MERLN at Technasium Limburg Cup launch

MERLN Researchers recently took part in the information event for the Technasium Limburg Cup 2026–2027, introducing secondary-school students to current research at Maastricht University and challenging them to work on real scientific and engineering problems.

During the event, Rossella Avagliano Trezza, Simon Van Herck and Niels van Ingen presented project assignments linked directly to research conducted at MERLN. The students first received short pitches explaining the scientific background and the challenges involved. They then selected the project they wanted to work on during the following eight weeks.

One of the projects, presented by Rossella Avagliano Trezza and Niels van Ingen, focuses on eye regeneration and cell therapy. Students are challenged to design a demonstration model that can explain how regenerative therapies for the ocular surface move from a small tissue biopsy to cells expanded in the laboratory and, ultimately, to a new epithelial layer that could be used for transplantation. The aim is not only scientific accuracy, but also effective science communication. Students must find a way to make a complex laboratory process understandable and visually engaging for a general audience.

A second project, presented by Simon Van Herck, introduces students to the world of smart biomaterials and medical implants. His challenge focuses on elastomers, flexible polymeric materials that can be used in applications such as artificial blood vessels and other implants. Students are asked to design a test setup that can evaluate these materials under conditions that more closely resemble the human body, including physiological temperature and a wet, saline environment.

The projects attracted considerable interest during the event, with many students choosing to work on the MERLN challenges. Over the coming weeks, the teams will investigate the scientific background, develop their concepts and translate their ideas into designs and scientific posters. The strongest teams from each participating school will then progress to the final stage of the Technasium Limburg Cup, where they will compete with other student teams from across Limburg.

For the MERLN researchers, the initiative provides an opportunity to bring current research directly into the classroom and to let students experience how science, engineering and design come together in practice. For the students, it is a chance to work on authentic research questions and interact with researchers while developing their own solutions.

We are very curious to see what they will come up with, and which teams will make it to the final.