrigation, energy, crop measurements, scouting, sorting data, and yields. At the same time, the fields of data science and artificial intelligence are developing rapidly, focusing on applications that can make a real difference for people and nature.
To get more out of data for high-tech fruit and vegetable cultivation, Growers United and LetsGrow.com, together with the Open University and the JADS institute, are launching the Data*Grow program. The official kick-off took place on Wednesday, January 28, at the Mariënburg Campus of JADS, attended by the four partners as well as various other stakeholders.
As part of this collaboration, Prof. Roger Bons has been appointed to the special chair in Data Science and AI at the Open University, established by Growers United and LetsGrow.com. In addition, a second special chair and two Engineering Doctorate positions will be established at JADS, the Data Science institute of Eindhoven University of Technology and Tilburg University. The special chairs will be filled by Prof. Roger Bons (Data Science & AI) and Prof. Nadine Roijakkers (Open Innovation).
In this multi-year program, we bring together data science, AI, and cultivation knowledge to take the next step toward “NEXT level” cultivation. With Data*Grow, the partners are embarking on a unique collaboration in which scientists, students, and specialists from the field are working together on healthy, future-proof, sustainable, and efficient high-tech food horticulture. “We want to support the high level of craftsmanship of our growers by using data and technology with real-time data and predictive models,” says Kees de Kat, CEO of Growers United. In short: making Data Science and AI as applicable as possible in high-tech fruit and vegetable cultivation aimed at the sustainable production of healthy food for us all.
Within this collaboration, LetsGrow.com offers both the platform and the expertise to consistently bring together practical cultivation data and translate it into clear insights for daily cultivation management. This creates a solid basis for further innovation, with the grower’s craftsmanship remaining central. “With Growers United, we are taking the step from data to applicable insights for growers. By linking up with the Open University and JADS, we are ensuring that knowledge development around data and AI not only progresses rapidly, but is also built up structurally,” says Gabriël van der Kruijk, director of LetsGrow.com. This collaboration with the Open University and JADS emphasizes the joint effort to bring practice and science closer together and thereby strengthen sustainable innovation in the sector.
