Representative

"This region has knowledge, business activity and expertise in a wide range of areas: embedded systems, high?tech systems, micro- and nanotechnology, life sciences and infotainment. Against that background, it's clear that our region is entitled to use the title of high?tech." There's no doubt about that, according to Harrie Hendriks, director of Philips Electronics Netherlands.

His words are supported by the figures: south-east Brabant generates 14.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the Netherlands, forty per cent of private R&D budgets are spent here, and the region has the highest patent density in Europe. The top technology companies and knowledge institutes, a total of 45,000, have 330,000 employees. 280 companies have their origins in other countries.

Innovation
Philips has around 14,000 employees in the region. Some of them work on the High Tech Campus Eindhoven, which was initiated by Philips. Why's that? Hendriks: "Open innovation is closely linked to partnership. You need each other, because at today's level of technology, a single solution from a single company is a thing of the past. More and more often you see matches between specialized companies, knowledge institutes and government. That has a number of advantages. Making use of each other's strengths, knowledge, experience and costly research equipment leads to higher efficiency and more effective technology development."

Synergy
On top of that, synergies are created by linking insights and visions. "That's why the success rate of new initiatives in open innovation is significantly higher than in closed research centers", Hendriks continues. "It also creates space for specialized companies to develop their core business at a high level, and introduce new products to the market effectively. High Tech Campus Eindhoven (HTCE) has an ecosystem that's focused on open innovation. With an international network that goes a lot further than Eindhoven alone."
Accessibility of the HTCE is certainly no problem. In the future the campus will have its own entrance and exit on the A2/A67 highway.