Knowledge base

Entrepreneurial scientists launch 14 statements for more impact with academic startups

Central government and the regions have set up extensive collaborations for regional innovation, and much has been achieved already. According to the AWTI report, the parties concerned must now jointly ensure that innovation in the regions really takes off.

The Netherlands has become one of the key ecosystems for entrepreneurship in Europe according to McKinsey & Company's latest report. We rank 4th in terms of startup value creation in Europe, with Amsterdam as a fast-growing hub.

This document aims to collect all guiding principles relevant to one or more stakeholder groups for arriving at agreements between knowledge institutions and startups that emerge from research and/or are initiated by academic staff.

Since 2005, valorisation is the relatively young, third core task of Dutch universities in addition to education and research. The aim is to make all talent, knowledge, networks and facilities in these knowledge institutions of value to society.

Minister Adriaansens, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, announces a strategic agenda to renew the entrepreneurial climate in the Netherlands, with ample attention for innovation and knowledge transfer.

Harvard Law School organiseerde in 2012 een symposium over financiële ‘conflicts of interest’ binnen universiteiten, over het raakvlak van wetenschap en ondernemerschap. (Engels)

Op verzoek van UNL onderzocht BiGGAR Economics de impact van Nederlandse universiteiten vanuit economisch perspectief. (Engels)

Recently, several organisations and people from the knowledge field have expressed concerns about the limited focus on knowledge and innovation in political programmes. Read the overview (in Dutch)

During State of Dutch Tech 2024, a new model shareholder agreement was launched which can be used by Dutch spin-offs in which universities, University Medical Centers (UMCs) or other knowledge institutions participate as shareholders.

Ministers Robbert Dijkgraaf (Education, Culture and Science) and Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate Policy) have drafted a joint vision on innovation and valorisation. More focus and funding should ensure more societal impact of knowledge from researchers and entrepreneurs.

In recent years, the Dutch House of Representatives has put forward several motions requesting the government to present a vision about bringing innovation in the Netherlands to maturity. The government has pledged to inform the Dutch House of Representatives about this before the summer of 2022.

In the third round of the National Growth Fund (NGF), the government has allocated €417 million for the ''Delta Plan Valorisatie''.

With new dealterms, universities and spin-offs close 20 deals in half a year

Opportunities abound to make better use of knowledge and innovation for major societal challenges, such as climate change, the future of healthcare or a fair data economy. That is apparent from research carried out by the Rathenau Instituut.

Last month, EZK, TNO and RaboResearch released publications on the Dutch technology and investment climate.

Can science and entrepreneurship be combined? In recent weeks, various articles about this have appeared in the Dutch media, for example, from Reineke Timmermans (VNO-NCW), Ineke Sluiter (KNAW) and entrepreneurial scientist Hans Clevers.

Jorg Kop is Managing Director of UtrechtInc. How does he - from his role as incubator lead - support more impact from science? And what are the opportunities?

Liduina Hammer is fund engineer at Polestar Capital. Before then, she was head of investment at InnovationQuarter. We asked her what catches her eye about the Science to Impact climate in the Netherlands.

The (AWTI) advises several targeted measures, which will bring researchers and entrepreneurs together more often and enable them to collaborate more easily. The different needs of entrepreneurs should be taken into account more, especially the needs of SMEs.

Study of Dutch and international best-practices in University-Centred Entrepreneurial ecosystems. This research is conducted by ECE on behalf of the AWTI. The AWTI was requested by the Dutch House of Representatives to provide an answer to three concerns about knowledge-intensive startups.

Last Thursday, 16 March 2022, Universities of The Netherlands (UNL) and Techleap.nl organised the webinar 'Spin-off Deal Term principles'.

This is the ambition of the Dutch universities, university medical centers and TNO. Together, the knowledge institutes are launching a plan to strengthen the national innovation ecosystem with the aim of being among the best in the world by 2030.

Authors Rolph Segers and Stefan van der Ploeg, who both work at TNO Tech Transfer, detail all of the steps required to write a sound business plan that investors can be approached with.

Today, Universities of The Netherlands (UNL) has presented transparent principles for university spin-offs on the State of Dutch Tech 2023.

From now on, all knowledge institutions in the Netherlands can use transparent principles for the transfer of intellectual property to academic spin-offs.

Een wetenschappelijk onderzoek over de keuzes om wetenschappelijke vindingen door de universiteit of juist door een andere partij te laten octrooieren.