Carolien Nijenhuis is working as an enthusiastic member of the European Science-Media Hub within the European Parliament. With a background in language, philosophy and journalism, she has a passion for clear writing and science. She has been working since 2001 in Belgium as editor for several newspapers and magazines, as medical journalist and as communication expert at the EU institutions.
She is part of the ESMH team.
Contributor: Carolien Nijenhuis

Virtual and augmented reality in education: huge benefits, but also ethical concerns
Over the last decade, people have been suggesting that digital immersive technologies (DITs) such as virtual reality and augmented reality could supplement - or even replace - a variety of education activities of schools and universities. These technologies can create lifelike virtual environments for the students. What are the opportunities, but also: what are the ...

The challenges of a European climate label
Trying to shop sustainably? Climate labels aim to assist consumers to choose the products that cause the lowest amount of global warming. But are they really effective? And would a general, standardised European climate label help? We asked Prof. Bo Weidema, an expert at the Danish Centre for Environmental Assessment. On 20 March 2023, he ...

Nuclear energy: innovation and sustainability
Interview nuclear physics expert Prof. Bent Lauritzen "Nuclear energy will play a decisive role in a transition to a low carbon European economy", says nuclear physics expert Bent Lauritzen of the Technical University of Denmark. However, "continued research and development in nuclear energy provision will be decisive if the European nuclear industry is to regain ...

RNA technology already helped thousands of patients
"RNA-based technology can help babies with spinal muscular atrophy reach milestones such as sitting, standing and walking", says rare disease expert Prof. Annemieke Aartsma-Rus (Leiden University Medical Center, the Netherlands). This Wednesday 25 January the European Parliament's Panel for the Future of Science and Technology will hold its Annual Lecture on the future of RNA-based ...

Interview with Prof. Kurt Deketelaere on academic freedom
"Academic freedom, like freedom of any kind, is not a spontaneous state of affairs. The public authorities must respect, protect, ensure and promote it", says Kurt Deketelaere, Professor of Law and Secretary-General of the League of European Research Universities (LERU). He will speak at the European Parliament’s STOA conference 'How to provide enforceable protection for ...

Professor Andy Way: ‘Smaller languages could soon become extinct online, if the EU doesn’t address the matter’
The EU’s rich linguistic landscape consists of 24 official languages and over 60 regional and minority languages. But when it comes to technology support and digital services, a big imbalance persists between the five most spoken EU languages and the remaining ones. To battle this, a large consortium of 52 partners covering all European countries ...

Professor Tommaso Calarco: ‘Quantum technologies 2.0 can bring huge benefits for society’
This week, quantum technology is one of the news headlines. The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger for work "that has laid the foundation for a new era of quantum technology". But what is this new era about? We asked Prof. Tommaso Calarco, Director of the ...

Mental health in Covid times
How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected our mental health? Moreover, are we able to bounce back from this?