News Archive

ESB member Peter Apers, action line leader Iddo Bante and leader of our entrepreneurship support systems catalyst Aard Groen talked to Mr. Rutte about ICT innovation and EIT ICT Labs, the stimulation of entrepreneurship in education en research environments, and the relationship between research and business.

Entrepreneurial Master students showed the Prime minister how they combined their study with entrepreneurship, and spin-off companies shared their achieved results and their global ambitions which clearly impressed Mr. Rutte. He praised the entrepreneurial spirit of the university and its innovation partners, and the way the University of Twente is combining basic research, applied research and entrepreneurship.

According to Mr. Rutte, the innovation approach of the University of Twente is one of the best examples in Europe; with a yearly rate of creating 40-50 new high-tech start-up companies the university is "a frontrunner in the Netherlands".