Researchers Zero Hunger Lab
The Lab investigates how smart algorithms and analyses can help combat chronic malnutrition, famine, and at the same time, structurally strengthen local agriculture so that, eventually, it will become self-sufficient.
Do you want to contribute as a researcher?
In order to realize this, we are working on several projects with numerous partners. We are looking for passionate Master's students or PhD researchers who are willing to dedicate themselves to this, including from disciplines such as law or behavioral sciences. In addition, we have our own research agenda with projects we would like to work on in the future.
Examples of projects/research questions on the ever-changing Zero Hunger Lab agenda:
- What does COVID-19 mean for food security in slums and refugee camps?
- Develop an online game with which we can show the enormous impact of reversing emergency supply chains.
- How can we better coordinate and optimize interregional food chains in East Africa?
- What does a smallholder farmer or cooperative in Liberia need to record and disclose valuable experience and knowledge for prescriptive analytics?
- How can we ensure that, even during a war, investments are made to maintain the local food supply?
- How can we make the Caribbean Netherlands less dependent on imported food?
Do you, as a researcher, want to contribute to more food security in the world? Then please contact us.
Contact
Hunger is a worldwide problem. I like the idea of helping to solve it. In my opinion, Data Science and Operations Research can contribute enormously to Zero Hunger.
Robert Poos, MSc. student Business Analytics and Operations Research
Projects
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Child Growth Monitor
Tilburg University's Zero Hunger Lab was asked to develop the AI algorithm that measures body parameters, such as height, circumference, and weight from images. The algorithm can be included in the app to enable automatic detection of malnutrition in children all over the world.
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Digital Dignity Initiative
Not everyone eligible for assistance from the Food Bank utilizes it. How can we ethically reach and encourage people to accept this help?
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Accelerating Aid in Ukraine through BERTopic
The Dutch Red Cross wants to know where aid is needed in Ukraine.
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Project Enhance: Cost of Diet
How can we all be provided with food, especially in times of global distress or famine? Through AI and Big Data, the Zero Hunger Lab aims to answer these questions with Project ENHANCE.
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The Influence of Nutrition on Brain Development
The Zero Poverty Lab and Zero Hunger Lab investigate the effects of poverty and malnutrition on the development of the (child's) brain.
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Fair and sustainable supply chain for sugar cane
Solidaridad asked the Zero Hunger Lab how they could use data to contribute as much as possible to the development of a fair and sustainable supply chain of sugar cane and palm oil.
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Effects of obtaining land rights
International emergency aid organization ZOA is committed to improving land tenure security by resolving land conflicts, documenting land use, or registering rights. What is the impact of ZOA's work?
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Model OPTIMUS and its collaboration with World Food Programme
The UN approached Tilburg University with the challenge of optimizing the supply chain in crisis situations using data analytics.
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Improving Humanitarian Operations through Innovative Methods of Network Optimization
The Zero Hunger Lab investigates how humanitarian organizations can gather reliable information despite data scarcity and uncertainty.
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Under the radar
The organization of Dutch Food Banks requested Zero Hunger Lab to develop techniques to predict which people of are eligible for Food Bank support.
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Predicting food security with Machine Learning
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) summarizes the level of food security into one number. Zero Hunger Lab investigates the IPC scale.
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