I am convinced that designers and innovators nowadays have a big impact on the future and should use their skills to design and elaborate. Building bridges between different disciplines is what we need to do to lead our society towards a more circular approach.

1. GreenOffice-member Sustainability platform
University of Antwerp
Sep 2018 - Present
GreenOffice Uantwerpen is a platform that empowers the wider university community to act on sustainability. Our team
realises its own ideas to embed sustainability in education, research, and operations.
Intern Analyst of Environmental Coordination
Volvo Car Gent
Sep 2017 – June 2018
Master's thesis in collaboration with Volvo Cars Gent: Optimization of recycling packaging waste.
This master’s thesis received an honorable mention of the Ovam ecodesign awards for students.
Aspiring researcher
University of Antwerp
Sep 2017 – June 2018
The status of aspiring researcher emphasises the personal enrichment of the aspiring researcher and gives him a chance to
explore the possibilities of a research career.
The student will be involved in the operation of a research team and performs a number of tasks that are educational and / or
research support in order to get acquainted with academic work.
The aspiring researcher works under the scientific supervision of a promoter and co-promoter on a written scientific work
which is eligible for publication. This publication can be regarded as part of the master thesis.
Design intern GBO
Mar 2017 – May 2017
Antwerp Area, Belgium
GBO’s main goal for over 25 years is to help clients with by developing and realizing products for three services: Graphics &
Brand Communication - Design & Product Engineering - Projects & Full Service Development. They operate currently from
offices in Helmond, Antwerp and Hong Kong. During my internship in Antwerp, the team received a‘Red Dot Product Design
Award’and a second Red Dot Design Award for‘Best of the Best 2017’.
Michiel Van Praet
07/06/1995
Varenstraat 71, 2840 Rumst, Belgium
+32472/26.61.42
vanpraetmichiel@hotmail.com
Linkedin.com/in/vanpraetmichiel
Software
Solidworks, Autodesk Fusion, Arduino
Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop,
Adobe Premiere Pro, Keyshot,
Sketchbook Pro
BIO
COMPETENCES
Languages
Dutch (Mother Tongue),
English (Advanced), French (Intermediate),
German ( Basic)
Experience
Master’s degree MSc, Environmental sciences
University of Antwerp, Belgium, 2018 – 2019
Master's degree MSc, Product Development, Strategic Design
University of Antwerp, Belgium, 2013 – 2018
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Germany, 2016 – 2017
Education

2. Volvo Circular economy
Masterthesis 2017- June 2018
with one way-packaging
Volvo Car Gent, an assembly plant in the automotive
industry, consumes annually 800 tons of one-way
plastic packaging. These trays, which pack electrical
components, are made of particularly high-quality
plastic. In the waste processing phase, they are mainly
incinerated with energy recovery. During this thesis,
I am doing research and generating solutions to shift
to a more circular approach by introducing one-way
packaging guideliness.
Manufacturer
Waste Processor
Local Manufacturer
Internal
Logistics
Operator Collector Internal
Logistics
Recycling
Park
Team supervisor
Management
LEAN
honorable mention Ovam Ecodesign Award

3. More strict packaging guidelines were needed to
unify the stream of plastics. Suppliers of electronic
components are now required to make their packaging
in the obligated type of plastic and thickness. In
this way, Volvo is able to sell the plastics to local
manufacturers who are going to reuse the plastic.
A collector was as well designed to fulfil the needs of
the operators. With Cluster, it is possible to stack the
trays in an ergonomic responsible way. A pneumatic
system makes it possible to empty the collector fast
and easy.
Virgin
Polypropylene Black PET
Volvo Circular economy
Masterthesis 2017- June 2018
with one way-packaging
honorable mention Ovam Ecodesign Award

4. E-Loop Challenge
Looking for new concepts and business
models to reduce e-waste
Fifteen participants from all over the world were commissioned to come
up with effective solutions to reduce and / or prevent our growing mountain
of electronic waste. For 3 days our team worked around design for re-use,
the results of which were presented for the World Resources Forum at the
end of the congress. During the sprint, we had the chance to appeal to the
experts present at the Forum. Our team took on the role of top researcher
of an electronics giant, who wants to investigate one of its top segments for
environmental friendliness and sustainability. Modular design possibilities
and new business models such as “product as a service” were examined.
Finally, a “pay-for-use” concept for laptops was chosen under the brand
“looptop”. With this concept, both the “jobs to be done” for users and the
reduction of e-waste were addressed.
Partners:

5. Hacketon 2nd
place
The future of shopping
I am convinced that collaboration is the key to innovation. It feels natural
when you are working within a group of people where knowledge is shared,
discussions and new ideas are formed. With a team of product and software
developers, I participated on a hacketon, organized by the three companies
above. Coming up with good concepts is one thing, but being able to
communicate or pitch them properly requires training and skills. We were
able to convince the jury of professionals and finally ended up in second
place at Google Headquarters in Brussels.
Partners: