Student Life

Discovering your “Sixth Sense" with TEDx.

Another edition of TEDxHotelschoolTheHague was successfully organised on our campus in The Hague on 10 March, under the theme “The Sixth Sense”. With our main five senses, we can live and understand the world around us. But, what is the skill, way of living and thinking, certain mindset or challenge we cannot live without and makes us unique? That is our sixth sense.

"This event is so much more than just speakers on the stage. It is the time to connect and motivate individuals around the globe. With TEDx, we students give back to our institution as well as the city of The Hague!"

Niklas Melchior, Chairman of TEDxHotelschoolTheHague

Our six speakers explored the topic from multiple perspectives; Caro Verbeek, Curating Mondrian at the Rijksmuseum, talked about Synaesthesia and how our senses work together to guide us through our daily lives. Suzanne Nieuwenhuijs, Trainer and Coach, delved into the topic of senses and the challenge of highly sensitive professionals (HSP) to find happiness at work. Andrada Trifan, Master student at Erasmus University Rotterdam and HTH alumna, explored the sense of time and the efficiency of time blocking in living more purposefully in today’s digital world.

"Hopefully, my story will inspire more students and professionals to think about prioritisation and keep the overview in a world that is constantly changing."

Andrada Trifan

Laila Snevele, Sensory food designer, explained the role senses play in the perception of food through multisensory experiences. Rächel Mohammedamin, Therapist, talked about intuitive cooking and the ways we can unlock our intuition as a sixth sense. Finally, Dr. Jasper de Groot, Assistant Professor at the Behavioral Science Institute of Radboud University, shared insights from his studies on the human sense of smell and its link to social interactions.

"I study the human sense of smell, most notably its often-underestimated social function; how important is the role of smell in romantic relationships and does the loss of smell (common with COVID-19 infections) affect our quality of life?”

Dr. Jasper de Groot

Inspiring activities related to senses were organized during the breaks:

  • Smell: Guests explored how smell influences taste by experiencing the combined impact of aroma and taste sensations on flavor perception.
  • Touch: Guests were introduced to a taste-only sensory exploration of texture to challenge the mind, while discovering how other senses can confuse their perception of taste.
  • Hearing: the audience experienced an “auditory seasoning” by guessing what they are eating while listening to a sound.
  • Taste: Guests were invited on an interactive journey with Van Kleef’s beverages which blended different and surprising flavour profiles.
  • Vision: The audience tasted jellies of the same colour but in different flavours to test how colour influences taste expectation.

For the ones who want to recall the inspiring talks and for the ones who missed these, TEDxHotelschoolTheHague videos will be published on the TEDx Youtube channel very soon. Stay up to date on all our social media so you do not miss them.

About TEDxHotelschoolTheHague
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a programme of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, speakers are invited to spark deep discussions and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event.

Hotelschool The Hague annually organises its TEDx event every March, and it is entirely developed and run by its students. From marketing and finance to F&B, curation and event organisation, the TEDx team of HTH is working hard for a memorable experience for our community and external guests.