marloes lankheet
Getting people the support they need.
I want to make things move. Help people move. Create a more accessible world, so everyone can get everything out of themselves. I believe in using technological innovation to create equity in the world, creating movement in the process.
vision.
“As a neurodivergent person, I struggle with things that come naturally to others. A good portion of my life I have been told I just needed to be more motivated. Never reaching the potential everyone, even myself, saw in me is very frustrating.”
Society is made for the general population and the “normal” human living in it, and it has been this way for the longest time. There are many people who are not reaching their potential because the way they interact with the world does not work out within the society we designed.
For example: people with chronic illness or mental disorders. People with unique living situations. Elderly or independent children.
I want to address societal norms that hinder the potential of diverse individuals by designing tailored and personalized tools and solutions that integrate robotics, artificial intelligence, and smart technologies to enhance accessibility, functionality, and happiness, focusing on creating products that fit seamlessly into users’ lives and empower them to pursue their passions. I want to design to fit people’s lives around them, instead of fitting people into a life full of struggle.
I see robotics and artificial intelligence changing the world at a quick pace, and feel like this will facilitate the development necessary for these tools. I am interested in assisting this development and steering it towards the creation of smart solutions to every-day medical or accessibility issues. In this development, creating movement through engineering is important to me, as well as keeping in mind interactions between vulnerable people and their technological aids.
What I Have Done.
Reflecting on my journey as a designer, I can see how past activities and courses have significantly shaped my path and deepened my passion for creating impactful solutions through technology. I am a very technologically oriented designer. Very early in the study program I already liked the more electronic or computer oriented courses. I have found I really like solving the little puzzles that come with developing something technical. The first instance of this was making a game controller in Creative Electronics, but through Data Analytics for Engineers I really discovered this love. Every instance of working with coding or electronics rekindled this interest, being most prevalent in one of my later elective projects: NightLink.
I don’t think I nurtured this interest enough, never developing the skills I wanted to do the stuff I was most interested in.
As courses started to focus more on research and exploration, I found myself intrigued by the way design can drive research and answer questions. The Research Through Design course was especially created for this, and it is where I managed to explore this newfound interest. Working more on the research side of design also stimulated my natural curiosity and the problem-solving instincts, but it might have also made me more critical of myself, my work and my design decisions, leading to the perfectionism I experienced through my FBP.
The courses I did during the programme really shaped my interests as well. For example, the USE-line I did – Digital Twins in Healthcare – got me interested in designing technology for healthcare. Before my bachelor's programme, I was already considering going into a biomedical direction, and this got reintroduced when I considered how design can be placed in the biomedical context.
Quite some activities introduced in the Industrial Design Bachelor’s programme developed my interest, skills and attitude towards making. I got introduced to making as an ideation device, learned how to create robust prototypes and where to place making in the design process (ideally, everywhere). While I do not apply these principles very consistently yet, I am very interested in exploring more of how I can make these techniques suit my working style.
In Digital Craftmanship, I discovered the way data can be visually represented in different and creative ways, which I later explored through my internship. I think the way information is presented to users could be really interesting and intuitive if done well. I was never very interested in the more abstract aspects of design, but data visualisation and later Aesthetics of Interaction made me realise how abstracter ways of designing sometimes can really improve usability and enjoyability, something I am still interested in.
What i am doing.
what i am going to do.
Looking ahead, my plans for the future are centred on advancing my education and career by getting into additional disciplines. I want to develop myself in a more technical field of engineering, to more effectively design technologically advanced products and focus more on the later part of the design process. As I am still deeply motivated by the potential to create innovative technologies that improve the lives of ill and disabled people, my current plan is to move into the field of biomedical engineering.
By following up my design education with a master’s degree in biomedical engineering, I can develop a more in-depth understanding of the technical principles of medical device development and healthcare solutions. Through this program, I aim to gain specialised knowledge and skills in area’s such as biomechanics, ideation to fabrication of medical devices, and sensing physiological signals. Another area I would like to explore during this phase of my education is digital prototyping for the rapid creation and testing of models of devices. A strong grasp on computational methods will be essential for this as well, something I have already started learning about.
Additionally, I still have an unexplored interest in mechatronics, which combines mechanics, electronics and computer science to develop intelligent systems. I like the interdisciplinary approach it can provide to any technological problem. I hope to be able to include it as a part of my master’s degree, but I could include research and developing these skills in some personal development time as well.
In the long term, I aspire to work in a dynamic and innovative environment, such as a leading medical technology company or a research institution. My goal is to be at the forefront of developing cutting-edge medical devices and solutions so I can have a meaningful impact on healthcare and the patients needing these products. By developing my interdisciplinary focus, I aim to be able to vary the fields I work in and the types of projects I get to have a part in.