Avans GameChangers students explore new applications for Lexie, NewCold’s hologram

For the royal opening of the NewCold Global Innovation & Support Center in Breda on 15 October 2025, we acquired the hologram Lexie, envisioning it as a long term innovation to further develop within our organization.

To continue unlocking Lexie’s potential, we involve students in our innovation journey. Working with them, through internships or focused project weeks, brings new ideas, creativity, and perspectives into NewCold.

This March, we welcomed an enthusiastic group of 16 students from Avans University of Applied Sciences in Breda, as part of GameChangers, the university’s innovation program. Their assignment was clear and ambitious:

Investigate how the hologram Lexie can be used within NewCold, identify which departments could benefit and how, map the key opportunities, preconditions, and risks of broader implementation, and deliver concrete, actionable proposals for short and mid term adoption. These proposals must be directly applicable and ready for real implementation within NewCold.

A unique learning environment

GameChangers exposes students to diverse professional contexts. As Senior Innovative Coach Esther Fijneman Wegman explains:

“At GameChangers, we like to challenge students to experience different kinds of contexts and different companies. NewCold is a very international, innovative, fast growing company, so that’s a very different experience compared to a regional or local firm.”

This gave the students a unique opportunity to work with cutting edge technology in a global logistics environment.

A focused one week challenge

With only one week to complete their assignment, the students had to dive in immediately. They explored how Lexie, NewCold’s hologram, could enhance various processes – ranging from onboarding new employees and improving training delivery to simplifying operational workflows and making complex information more accessible.

Their enthusiasm for working with hologram technology was evident. For many, it was a first encounter with such an innovative tool. As one of the Business Studies at Avans, Melissa Turksma shared: “The combination of AI, visualization and real world problem solving made the project both challenging and exciting”.

Despite the tight deadline, the teams produced practical and thoughtful proposals. Their ideas revealed new possibilities for using Lexie in day to day operations and in building the future of digital communication within NewCold. It was a thrilling and productive week – one that provided value on both sides. For the students, it was hands on experience with real impact. For NewCold, it was a fresh look at how technology can continue to support our people and processes. Watch the video to see the partnership in action.