Featured session: Jessica Goss — Mijke the Matchbot
Jessica Goss presents Mijke the Matchbot, a human-centered AI initiative that helps citizens navigate local social services while creating a continuous feedback loop between users, social organizations, and developers.
Rather than replacing human decision-making, Met Mij is designed as a socio-technical system: AI supports matching and navigation, while people remain central in setting criteria, validating outcomes, and guiding development.
Through an Obeya lens, this session shows how human judgment and AI can be effectively combined to improve alignment, learning, and service delivery—offering practical insights for organizations exploring AI within Obeya environments.
A milestone for the Circular Water Hub
The first phase of the Circular Water Hub at service area Kloosters has been completed. Rainwater is captured, filtered, stored, and reused for the toilets in the Pavilion. Students from Yverta Dordrecht designed the solution, while students from Yuverta Boxtel carried out the implementation.
An inspiring example of learning by doing and collaboration. Rijkswaterstaat provided the experimental space, Bouwbedrijf Th. van Kasteren as part of ‘Coöperatie Symbiotisch Bouwen’ made this operationally possible, whilst Eindhoven Engine is the orchestrator of the broader circular water project for the region. It is great to see the collaboration between these partners!
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁?
The next phase will start soon, building on the same principle: capturing, filtering, storing, and reusing water. This time sourced from the highway A58 for local applications such as agriculture.
More info
Advancing energy flexibility in buildings
Tackling energy challenges in buildings: the BuildInFlexergy approach
It also provides a valuable moment to receive feedback, exchange ideas, and gain insights from one another’s work. The session will follow an interactive and informal format: all interns will present their projects simultaneously, while participants are encouraged to walk around and explore the different presentations.
Eindhoven Engine News – March 2026
In this edition of Eindhoven Engine News: Building a sustainable semiconductor industry together, two grants, each 50K for Livable region and Inclusive society & more.
What else is happening at Eindhoven Engine?
A digital twin prototype for healthy living
The Smart Cities project reached the next milestone as Veron Augustine Afonso translated earlier academic system‑dynamics research by EngD researcher Golnoosh Sabahifard into a validated and interactive simulation model. This new model shows how environmental, social, and behavioral factors shape healthy living in neighborhoods.
A practical tool for smarter urban decisions
Built in Vensim, the model turns complex theory into a clear, usable tool that allows stakeholders to explore “what‑if” scenarios. For example, how reducing noise or improving social cohesion affects wellbeing over time. It is modular, transparent, and ready to evolve into future digital twin applications across the region.
Shaping a more livable region
With Veron’s successful completion of this phase Maria Mihaylova will take the project forward, focusing on designing an interactive dashboard for a broad group of municipal and regional partners. This strong foundation positions the Smart Cities project as a key enabler of evidence‑based decision‑making: helping cities design healthier, smarter, and more livable communities for everyone.
- Interested in joining or learning more? Please contact Walter Baets for more information.
A regional collaboration with impact
The project officially kicked off during the Festival of Disruption 2025, marking the start of a four‑year collaboration with the potential to extend even further. A diverse team is driving this transformation:
- Eindhoven Engine – leading as orchestrator and innovation accelerator
- Rijkswaterstaat – contributing key assets such as the Wilhelmina Canal and the InnovA58 Kloosters test location
- TU/e, Fontys, Avans, and Yuverta – providing research and educational expertise
- Businesses, the Ministry of Defence, Brabant Water/Rehydro, Waterschap De Dommel – enabling real‑world implementation and regional scalability
Together, they combine technological, social, and organizational innovation to tackle one of the region’s most urgent challenges.
With this project we can confront regional water scarcity and build a climate‑neutral Brainport by 2040. We invite partners, innovators and citizens to take part in this crucial mission.
How the project works
The circular water hubs are designed as interconnected systems that:
- Reuse water across companies, institutions, agriculture, and households
- Reduce freshwater extraction
- Improve water quality through innovative treatment
- Reinforce the natural water cycle
- Support a thriving ecosystem
Rijkswaterstaat’s infrastructure and innovation sites enable real‑world testing, while Eindhoven Engine coordinates research, implementation, and cross‑sector collaboration. A starting budget of €800,000 sets the foundation for early development and pilot projects.
More info
Welcome our new EngD trainee: Ana Hernández Madonado
We are excited to welcome Ana Hernández Madonado, who joined the Eindhoven Engine team last year as part of the Mechatronics System Design EngD program. As an EngD trainee, Ana is contributing to an impactful in-house project focused on accelerating the transition toward a climate‑neutral Brainport region by 2040.
Ana’s project is in close cooperation with Rijkswaterstaat TU/e and Eindhoven Engine. The work began with an exploration of opportunities for water reuse and regeneration within the Brainport region. Building on these early findings, Ana is now conducting an integrated systems analysis to better understand how natural systems, regional infrastructure, and human activities interact.
Her research involves defining system boundaries, mapping key actors, and identifying critical interdependencies across the region. This integrated approach supports the development of a shared regional understanding, an essential step for effective collaboration between stakeholders.
Supporting the Brainport region’s climate-neutral future
The insights from this project will help guide the Brainport region in its transition toward climate neutrality, providing a robust foundation for informed decision-making and future sustainable solutions. By emphasizing system integration and stakeholder alignment, Ana’s work underscores the vital role of collaboration in achieving long‑term environmental impact.
We warmly welcome Ana to Eindhoven Engine and look forward to following her contributions throughout her EngD journey!
Eindhoven Engine receives 50K grant for sustainable upscaling of Mijke the Matchbot
We are pleased to announce that Eindhoven Engine has been awarded 50K. This funding will support the sustainable upscale of Mijke the Matchbot. Mijke is our AI‑powered digital assistant. She is designed to make service delivery more accessible, reliable, and inclusive across the region.
What is Mijke the Matchbot?
Mijke the Matchbot is an AI-driven digital assistant developed at Eindhoven Engine that helps individuals find the right public or social services quickly and easily. The feasibility of the concept has already been validated: Mijke can guide users through complex information, streamline referrals, and reduce barriers to essential support. The next step is ensuring that this innovation can scale responsibly, securely, and effectively within the European context.
Focus of the new project: two core developments
1. Exploring locally hosted LLMs for European‑aligned privacy and autonomy
A key part of this project is assessing the feasibility of running large language models (LLMs) locally, rather than relying on external cloud services. This approach enables:
- Privacy-by-design, with sensitive data fully protected
- Greater autonomy and resilience for public organizations
- Predictable, controllable operational costs
- Alignment with European data governance requirements and regulations
This exploration is essential for ensuring that Mijke can be deployed widely and responsibly within public and social sectors.
2. Creating a continuous user feedback loop
To ensure long-term quality and trustworthiness, the project will design and test a structured user feedback system. This mechanism enables real-time improvement of:
- Referral accuracy
- Reliability of information
- Overall accessibility of the digital assistant
By embedding user experience directly into ongoing development, Mijke will evolve in step with the needs of residents, professionals, and service organizations.
The next step is ensuring that this innovation can scale responsibly, securely, and effectively within the European context.
In collaboration with Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) feasibility studies and pilots will be conducted within the Eindhoven Metropolitan Region (MRE). The project aims to deliver a scalable, privacy-friendly, and inclusive digital solution that strengthens accessible public and social service delivery and supports long-term regional impact.”
Media: Building the water systems of the future together
- Read more [article is in Dutch]