Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) wants its work to lead to the creation of better start-ups. The goal is to generate more innovative tech companies that grow rapidly and achieve lasting success. “All the conditions are in place in Europe.”
Eindhoven is brimming with start-ups, yet far fewer of them develop into medium-sized enterprises, commonly referred to as scale-ups.
There are also relatively few “unicorns” – young companies with an estimated market value of one billion euros or more, and thus seen as highly promising. In fact, Smart Photonics is one of the few companies that has succeeded in this regard. If it were up to Sylvia Lenaerts, rector magnificus of TU/e, that situation would change.
Bridging the Gap
This week, TU/e opened a new chip institute. The large-scale facility, where a thousand scientists will be working, is also expected to contribute to the emergence of more successful start-ups in the region. Speaking at the opening of the institute, the rector magnificus stated: “If you have knowledge, you have research and development on one side – which takes place within universities, education, and research institutions. On the other side, innovation happens in the business sector. But at present, there is a gap between the two in Europe: too few start-ups are scaling up into larger companies.”
Conditions
In the past, there have been calls for more funding to be made available for new high-tech companies, for example, through the creation of an investment bank dedicated to the high-tech sector. However, the availability of capital is not the only obstacle, according to Lenaerts.
“It’s not just about money. It’s also about having the right technology – which we have – and talent – which we train. What we need to learn is how to assemble strong teams. We need to attract individuals who understand production, who know how to scale up manufacturing, who can identify market gaps, and who understand the necessary preconditions for a company to grow.”
Front line
The institutes have an important role to play in the university’s ambition. ‘They will be at the front line because entrepreneurs must come from the same sector. Each domain has its own market dynamics. By focusing on sectors, we can better achieve that professionalisation. But as a university, we cannot do this alone. We want to collaborate with other parties within the Brainport region.’
The TU/e does not intend to reinvent the wheel. ‘Look at Munich, where they have developed a good method based on data and people who can lead start-up teams to a new phase. We want to bring that method to Eindhoven. Incidentally, this applies not only to Eindhoven but to the whole of the Netherlands. We really have a step to take in that regard,’ says Lenaerts.
Source: Studio040
For Eindhoven News: Chaitali Sengupta
