Manager Business Development Pieter Noordzij from Brainport Eindhoven Region talked to us about the Brainport Region and campuses as tools for development. Brainport is European top technology region with e.g. 1.300 foreign companies. Brainport connects, accelerates and makes things visible. According to Pieter campuses form the centre of gravity – campuses are thematic and connected eco systems in which “open innovation” is the way of working. There are several campuses in Brainport region: TU/e Science Park, High Tech Campus, Automotive Campus and Design Campus. At Brainport it is all about adaptation and cooperation!
Leo le Duc and Johan Vos at Amsterdam Science Park.
At Amsterdam Science Park some of us had a discussion with Director of Science Park Leo le Duc, Director of Market Development at the University of Amsterdam Johan Vos and Project Manager Anke Wellecomme. Beside the cooperation between the university and the city we talked also about connections with business.
Firms are collaborating with the Science Park in different levels: some have their own institute, others offer scholarships, projects, traineeships and theses/doctoral paper cooperation for students. For instance multinational semiconductor manufacturer AMS (Austria Mikro Systeme) regards students as future employers and cooperates already with the first year students. Science Park also offers help for establishing start up and spin off firms.
Leo highlighted that it is vital that people will be connected on personal level so that there will be cooperation leading to new innovations. At Science Park this is done by creating connections e.g. inviting people to meet each other and having big dining tables outside during the Summer.
Co-founder of Seats2Meet Ronald van den Hoff talked about Society 3.0 and Seats2Meet concept at meet and co-working space Meet Berlage in Amsterdam. In the future connected people are stronger than organizations, acces more important than ownership and virtual platforms rule the world. Shared co-working and open collaboration creates shared knowledge. The bigger the network and the more knowledge is being shared the better the network operates. Seats2Meet concept is based on this idea of using social capital.
Photos: Katariina Saarela
