HANNAH GUNSCH’S CIRCULAR PASSION

STUDENT IN DE KIJKER

How will we live, learn and work in 2050? In Leuven's maakleerplek, engineers, scientists, start-ups, students, and residents are searching for answers. One of the collaborative workspaces is the High Tech Lab, an open community circular Makerspace designed to bring people and technology together to collaborate. The leading figure and Community Manager in this project is Hannah Gunsch. In one year, they have made the High Tech Lab a thriving place to be in Leuven. A portrait of a passionate student-entrepreneur.

Is it their American origins? Their sojourn in various European countries? Or is it simply in their genes? What makes a master's student in Chemical Engineering Technology and Postgraduate Tech Innovations in Ventures & Teams a role model for current and future engineers? Hannah does not have to think about that for long. Almost immediately, the word 'leergierigheid' comes up, a wonderful Dutch term for which there is no readymade English equivalent. “Eagerness to learn only covers half the meaning,” says Hannah. “The Dutch word 'leren' refers both to making knowledge and skills your own and transferring them to others. So, it is about taking as well as giving back. Moreover, 'leergierigheid' contains the emotional aspect of the satisfaction of learning and teaching as an underlying emotion. And what is passion other than intensified emotion?”

At the High Tech Lab, Hannah not only plays the role of Community Manager, but also develops and personally runs workshops on the circular economy, sustainable 3D printing, 3D modelling, laser cutting, plastic waste recycling, circular design thinking, etc. By following one of these workshops, which are open to everyone, the community can come more in touch with the technical and practical meaning of sustainability.

Cooperative

From the start of their studies at Group T Campus, Hannah manifested themself as a ‘maverick’. After the first bachelor year, they already completed an internship at the microelectronics centre imec in Leuven during the summer months. A few years later, they joined CORE, the cooperative of committed students and associates who develop concepts around efficient and rational energy use. As a project engineer in the Circular Economy group, Hannah participated in projects aimed at reducing and valorising waste streams.

When the maakleerplek opened its doors in 2021, Hannah spontaneously signed up to help build out the High Tech Lab. “In the maakleerplek, there are eight sharing spaces where you can learn and make together,” they explain. "You will find a studio for artists, a STEAM Studio (STEM + Arts), a coworking learning space, a New Media Lab, a repair café and both a High Tech and a Low Tech Lab. In the High Tech Lab, you can not only take part in a wide range of workshops on sustainable topics such as the circular economy. You can also freely experiment with fabrication devices including the largest laser cutter in Leuven. For instance, Wednesdays are reserved for 3D printing, on Thursdays we hold Open Lab for everyone, and on Sunday mornings, 9- to 18-year-olds can have fun in the Young Makers Lab.”

Hannah Gunsch

© Julie Feyaerts

Volunteer

Since the launch of the High Tech Lab Makerspace in September 2021, Hannah has already recruited 26 students and locals as volunteers, 15 of whom are currently still active. “Each of the volunteers has their own reasons for joining,” says Hannah. “They are all volunteers who care about the future of this planet and are committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, which include affordable and clean energy and responsible consumption and production of materials. I admire their unwavering commitment and infectious enthusiasm to tackle such major global problems locally. It is such small-scale initiatives that will make the difference in the long run.”

Be the energy you want to attract. It could be Hannah's motto. Passion consumes a lot of energy, but the chances of Hannah's supply running out are almost nonexistent. After all, their energy is renewable and circular. The more they spend of it, the more they get back.

Yves Persoons

www.maakleerplek.be/deelplekken/ high-tech-lab/

* Hannah identifies as non-binary and uses they/ them pronouns.