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engineering the future
Facts and Figures
engineering the future
Facts and Figures
Preface
The ELAt partnership offers with this document an overview of the facts and figures
on top technology and innovation in the Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen triangle.
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The partners in the ELAt project are the cities of Eindhoven, Leuven and Aachen,
the KU Leuven, AGIT mbH, the Eindhoven Regional Government (SRE), Eindhoven
Universtity of Technology, Leuven.INC, LifeTecAachen-Jülich and Brainport.
There are clear economic reasons that make cooperation in innovation necessary and
inevitable. It is all about creating critical mass in research, development and innovation
in order to create economies of scale and scope. Strategic cooperation is necessary to
pursue the ambitions.
Transnational cooperation in the Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen triangle means a larger
economic and knowledge base as well as greater urban scale and diversity. The
Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen triangle has the potential to become a top technology
region as a whole because of the industrial texture of the technology transfer
activities of top universities and research institutions . ELAt focuses on and wants
to improve its leading position in technology and knowledge. An opportunity in the
global trend towards a knowledge-and-network economy is provided by the vicinity
of these centres of top technology. The ELAt initiative is supported at regional,
national and EU levels.
To understand the potential of clusters in ELAt, the partners began an ongoing process
to identify, define and describe the clusters and the innovation ecosystem of which
they are part. This action is the starting point for a collaborative process, involving the
innovation stakeholders: companies, research institutions, universities, intermediary
and network organisations and government. To date this process has resulted in
qualitative descriptions of the ELAt regions and the mapping of ELAt in facts & figures,
in network and cluster initiatives on regional level and the first steps for joint action,
such as start-up support. Now greater ownership, involving more stakeholders in
action and sponsorship, is needed to fulfil the potential and to secure a position in
the global economy.
Positioned between the larger urban areas, the Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen triangle
offers a very attractive living and working climate with a strategic position in the
densely populated Northwest Europe, where purchasing power is high. The ELAt area
has very good outbound transport connections to the rest of Europe and the world.
Six million inhabitants, an active population of 2.9 million people and a GDP of
157 billion euros, 2.5% of which is spent on R&D: ELAt has critical mass in terms of
population, active population, knowledge intensive economic activities, R&D capacity
and GDP. A review of the ecosystem and an analysis of the statistics show that ELAt is
a triangle with economic potential.
ELAt is characterised by a large technology base. ELAt is strong in R&D and has a hightech, knowledge-intensive industrial profile; statistics show a higher than average share
of medium and high-tech companies. The R&D expenditure comes from a strong and
distinctive base of companies and an allied knowledge infrastructure.
In Europe (EU-15), ELAt ranks fourth in terms of patents per population. This leading
technology position of the regions can be attributed to the very high concentration
of patents in the regions of Eindhoven and, to a more moderate extent but well above
EU average technology performance, Aachen and Leuven. The technology base in ELAt
is more diversified than in the average European region. However, important regional
differences exist within ELAt in terms of technology diversification: while Vlaams
Brabant (Vlaanderen, Belgium) and especially Köln (Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany)
have a diversified technology base, the region of Noord-Brabant (Netherlands) has
a concentrated technology base. The overall collaboration intensity in ELAt is below
the European average whereas the international collaboration share is well above the
European average. Here, too, regional differences within ELAt exist, with the Eindhoven
region having only a limited number of very internationally oriented collaborations.
Aachen also has a high incidence of collaboration but international orientation is less
pronounced than for the Eindhoven region.
With its high level of tertiary education, employment in high-tech services and
human resources in science and technology, together with its leading position in
Europe in terms of patent output, ELAt can be considered a top region in Europe, one
that combines the strengths of both the leading knowledge and high-tech regions.
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However, the persistence of important regional differences emphasise opportunities
for cross-border collaboration within ELAt. ELAt as a network of networks is there to
identify the opportunities and create pathways for collaboration.
This publication is an annex to the ELAt innovation strategy document ‘Engineering
the future’. It comprises a descriptive section on the innovation ecosystem and a
section with statistical information on the economic and innovation performance.
The first section predominantly focuses on the cornerstones of the triangle, the
(wider) Eindhoven region also known as Brainport, the Leuven area and the Aachen
region. The second section presents graphics and statistics, obtained from various
independent sources (like national statistics agencies and Eurostat) on socio-economic
and innovation indicators.
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Content
Preface
PART 1: THE INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM
1.Introduction
2.Economic structure: a High Tech Profile 3. Clusters in ELAt 4. Research and education 5. Networks 6. Support and service infrastructure 7. Infrastructure 4
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PART 2: STATISTICS 1. Introduction 2. Population 3. Active population 4. Active population with tertiary education 5. Life-long Learning 6. Employment rate 7. Employment rate females 8. Employment rate older workers 9. Unemployment rate 10. Long-term unemployment rate 11. R&D 12. Employment in medium- and high-tech 13. EPO patents 14. Gross Domestic Product 15. Per capita GDP 16. Total employment 17. Added value 18. General conclusions 79
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Part 1
THE INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM
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1.
Introduction
ELAt, critical mass through cooperation
The triangle of Eindhoven, Leuven and Aachen has great potential to become a
European top technology region. Due to the intermediary position of this triangle
between the Flemish urban network, the Ruhr area and the Dutch Randstad, the
significance of cooperation within the Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen triangle surpasses
the scale of these regions.
Cross-sector and cross-border networks are essential for gaining competitive
strength. The permanent search for improving competitiveness provides a base for
new networks and alliances that cross borders and move frontiers on a geographical,
scientific, technical and economic scale.
The three urban regions have technology fields in common, but within these
technology fields, Brainport Eindhoven, Leuven and Aachen have their own specialties.
Cooperation in ELAt on these very high standard technology fields will result in
synergy, added value and competitiveness. This cooperation in networks and alliances
is based on the so-called Triple Helix model, a framework for interaction between
private enterprises, both large-scale industry and the SME sector, together with
knowledge institutions and government in a continuous process based on a shared
innovation agenda. It has been proven that this Triple Helix is capable of tackling
challenges and taking advantage of opportunities.
The philosophy of ELAt is to support, connect, exchange, enhance and lock in high-tech
businesses, research, scientific institutes and their clusters and networks in order to:
• Increase productivity of companies in the clusters
• Drive innovation
• Stimulate new businesses
• Create sustainable competitiveness
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Part one of the ELAt factbook consists of six chapters. In the first chapter a profile
is given of the economic structure of the three cornerstones. In chapter two, the
ecosystem is described from a cluster perspective: what are the important clusters in
each of the areas and what are key ELAt level clusters? Related to these clusters are
several knowledge institutes, networks and support organisations that are described
in chapters three to five. Chapter three gives an overview of the knowledge institutes,
chapter four describes the most relevant networks and chapter five describes the
support infrastructure. The final chapter covers the infrastructure – roads, public
transport, air connections.
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2.
Economic structure:
a High Tech Profile
ELAt’s strong economic success has traditionally been built upon a focus on high-tech
and related industries whose three central points are Brainport Eindhoven, Leuven and
Aachen. This chapter provides brief individual overviews of the economic structure of
these three cornerstones, looking at geographical position, the employment structure
and the education and research infrastructure.
Brainport Eindhoven
The Eindhoven Region, also called Brainport, has an excellent geographical location
in Northwest Europe between the economic core regions of the Rhine-Ruhr area in
Germany, the Randstad in the Netherlands, the Antwerp-Brussels area in Belgium and
Northern France. The region offers a perfect business climate for the manufacturing
industry, top technology companies and research institutes.
The region focuses on and wants to improve its leading position in technology
and knowledge. The region is doing so with the acknowledgement of the national
government.
With 18% and 19% of total employment working in the industry sector in NoordBrabant and Limburg respectively, the region is the manufacturing industry centre
of the Netherlands. Key industrial clusters include High Tech Systems & Materials,
Life Tec, Automotive, Food and Design. Research and development activities are
particularly prevalent in the region. Higher percentages of medium and high-tech
industry than the Dutch average are another indication of the region’s innovative
character. Well-known multinationals have their origins in the region and their R&D
divisions are concentrated in the area. Besides the extensive private research and
development activities at companies like Philips, ASML, Océ and DSM, there are more
R&D institutes in the region, such as TNO, Holst Centre and the Embedded Systems
Institute (ESI). The Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is one of the three
Dutch universities of technology and has more than seven thousand students.
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The university actively seeks companies to participate in research institutes, with ESI
as an example. Another large university is Maastricht University with more than twelve
thousand students. Another university is Tilburg University whose faculty of Economics
and Business Administration is of internationally highly regard.
With the High Tech Campus Eindhoven (HTCE) the region has another valuable card
to attract and embed high-technology companies and institutes in the region on
the basis of proximity and open innovation. The High Tech Campus Eindhoven is a
technology centre of worldwide reputation, with a diversity of high-tech companies
that work together with the more than 7,000 R&D engineers on the development of
new technologies, from idea via concept to prototyping.
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The High Tech Campus Eindhoven will help anchor R&D in the Eindhoven region as
well as accelerate and increase innovation through technology cooperation. In this
way, the HTCE will improve the competitive position of both the region and the
Netherlands in the fields of knowledge and technology. This very attractive site with
access to technologies, business opportunities and management support via the
Technology Liaison Office offers the Eindhoven region strong added value. This way,
the HTCE attracts new activities and strengthens the centre of excellence.
Leuven Region
Leuven is a typical university city, very active in the creation of knowledge through
the presence of a large university and numerous other research institutions.
Leuven is located in the Flemish region of Belgium, only 15 kilometres from Brussels
international airport. Through its neighbouring regions, Limburg, Liège and Turnhout,
the Leuven region borders both Germany and the Netherlands.
More than 350 technology based companies are located in the Leuven region,
employing more than 15,000 people. The Leuven region’s high-tech companies are
mainly concentrated in one of the following industry clusters: Mechatronics, Telematics
and Communication, E-security, Micro-electronics and Nanotechnology, Materials
Technology, Life Sciences & Medical Technology and Food. Leuven.Inc - the Leuven
Innovation Networking Circle - provides a platform for these technology firms by
stimulating contacts between technology entrepreneurs and other innovation actors
such as the university, high-tech start-ups, consulting agencies and venture capitalists.
The KU Leuven, with more than 30,000 students, is Belgium’s largest university. The
university actively stimulates the transfer of knowledge to the community. In 1972, it
established KU Leuven Research and Development, one of the first technology transfer
units in Europe, with the specific mission to exploit the economic potential of the
university’s research results.
The KU Leuven also has its own venture capital fund, the Gemma Frisius Fund,
co-owned by KU Leuven, Fortis Private Equity and KBC Private Equity. In addition,
the more than 8,200 employees of the Gasthuisberg University Hospital, including
many professors in the medical field, play a prominent role in the medical curricula
and research in Leuven. Another important actor in the Leuven region, active in
the creation and transfer of knowledge, is IMEC. With more than 1,600 employees,
this research centre plays a leading role in Europe in nanoelectronics, biosilicon and
nanotechnology.
With its renowned knowledge institutes, its science parks and the presence of
venture capitalists, the region of Leuven provides a fertile breeding ground for spinoff companies as well as an attractive location for international research-intensive
businesses.
Aachen region
The Aachen region is located in the western part of Germany at the economic heart
of Europe, between the German Ruhr, Northern France / Belgium and the Dutch
Randstad. The region plays a vital role as connecting hub of high-tech industry and
research and development. Thanks to the intersection of many motorways, cities as
Brussels, Düsseldorf, Eindhoven and Köln are only an hour away.
As a former centre of heavy industry, the region has made a successful shift towards
high-tech industry and research and development over the years. The economic
structure of the Aachen region is nowadays characterised by business services,
education and research.
The service sector is becoming increasingly important following a successful structural
transition of the economy: it now contributes to 70% of the gross added value.
There are over 56,000 companies in the industrial economy of the region, which have
specialised around a number of clusters: Automotive and Rail Engineering, Information
and Communication Technology, Life Sciences, Modern Materials, Innovative
Production Technology and Food. Because of a high level of interdisciplinarity and
transfer potential between research institutes and industry, outstanding technological
competences can be found in these clusters.
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The most well-known research institutes are the Research Centre Jülich, the biggest
interdisciplinary research institute in Germany, and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, which
has four different institutes in the region. These research institutes are top players in
their line of work and invest a lot in various high-tech research areas. Both institutes
combined have a budget exceeding e400 million and employ over 5,000 people,
many of them researchers. High quality research is conducted at RWTH Aachen, one
of Germany’s most important universities of technology and the Aachen University
of Applied Sciences. A total of 30,260 students attend the RWTH Aachen and another
8,213 attend the Aachen University of Applied Sciences, generating a vast and
specialised inflow of new engineers and highly skilled workers. While 1% of the entire
population of Germany lives in the Aachen region, 10% of the country’s scientists
do. Various networks to stimulate cooperation between universities and companies
and business–to-business initiatives help to build a region of strong open innovation.
Examples include the RWTH department for Technology Transfer and Research
Funding, LifeTecAachen-Jülich e.V. for life sciences and CAR e.V. (Competence Centre
Automotive Region). Another strong sector in the Aachen region is medical technology.
Initiatives as the Aachener Kompetenzzentrum Medizintechnik (AKM) indicate that
different actors have teamed up to facilitate and pursue more cooperation and
innovation in the region.
The region also hosts the first cross-border science park in Europe: the Avantis Science
and Business Park lies on both sides of the Dutch-German border (60 hectares in the
city of Aachen/40 hectares in the city of Heerlen). It is a location for high-quality,
technology oriented enterprises and supports its resident customers in international
innovation by offering the best opportunities in both countries, including tax regimes.
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3.
Clusters in ELAt
The economy in the ELAt regions has specialised around several technology domains.
A few industries can be seen as key clusters because of their higher than average stake
(in number of companies and employment) in that sector and the intensity of the
cooperation between the firms in such clusters and private and public research
& development institutes.
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This chapter describes the ecosystem from the cluster point of view. A more extensive
description of the research, support organisations and networks mentioned in this
chapter is given in chapters 3, 4 and 5.
Key Clusters in the Cornerstones
The chapter starts with a description of the key clusters in the cornerstones
Eindhoven, Leuven and Aachen. Each cluster description consists of a typology of
the technology and application fields.
The description in the first part makes clear that within the ELAt triangle as a whole
two key clusters exist: High Tech Systems & Materials and Life Tec. These clusters are
presented in the second part.
Brainport Eindhoven
High Tech Systems & Materials
Brainport Eindhoven is a good location for high-tech businesses with its
technologically challenging and internationally oriented environment. Brainport
Eindhoven has a stake of 8 % of the Dutch employment in this cluster, while
only 5% of total Dutch employment is generated in the region.
The supply of personnel is also well catered for, with good quality education.
Key areas of High Tech Systems related to ICT in the Eindhoven region involve
the discipline and design of software-intensive systems, the design of software
components, modules and architectures for such systems and special techniques
for development in the area of designing architectures, quality maintenance,
testing and integration, system evaluation, configuration and the like.
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The High Tech Systems & Materials cluster also involves mechatronics, a sector
with a diverse range of competencies. It involves the design, development,
production and techniques for high-tech machines and (sub-) systems employing
and/or integrating mechanics, electronics and informatics. Examples are in
robotics, electromechanical equipment and control systems, motion controllers
with mechanical actuators, linear engines, engine management, remote
monitoring and diagnosis, guided transport systems and embedded systems.
These are particularly focused on end markets such as semiconductors, precision
and nanotechnology systems, microelectronics and nanotechnology assembly
systems, equipment for logistics, office and production automation, systems for
material handling, packaging, printing and processing.
There are various institutes and centres combining research and the interconnectivity
between partners to strengthen this cluster. A good example of an organisation in
the High Tech Systems & Materials cluster is DSP Valley. DSP Valley is a technology
network organisation active in both Belgium and the Netherlands. Also, Point
One is an example of an initiative in which small and large companies, education
institutes and knowledge institutes, cooperate intensively. Another research
institute, the Holst Centre, aims to be an internationally recognised and leading
R&D centre being established in 2005 by IMEC and TNO and situated at the High
Tech Campus in Eindhoven.
Automotive
The presence of a large and diversified group of companies active in the
automotive sector, together with the fact that the TU/e is the only Dutch
university with automotive education and research, have contributed to the
decision to relocate TNO Automotive from Delft to the Eindhoven region in 2007.
The regional automotive knowledge chain, further intensifies with the extensive
and excellent research capacities of the TNO Institute. Regional proximity with
other automotive researchers, manufacturers and suppliers as well as the presence
of the IC sector, whose products are used more and more in the industry, clearly
explain the strategic move of the institute as well as the success of the sector.
An impressive 18% of all Dutch jobs in the automotive sector can be found in the
Eindhoven region.
An initiative to support this success is the Automotive Technology Centre,
working to strengthen the international technology and market position of
Dutch automotive companies . The High Tech Automotive Campus is another
initiative within the Brainport Automotive programme and aims to attract highquality companies and related businesses to the Brainport region. The presence of
manufacturers such as DAF and VDL in the region and NedCar in the immediate
vicinity, and the fact that about 50% of European car production takes place
within a radius of 500 km makes this an interesting region for particularly the
supply chain industry in the automotive sector.
The campus strives to create high-quality facilities for large and small (inter)
national companies, knowledge creation and education within the automotive
sector, in order to establish an optimal environment and to stimulate the
paradigm of open innovation.
Life Tec
The Life Tec cluster includes medical technology and life sciences. Examples are
bio-controlled medication technology, pharmacy technology, health measurement
and control systems, sensor and sensing systems, improved vision, imaging
systems, biometric devices and recognition, bio-molecular testing and evaluation,
molecular detection or activation, DNA chips, microorganisms, cell culture and
structures, and the like. With a global player like Philips, which is increasingly
concentrating its activities in this sector, the sector will become more important in
the future. Nowadays, Brainport Eindhoven already accounts for 9% of the people
working in this sector in the Netherlands.
Food
The food sector, together with three other sectors, has been designated by the
Ministry of Economic Affairs (2004) a key knowledge intensive and innovative
sector to stimulate national economic growth. The food cluster in Brainport is
mainly concentrated around the technology used in the food sector. High-tech
systems developed in the region deliver state-of-the-art technologies needed in
the food sector. The newest technology used for packaging, cooling and preserving
in all stages of the supply chain and for the supply chain itself is necessary to
stay competitive in this fast developing sector. The Food & Nutrition sector in
Brainport Eindhoven accounts for 5% of the total amount of employees working
in this sector in the Netherlands.
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The links between food processing companies and high-tech companies in the
region are strengthening and Brainport is currently active in stimulating these
links. An initiative on Food & Nutrition in the Eindhoven region is the Technology
& Food Network (TeFoN).
Design
In and around Eindhoven, design is regarded as a ‘business creator’, where
advanced technology and the manufacturing industry largely determine the
context for design. Here, designers are involved in a company’s innovation
process right from the start. In the Eindhoven region, the strength of design
lies particularly in the contribution it makes to product development in the
technologically advanced manufacturing industry.
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The design sector is strongly developed in the Eindhoven region, with actors like
the world-wide highly regarded Design Academy Eindhoven, Philips Design and
the TU/e, which has a faculty of Industrial Design.
Leuven Region
Mechatronics
The Science, Engineering and Technology group at the KU Leuven forms the basis
for research in the mechatronics sector, more particularly the departments of
Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering and ESAT (the department for
Electrotechnics). More than 20 technology companies in Leuven are active in
the domain of mechatronics. Their activities encompass several subdomains,
with applications such as machine development and instrumentation, structural
dynamics and acoustics, automation and new production processes. In addition,
a large number of innovative companies are active in the field of mechatronics:
manufacturers of end-products, engines and machines for industrial applications.
Various networks of companies try to stimulate innovation in the mechatronics
sector. Sirris is a knowledge centre for the technological industry. An organisation
with a more specialized focus, is Flanders’ DRIVE. Flanders’ DRIVE supports the
vehicle suppliers with know-how through the Flanders’ DRIVE Network on the one
hand, and infrastructure through the Flanders’ DRIVE Engineering Centre on the
other. Other examples are companies like LMS and METRIS.
Telematics and Communication
Research on tomorrow’s intelligent environment takes shape in the Leuven
region. Wireless communication, new multimedia techniques, speech-processing
technology and microwaves are under close scrutiny at the KU Leuven and IMEC.
IMEC, the largest European independent research centre for microelectronics and
nanotechnology has a special division called Design Technologies for Integrated
Information and Communication Systems (DESICS). This division in particular
houses all the necessary expertise for designing chips and systems for the
intelligent environment.
The Flanders Multimedia Valley (FMV) is the cluster organisation for the Flemish
multimedia industry. Flanders has many companies - usually small - active in
multimedia. The highest concentration of activities is to be found in online
multimedia creation and software development, represented by joint research
institutes like DSP Valley.
E-security
Ever since the end of the seventies, the region around Leuven and Brussels has
yielded important international players in e-security. Leuven was also one of the
first regions to geographically concentrate research on e-security. The geographical
concentration of the research centres in the field of e-security led to the founding
of the Leuven Security Excellence Consortium (L-SEC). L-SEC provides a single
point of entry to a unique geographical concentration of world-class e-security
expertise and e-security professionals in Belgium.
Microelectronics and Nanotechnology
Research in this field is concentrated at IMEC and KU Leuven. IMEC conducts
research into process technologies for the next generation of chips, ambient
intelligence and nanotechnology. Research into new process steps for the
production of the next generation of chips is a key activity at IMEC.
Materials Technology
The KU Leuven recently launched the Leuven Materials Research Centre (LeuvenMRC) to cluster and coordinate its innovative materials research. Leuven-MRC
also cooperates with other technology research laboratories in the region: Sirris
(the research institute for the technology industry), VITO (the Flemish Institute
for Technological Research) and IMO (Institute for Materials Research) in Hasselt.
Since materials technology is an enabling technology in a lot of application areas,
there is close interaction with most of the above-mentioned clusters.
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Life Sciences & Medical Technology
In Leuven there is a clear distinction between two sectors: Life Sciences and
Medical Technology. The fundamental and applied research in the first cluster
is concentrated in the Group Biomedical Sciences (Faculty of Medicine and of
Pharmaceutical Sciences) and Bioengineering of the KU Leuven, which are mainly
located around the UZ Leuven. In addition, research groups like the Leuven
Clinical Coordination Centre, the Centre for Human Genetics and the Centre for
Experimental Surgery, to name just a few, play a major role in the innovation
originating from the biomedical research groups in Leuven. Furthermore, the
Rega Institute for Medical Research, which clusters research groups in the field of
immunology and infectious diseases, has an important impact on the innovation
in the life science research in Leuven. Recently, the Centre for Drug Design and
Discovery has been established in order to further boost the innovation at the KU
Leuven. In the past few years, several life-science spin-offs and start-ups have been
established, with a rich diversity of activity profiles. Several research centres have
been established such as a stem cell institute, a cancer institute and BioSCENTer.
The second cluster results from the close interaction between the engineering
and biomedical departments of the KU Leuven, the latter being integrated in the
clinical practice of UZ Leuven. Strong areas of expertise are image processing,
biomedical data processing and bioinformatics, computer aided engineering
in surgery, bone-tissue-stem cell research, sensor technology and biomedical
systems. IMEC is also performing more and more research in this field. The
convergence of life science, nanoelectronics and biosilicon opens up several new
opportunities. In the past few years, a strong increase in company creation has
been realised. To further facilitate interaction with industry, the Leuven Medical
Technology Centre started in 2007.
Food
In the past, the food industry has always had a strong foothold in Leuven and
Tienen. It is no coincidence that Leuven is home to InBev, the largest brewer in
the world. In addition, various companies, like Waterleau Global Water Technology,
are active in water, soil and air purification. The Faculty of Applied Bioscience
and Engineering of the KU Leuven conducts substantial fundamental research
in the feed and food health field. Several centres of excellence, such as L-Force,
are situated in this cluster. One of these is the Laboratory of Tropical Crop
Improvement, which was founded in 1978. Just as in the field of life sciences,
the VIB is also active in this area of research.
Aachen Region
Automotive and Rail Technology
The Aachen region is one of Europe’s leading centres for automotive and rail
technology. Ford has its European Research Centre Aachen and Siemens its test
centre in Wegberg-Wildenrath in the region, as have several other smaller and
medium-sized suppliers and service companies in the industry. Together with
numerous first-class research institutions, these companies form a flourishing
economic and research cluster offering outstanding opportunities for investment
and location. Various networks bring different actors, including the RWTH and the
Aachen University of Applied Sciences, in the automotive sector together.
The Competence Centre Automotive Aachen Region/Euregio Maas-Rhein - car
e.V. - is an independent, active network of more than 65 companies located in
and around Aachen and research institutions that concentrate on automotive
technology. Aachen University and the Aachen University of Applied Sciences have
joined forces to set up a virtual centre for automotive electronics: the Automotive
Innovation Centre AIC.
Information and Communication Technologies
The Aachen region has long been familiar to future-oriented companies as an IT
location. Back in 1990 Ericsson concentrated its global research and development
activities in the Ericsson Eurolab Deutschland in Herzogenrath near Aachen. The
latest decision by Microsoft to establish its new European Microsoft Innovation
Centre in Aachen is a further sign of the region’s strengths in this field. Companies
profit on the one hand from the proximity to Belgium and the Netherlands
and on the other from the competences of Aachen University in research and
development in the field of mobile communication. Philips, too, found an ideal site
for its research laboratory on the universities’ doorstep – and has been here for
almost 50 years. Enterprises in the information and communication technology
branch as well as users of these technologies experience widespread support in
the form of cooperation networks. The regional ICT cluster association – Regina
e.V., a network of more than 80 enterprises and research institutions – offers a
wide variety of specific services for the industry. The Aachen Competence Centre
for Electronic Commerce ACC-EC, advises and supports local enterprises on all
matters related to the electronics business.
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Modern Materials
The Aachen region offers an environment for innovative enterprises that require
excellent know-how in the field of modern materials for their products. Small
and medium-sized as well as larger enterprises from a variety of branches profit
from cooperation with renowned research institutions. This sets a nationwide
example. Solutions can be found for the development, manufacturing, processing
and optimisation of glass, ceramic, steel, textiles, plastics or biomaterials. The
interdisciplinary work and know-how that exists at the Fraunhofer ILT and IPT
make the Aachen region an outstanding research and development cluster for
modern materials.
Numerous spin-offs from the RWTH Aachen University and the Institute of
Plastics Processing (IKV) are now participating in INTRA e.V., a unique combination
of independent and technically highly specialised enterprises in the Aachen region.
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Innovative Production Technology
The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the RWTH - consisting of more than
40 institutes - offers an unusual density and variety of fields of work, from
the planning of new production technologies, plastic technology, mechanical
engineering, laser and aerospace technology, automation engineering and
sensor technology right through to the training of quality experts and industrial
economists. Large firms and highly-specialised small and medium-sized enterprises
from a wide variety of sectors come to the region to profit from its innovationfriendly climate as well as the availability of the universities’ knowledge base and
the resulting networking opportunities.
The examples of competence networks are PhontonAix e.V. and Protecca. The
Protecca competence network is a regional platform for spin-offs and mediumsized to large production technology companies that develop and produce hightech products. The goal of the competence network for optical technologies and
systems, PhotonAix e.V., is to maintain and extend the international leading
position of German industry in network-coordinated partnerships through the
use of optical technologies.
Life Sciences
The Aachen region has attracted attention over recent years as a location for
research, development and training. Life sciences are characterised by a high
concentration and interdisciplinary cooperation between engineering sciences,
natural sciences and institutions from Aachen University Clinic.
The key actors in the region are particularly concerned with promoting
cooperation between research institutions and companies in the Aachen region
and ELAt. Various competence networks and regional life science initiatives are
working on networking the research institutions, companies and investors and on
the further development of Aachen as a location for biotechnology and medical
technology.
The contact authority for life science activities in the Euregio Maas-Rhein between
Aachen, Lüttich and Maastricht is the Heartbeat of Life Sciences in Europe - Meuse
Rhine Triangle initiative. It concentrates contacts, experience and knowledge in
the field of life sciences. The main objective of this initiative is regional and crossborder cluster development. Previous events – representing just sub-themes –
were harmonised and “euregionalised” in order to arrange them under the family
brand BIOMEDICA.
Examples of initiatives in the Aachen region are Transcend, Skills, LifeTecAachenJülich e.V. and AKM.
Food
The regional food and nutrition industry focuses on the production of
confectionery and long-life bakery products, mainly with a regional concentration
in the city and the district of Aachen. In 2006, 55 companies with 20 or more
employees were located in the region. Famous products like the “Aachener Printen”
(gingerbread), marzipan, chocolates and many other products are developed and
produced by renowned companies like Lambertz, Lindt & Sprüngli or Zentis. Here
tradition and innovation form a highly profitable combination, from which the
whole region benefits.
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Clusters in ELAt
Looking at ELAt from some distance, it
becomes clear that the triangle has two
outstanding clusters present in each of
the cornerstones: High Tech Systems
& Materials and Life Tec. High Tech
Systems & Materials includes Automotive,
Mechatronica, Materials Technology,
Microelectronics, Nanotechnology
and ICT. Life Tec includes Life Sciences
and Medical Technology. These two
clusters represent an added value of
approximately 30 billion euros and
330,000 employees.
30 |
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The list of institutes and companies is non-limitative.
32 |
As the two visuals of these clusters
show, the High Tech Systems & Materials
cluster and Life Tec cluster have critical
mass, include world class players and
are strongly connected through various
networks. Global companies active within
these clusters include Aixtron, ASML, Ford,
LMS, Materialise, NXP, Option, DAF, Océ
and Philips. The knowledge and education
institutes that support these clusters are
also world class and include the RWTH
and Fraunhofer Institutes in Aachen, the
research centre in Jülich, IMEC and KU
Leuven in Leuven and TNO, the Holst
centre, DPI, ESI and the TU/e in Eindhoven.
These institutes are renowned and
guarantee a sustainable R&D intensive
climate and a well-educated workforce.
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The list of institutes and companies is non-limitative.
34 |
4.
Research and education
ELAt is a strong knowledge-oriented network of networks that provides a substantial
pool of knowledge through the presence of top quality universities and higher
education institutes.
This chapter gives an overview of all these institutes, their characteristics, activities
and size. The first part deals with the universities, the second describes the other
higher education institutes and the last part provides information on the research
institutes in ELAt. The institutes are shown in alphabetical order.
Universities
l Eindhoven University of Technology (Eindhoven)
In the research field the TU/e prefers to focus, within the engineering science &
technology domain, on the specific areas in which it takes or can take a significant
role in the international scientific world. Moreover, the TU/e can make meaningful
contributions to the knowledge-intensive industries and other sectors of the
community with a high, or rapidly developing, technology intensity. The TU/e strives
to ensure that its research results are translated into successful innovations and serve
as a basis for the creation of new enterprises. It actively encourages students and
staff to opt for entrepreneurship. The quality of teaching and research must meet
high international standards. The TU/e offers its students and staff an international
and academic, intellectually stimulating study and working environment that will
encourage broadly based personal development, social and cultural engagement and
an entrepreneurial attitude.
Beginning in September 2008, TU/e began offering an automotive oriented education
programme which focuses on the car as a ‘system’ and also offers students in-depth
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knowledge about specific essential parts of a vehicle. The special Automotive
Technology Master’s course gives engineering students an outstanding starting point
for a successful career in the automotive industry, education or research institutes.
The programme is provided by six departments: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical
Engineering, Chemical Technology, Mathematics and Computer Science, Technology
Management and Industrial Design.
The university has 7,200 students, 3,000 employees (of which 240 are professors) and
is ranked as the Best Dutch University (The Times, 2006).
l HASSELT UNIVERSITY (hasselt)
36 |
Hasselt University is a young university established in 1971 that organises
undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the fields of Medicine, Dentistry,
Sciences and Applied Economics. In 2001 the Flemish and Dutch Ministers of
Education signed an International Treaty by which the transnational University
Limburg was founded. Academic staff from Hasselt University and from nearby
Maastricht University (in the Dutch Province of Limburg, the Netherlands) jointly
undertake research activities and offer degree programmes in Life Sciences and
Computer Sciences. In 2006 a collaboration was initiated with the KU Leuven and
Maastricht University to start a new programme in Law. KU Leuven and the University
of Hasselt are also involved in the co-development of research parks in the Limburg
region. The university teaches to approximately 2,000 students.
l KU Leuven (Leuven)
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, founded in 1425, is among the oldest universities
in Europe. The university has three core missions: academic education, scientific
research and ‘service to the community’. This last task refers to the transfer of
knowledge and technology to society, on the one hand, and to industry, on the other.
The fourteen faculties of the university are spread over three campuses:
• Humanities (Leuven centre)
• Biomedical Sciences (Gasthuisberg)
• Exact Sciences & (Bio-)Engineering (Heverlee-Arenberg)
The university has 30,000 students and is the largest university in Belgium.
More than 8,100 people are employed by the university, of which 1,400 professors.
l Maastricht University (Maastricht)
Maastricht University (UM) is the youngest university in the Netherlands and is
growing rapidly. It is known at home and abroad for its unique education system:
problem-based learning. This type of education is a high scorer among educational
inspectorates and comparative research. A further aspect of the university’s profile
is its strong international orientation. This profile appeals to students: students from
all over the Netherlands and an increasing number of foreign students choose the
Maastricht system. Since the establishment of the university, scientific research has
been characterised by the matrix organisation. This was arranged largely around a
limited number of socially relevant themes and further concentrated in research
institutes and schools. The UM participates together with the Hasselt University in
the transnational University of Limburg (tUL) whose 1,800 students follow Knowledge
Engineering and Molecular Life Sciences programmes.
The university has almost 12,000 students and has 3,000 employees (of which 1,400
are scientific staff).
l RWTH Aachen University (Aachen)
Aachen University is one of Europe’s leading technology institutions renowned for its
standards of education and research. The high-level academic approach in teaching
focusing on the acquisition of expert knowledge in the basic sciences is complemented
by application-orientated education and training. Students, in particular in engineering,
benefit from engagement in research, by applying and developing their knowledge in
existing projects undertaken by research groups, thus gaining excellent professional
competence. As a result, graduates of the RWTH are well regarded in industry.
National rankings and international surveys underline the reputation of graduates well
able to tackle complex challenges, work successfully in problem-solving teams and
display leadership qualities. Having already been nominated in 2006 during the first
announcement RWTH Aachen became a university of excellence in 2007, subsequently
receiving € 180 million during the period 2006-2012 to approve several programs.
Work and research undertaken at RWTH research centres that support developments
in industry have led to numerous developments, patents and licences, such as artificial
insulin and the Cochlea-implant, that have changed the lives of thousands of people.
The scale of differentiation and specialisation of the competence centres of the RWTH
Aachen is complemented by successful collaborations in interdisciplinary groups and
forums in which the expertise of fields or faculties is combined. Teaching and research
in departments, such as Software Systems and the Social Sciences, pay heed to the
natural sciences and engineering, thus reflecting the main focus of the university. The
potential in terms of available expertise resulting from the quality of engineering and
science at the RWTH Aachen was the deciding factor for international research divisions
of Microsoft, Ford, United Technologies or Philips to locate in the Aachen region.
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The university has over 30,000 students and 2,500 employees (with over 400
professors). It is one of Europes largest universities of technology. The university
is ranked first in Engineering Sciences and second in Economic Engineering of all
German universities (WirtschaftsWoche, 2005).
l Tilburg University (Tilburg)
Tilburg University is an inspiring university offering a stimulating and challenging
environment for students, staff and alumni. The university has a high regard for
authenticity, academic freedom and ongoing development. In its top-quality
education and research programmes in the social sciences and humanities disciplines,
the university is committed to addressing quality issues in society at national and
international levels. It does so by training people for positions of responsibility in
society and by contributing to socially sustainable solutions. Tilburg University draws
on a rich tradition which fosters reflection and which also encourages the academic
community’s awareness of its philosophy of life in relation to academic disciplines.
38 |
The university has 11,000 students and 1,700 employees (of which 170 are
professors). The Faculty of Economic and Business Administration is ranked first in
Europe according to the Journal of the European Economic Association.
In addition to these faculties, Tilburg University has a number of well-established
research centres, graduate schools and the TiasNimbas Business School, the business
school of Tilburg University and the Eindhoven University of Technology.
Higher Education Institutes
l Aachen University of Applied Sciences (Aachen)
With over 8,000 students and more than 220 professors as well as about 200 lecturers
and another 450 staff members at its two locations, Aachen and Jülich, the AcUAS
ranks among the largest universities of applied sciences in Germany. In addition to
a broad spectrum of engineering sciences, the range of programmes on offer include
Design and Economics. While AcUAS was founded in 1971, some of its predecessor
institutions can look back on a tradition that goes back one century.
Orientation towards practical application in teaching and research is a key aspect at
the AcUAS: close cooperation with regional and internationally operating companies,
renowned research institutes like the Forschungszentrum Jülich (Jülich Research
Centre) and numerous universities all over the world guarantee the students an
education that meets the increasing demands of today’s labour markets. The AcUAS not only offers classical Construction Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
or Electrical Engineering education but is also developing new and applicationoriented programmes in an intensive dialogue with business, politics and professions.
These already far exceed today’s requirements.
l Design Academy Eindhoven (Eindhoven)
The Design Academy Eindhoven is an internationally renowned institute and welcomes
students from all over the world. With its conceptual and project-oriented approach
to industrial design education, students are encouraged to think for themselves and
to act responsively. Design graduates fill a wide range of positions, with the industrial
and product designers in particular supporting the high-tech innovative products being
developed in the Eindhoven region. The Academy is ranked fifth by the influential
British design magazine ICON on its list of the most influential people, products
and companies worldwide. The Academy is praised for the high quality graduates it
educates each year and the impressive faculty connected to the institute. The Design
Academy has over 700 students.
l Fontys University of Applied Sciences (Brainport Eindhoven)
Fontys University of Applied Sciences is a well-known name in education. Fontys is the
second largest institute for applied sciences in the Netherlands. At Fontys University
of Applied Sciences, almost all higher professional education programmes available
at Bachelor level in the Netherlands can be studied. For a number of programmes,
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students can choose full-time, part-time or dual mode. In a dual mode programme,
from the second or third year, students alternate between work and study.
The Fontys has some 36,000 students and approximately 4,000 employees.
l HAS University of Applied Sciences (‘s Hertogenbosch)
From a market-oriented, entrepreneurial perspective, the HAS University of Applied
Sciences in ‘s Hertogenbosch is the educational and expertise knowledge centre in the
south of the Netherlands for the sectors food, agriculture, horticulture, green open
spaces, nature and environment and agribusiness. The HAS has around 1,500 students.
l Kempen University College (Geel, Turnhout, Lier, Vorselaar)
40 |
The Kempen University College (Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen) - with ten
departments and 6,000 students - was founded in 1995, when six institutes of higher
education in the Kempen region merged. Each of those predecessors, however, boasts
a reputation going back nearly half a century.
l Leuven University College (Leuven)
The Leuven University College (Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven) was founded in 1995
as a merger of six existing institutes of higher education and is currently composed of
five departments: Teacher Training, Business Administration, Life Sciences, Nursing and
Social Studies. The College teaches approximately 5,500 students.
l Limburg University College (Hasselt, Diepenbeek, Genk)
With more than 5,000 students and four campuses in Hasselt, Diepenbeek and Genk,
the Limburg University College (Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg Limburg) is the
largest college of higher education in Limburg providing 30 academic and professional
Bachelor´s programmes and 10 Master´s programmes in the Audiovisual and Fine
Arts, Commercial Sciences and Management, Health Care, Industrial Sciences and
Technology Engineering, Teacher Training, Social Work and Special Education.
l PHL University College (Hasselt)
The Limburg Provincial University College (Provinciale Hogeschool Limburg) provides
education to some 4,200 students in the fields of Biotechnics, Health Care, Commercial
Sciences and Business Studies, Architecture, Plastic Art and Teacher Training.
l TiasNimbas Business School (Eindhoven, Tilburg)
Combining the complementary character of Tilburg University and Eindhoven
University of Technology with the innovative knowledge and quality of the different
faculties and research institutes, TiasNimbas Business School can offer comprehensive
programme packages at the highest level. TiasNimbas can call upon the services of
eminent professors at Tilburg and Eindhoven to teach in its programmes. In terms
both of research and of education, Tilburg and Eindhoven belong to the absolute top.
In addition, by cooperating with international partners, TiasNimbas can integrate
specialist knowledge from other, foreign business schools in its programmes, for
instance by dealing with case-studies from Harvard and also by bringing in teachers
in very specific areas from around the world. TiasNimbas attracts over 2,500 MBA
students each year.
l University Hospital Aachen (Aachen)
The University Hospital Aachen (UKA) combines in its singularity all mechanisms of
supplying the patient, the entire medical faculty and the dentistry under one roof.
In this enormous building is a place for the common research of engineers, scientists
and physicians. At the moment 59 professors, 824 scientific assistants and 4,347
non-scientific employees cooperate in 33 clinical departments, 21 institutes and in
the administration of the UKA. The University Hospital has 1,510 beds.
l University Hospital Leuven (Leuven)
With 8,000 staff members providing high quality multidisciplinary care to patients
(2,000 beds, more than 500,000 patient days/year) in many different disciplines,
the University Hospital of Leuven is among the outstanding European centres for
advanced medicine. The combination of clinical practice, medical research and daily
interaction with researchers in engineering provides a unique breeding ground for
innovation in healthcare and medical technology. This tradition goes back a long way,
a good example being the introduction of modern anatomy by Andreas Vesalius in the
sixteenth century.
l University Medical Centre + Maastricht (Maastricht)
As of 2008, the University Medical Centre + (UMC+) has been established in
Maastricht. Its aim is to establish intensive and close collaboration between University
Hospital Maastricht (azM) and University Maastricht (UM). Maastricht UMC+ is
expected to develop into a leading academic hospital for patient care, research, and
teaching in the areas of health and disease. The input of the health sciences faculty
will make Maastricht UMC+ unique in the Netherlands and an attractive partner for
larger international research consortia.
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l VIB Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (i.e. Leuven, Ghent)
VIB, the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology, is a research institute in
which 950 scientists conduct frontline bio-molecular research, aimed at increasing
our understanding of the processes and systems of life and thus leading to greater
insight into the functioning of the human body, plants and micro-organisms. The
VIB combines forces of nine research departments at four Flemish universities: the
KU Leuven, Ghent University, the University of Antwerp and the Free University of
Brussels. Four departments reside within the KU Leuven. VIB also has the explicit
objective to facilitate the commercialisation of the research results and to be a
catalyst in the economic growth of the life sciences activities. In 2005, VIB had an
operating income of € 43 million.
l Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School (Leuven, Ghent)
42 |
The Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School (VLGMS) is an international
management school with a campus in the cities of Ghent and Leuven. It provides
post-graduate business management education and short training courses for
executives.
l XIOS University of Applied Sciences (Hasselt, Diepenbeek)
The XIOS University of Applied Sciences (XIOS Hogeschool Limburg) comprises
four departments situated on campuses in Hasselt and Diepenbeek, adjacent to the
Limburg University Campus. They offer a place of study to some 3,000 students
in Industrial Sciences and Technology Engineering, Commercial and Business
Management Studies, Teacher Training or Social Studies.
l Zuyd University (Maastricht, Heerlen, Sittard-Geleen)
Zuyd University is a university of professional education situated in the Dutch
province of Limburg. It has a staff of more than 1,200 working at three different
locations (the cities of Maastricht, Heerlen and Sittard-Geleen). Its student body
numbers over 12,000 and it offers 52 study programmes.
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Research Institutes
l Automotive Innovation Centre (Aachen)
Aachen University and the Aachen University of Applied Sciences have joined forces
to set up a virtual centre for automotive electronics: the Automotive Innovation
Centre AIC. Other partners are FEV Motorentechnik and the Automotive Engineering
Research Association Aachen. Joint solutions to interdisciplinary problems are offered
for the automotive industry by networking the regional competence in automotive
electronics. AIC coordinates the work amongst the partners as “one face to the
customer”.
l Centre of Drug Design and Discovery (Leuven)
44 |
Recently, the Centre for Drug Design and Discovery has been established in order to
further boost the innovation at the KU Leuven. This centre will build upon research
carried out in the biomedical field at the KU Leuven in order to discover novel
therapeutic compounds directed against biological targets under investigation at the
university.
l Dutch Polymer Institute (Eindhoven)
Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI) is a public-private partnership funded by industry,
universities and government set up to perform exploratory research in the area of
polymer materials. DPI operates at the interface of universities and industry, linking
the scientific skills of university research groups to industrial need for innovation. DPI
performs pre-competitive research projects to add value to the scientific community
through scientific publications and to the industrial community through the creation
of intellectual property. DPI provides an unique platform for new technology
awareness in which participating industrial companies, commercially competitors in
the market place, communicate on a pre-competitive basis to trigger innovation.
Over the years DPI has broadened its partner base, with more and more companies
and universities from across Europe participating in its programmes. In keeping
with DPI’s ambition to be a polymer technology centre of excellence, DPI is putting
every effort into upgrading the quality of is research.
l DWI an der RWTH Aachen e.V. (Aachen)
The DWI is a modern research facility with a strong focus on state-of-the-art
materials. DWI is linked to the Aachen University via the Chair of Textile Chemistry
and Macromolecular Chemistry (TexMC) as part of the Institute of Technical and
Macromolecular Chemistry (ITMC) of the Aachen University.
l EDM Expertise Centre for Digital Media (Hasselt)
EDM is a research institute active in research in Multimedia and Internet Technology,
Computer graphics, computer animation and virtual environments as well as HumanComputer interaction.
l Embedded Systems Institute (Eindhoven)
The Embedded Systems Institute is committed to extending knowledge about
embedded systems.
Embedded systems are programmable, electronic systems (often in combination with
mechanical systems) that control and determine the functioning of devices (machines,
appliances, instruments, constructions). Embedded systems are multidisciplinary
by nature. Their design involves various disciplines including software engineering,
electronic engineering and control theory.
The Embedded Systems Institute has the explicit aim of making knowledge on
embedded systems publicly available. The ambition of the institute is to become a
leading expertise centre for embedded systems.
l Flanders’ Drive Vehicle Engineering & Test Center (Lommel)
Flanders’ DRIVE aims to strengthen the product development capacity of the
automotive assembly and supplier industry in the region in order to maintain and
enhance its competitiveness on a European and global level. Its Engineering and Test
Centre offers conceptual design through optimisation in testing and validation. Its
expertise ranges from virtual product development to durability testing, environmental
testing, road track testing, rubber-to-metal characterisation, instrumentation and
measurement. It was founded by a number of businesses and the industry organisation
Agoria.
l Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (Aachen)
The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has some 80 research units, including 58 Fraunhofer
Institutes, at over 40 different locations throughout Germany. Four Fraunhofer
Institutes are located in the Aachen region:
•Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (Aachen): With more than
250 employees and 10,000m² of usable floor space ILT is one of the world’s
most important development and contract research institutes in its specific field.
•Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (Aachen):
With 140 employees IME conducts research in the field of applied life sciences
from a molecular level to entire ecosystems.
| 45
•Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (Aachen): The aim of the IPT is to
develop new and optimise existing solutions through practice-oriented research
and development for the modern production industries. IPT employs some 300
people at its premises of 6,000 m².
•Fraunhofer Institute for Technical Trend Analysis (Aachen): The main task of the
INT is to create and update an overview of all research activities in engineering
subjects.
l Holst Centre (Eindhoven)
46 |
The Holst Centre aims to be an internationally recognised and leading R&D centre in
the fields of Wireless Autonomous Transducer Solutions and System-in-Foil Products
and Production, with strong industrial participation and a staff of 100 in 2008 growing
to over 200 in 2010. The Holst Centre was set up in 2005 by IMEC (Vlaanderen,
Belgium) and TNO (the Netherlands) and is situated at the High Tech Campus in
Eindhoven.
The Holst Centre will use the MiPlaza (Microsystems Plaza) facilities on the High Tech
Campus Eindhoven where 2,650 m² of cleanroom amenities have been realised and
are surrounded by all kinds of facilities in the fields of advanced material analysis and
lifetime and reliability testing. The Centre is a public-private collaboration in which
knowledge institutions, government and the business community are all participating.
l IMEC Research Centre (Leuven)
The Interuniversity Micro Electronics Centre is a world-leading independent research
centre in nanoelectronics and nanotechnology. Its research focuses on the next
generations of chips and systems, and on the enabling technologies for ambient
intelligence. IMEC’s Industrial Affiliation Programme is a unique formula for joint
R&D with a team of partners on one specific subject. It is based on a sharing of cost,
risk, talent and IP. The IIAP concept is recognised worldwide as the most successful
international partnership model for the joint development of next-generation
(pre-competitive) technologies. IMEC is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, and has
representatives in the US, China and Japan. Its staff of about 1,600 includes close to
500 industrial residents and guest researchers. In 2007, its revenues were estimated to
be over € 250 million.
l Jülich Research Centre (Jülich)
In Jülich, scientists from the disciplines of physics, chemistry, biology, medicine and the
engineering sciences base their close cooperation on the key competencies of physics
and scientific computing. The work comprises both long-term contributions in basic
research for science and technology as well as tangible technological applications for
industry. Since 2006 the Jülich research centre has had the fastest supercomputer in
the world for free research. The world-class research carried out on a broad scientific
basis and its history in the field of supercomputing are among the reasons for locating
this computer in Jülich. With more than 4,400 employees and a budget of € 360
million the research centre is one of the largest in Europe.
l Leuven Materials Research Center (Leuven)
Leuven-MRC is an interdisciplinary collaborative research centre within the
university, combining the efforts of 19 research groups and over 400 researchers.
Their activities encompass a wide variety of materials families, processes and
applications and are underpinned by an impressive, state-of-the-art infrastructure
and a unique combination of competences. Applications range from nanotechnology
and microelectronics to space programmes, from construction technology to modern
surgery and biomedical applications, from fuel cell research and clean processing to
the treatment of waste materials. The centre aims to strengthen interaction with
industry through its portal function, not least with the research intensive materials
companies active in the Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen triangle.
l LEUVEN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY CENTRE (Leuven)
The Leuven Medical Technology Centre brings together a large critical mass in medical
technology research and development, and a unique combination of competence and
know-how. It was created in 2007 as an intergroup collaborative centre, providing a
coordinating link between research groups within the University Hospital and the KU
Leuven.
l Rega Institute for Medical Research (Leuven)
The Rega Institute for Medical Research, which clusters research groups in the field
of immunology and infectious diseases, has an important impact on the innovation
in the life science research in Leuven. Already more than five drugs currently on the
market have been discovered at the Rega Institute, some of them which have reached
blockbuster status, like Tenofovir (Viread®, Truvada®, Atripla® – Gilead Sciences),
currently the first line treatment for HIV infections.
l TNO Research Centre (Eindhoven, Helmond)
The Dutch independent R&D organisation TNO turns knowledge into practical
applications and so contributes to the innovative capacity of business, both at home
and abroad, as well as social and international organisations. Its five core areas of
research are: quality of life; defence, security & safety; science and industry; natural
& built environment; information & communication technology. In these core areas,
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TNO provides a broad package of products and services, from advising on policy,
products and services and performing contract research to the testing and evaluation
of products and systems and certification according to international standards.
In Eindhoven TNO specialises in science and industry; the location in Helmond focuses
on automotive. In 2007, the total TNO research organisation had a budget of € 578.9
million and more than 4,600 employees.
l VIGC Flemish Innovation Centre for Graphic
Communication (Turnhout)
VIGC is the knowledge centre for the graphics industry. It assists companies in the
process of innovation by offering four types of activities: trend watching, seminars,
advice in innovation and networking.
l VITO Flemish Institute for Technological Research (Mol)
48 |
VITO is an independent and customer-driven research organisation which provides
innovating, technological solutions and scientifically based advice and support to
stimulate sustainable development. VITO is active in the fields of energy, environment
and materials. In 2007, 500 people were working on a variety of subjects at VITO.
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50 |
5.
Networks
Collaboration is an important aspect of a company’s strategy to boost its technology
leadership position. R&D cooperation and technology partnering enable resources
to be combined through global and diverse R&D networks. Doing so delivers unique
solutions and breakthroughs. The advantages are found in the development of new
technologies: sharing high-cost competencies, and gaining efficiencies through sharing
risks and scarce talent. Critical mass is achieved more quickly; time-to-market is
accelerated.
This chapter describes the key regional and interregional networks.
l Aachen Centre of Competence for Medical Technology
(Aachen)
The Aachen Centre of Competence for Medical Technology (AKM) is an initiative based
on an alliance of partners from research, clinics and industry. The interdisciplinary
cooperation is a decisive success factor in the development of medical products. AKM
is responsible for the central coordination and control of the projects and thus brings
them to success. Apart from project management, AKM also prepares studies and
expertise and has established itself as an organiser of congresses in the region.
l Automotive Technology Centre (Helmond)
An initiative to support the Automotive sector is the Automotive Technology Centre
(ATC). Under the motto ‘World-class Automotive Technology from the Netherlands’
the ATC is working to strengthen the international technology and market position
of Dutch automotive companies (end-producers and suppliers), in order to retain and
extend this important branch of industry and its spin-offs for the Netherlands.
l Brainport Health Innovation (Eindhoven)
Brainport Health Innovation is a network between healthcare organisations,
research institutes, the healthcare industry, health insurers, government and patient
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organisations. Its strategy is to develop a long-term programme aimed at promoting
innovation at the intersection of healthcare and technology.
l Car e.V. (Aachen)
The Competence Centre Automotive Aachen Region/Euregio Maas-Rhein - car e.V. - is
an independent, active network of more than 65 companies located in and around
Aachen and research institutions that concentrate on automotive technology. Car e.V.
stimulates knowledge exchange among its members and with external partners. The
association encourages optimum use to be made of the excellent know-how of its
members and their resources.
l Design Connection Brainport (Eindhoven)
52 |
Design Connection Brainport has been working together with prominent stakeholders
to profile and position design in the region, especially with technology based
industries like Philips and TNO. The main task for this project organisation is to
identify the business opportunities available at the interface between technology
and design in the region and provide support to make them profitable by proactively
bringing together, inspiring and facilitating all players within the design and
engineering industries in the region with a focus on bridging design and technology
to develop new business and internationally profile and position Brainport Eindhoven
as a top design and technology area.
l l DSP Valley (Leuven, Eindhoven)
DSP Valley is a technology network organisation, based in Leuven but active in both
Belgium and the Netherlands, offering access to information, people and networks
with the emphasis on the technology of digital signal processing for the following
application domains and markets: embedded systems, lifestyle, mechatronics, medical,
automotive, microsystems and nanotechnology, ICT and broadband. DSP Valley has
different member groups: universities, research institutes and industrial companies
(from small start-ups up to large international groups).
l FLANDERS’ DRIVE (Lommel)
Flanders’ DRIVE is the innovation excellence pool and platform for the Flemish vehicle
industry. Flanders’ DRIVE aims at strategically strengthening the product development
capacity of the vehicle supplier industry in Vlaanderen. By this means, the supplier
industry will stand stronger facing up to the competition on a European and global
level.
Flanders’ DRIVE supports the vehicle suppliers with know-how through the Flanders’
DRIVE Network on the one hand, and infrastructure through the Flanders’ DRIVE
Vehicle Engineering & Test Centre on the other.
l Flanders Mechatronics Technology Centre (Leuven)
The Flanders Mechatronics Technology Centre was formed in 2003 as an initiative
of the industry organisation Agoria and leading mechatronic companies. The centre
performs industry-driven mid-term and long-term research projects in machine
diagnosis, modular machines and high-dynamic machines. It works with the Production
engineering, Machine design and Automation (PMA) division of KU Leuven and also
cooperates with the Flanders’ DRIVE Vehicle Engineering and Test Centre.
l Flanders Multimedia Valley (Leuven)
The Flanders Multimedia Valley (FMV) is the cluster organisation for the Flemish
multimedia industry. Vlaanderen has many companies - usually small - active in
multimedia. The multimedia industry represented by Flanders Multimedia Valley is
active in various domains of the multimedia value chain.
l Intra e.V. (Aachen)
Numerous spin-offs from the university and the Institute of Plastics Processing
(IKV) are now participating in INTRA e.V., a unique combination of independent and
technically highly specialised enterprises in the Aachen region. It concentrates on
different areas of interest in the plastics industry. The goal of the INTRA group is to
make the special potential of the Aachen region apparent to potentially interested
industrial partners.
l Leuven Security Excellence Consortium (Leuven)
L-SEC provides a single point of entry to a unique geographical concentration of
world-class e-security expertise and e-security professionals in Belgium. Formed in
January 2002, it is an independent non-profit network organisation uniting all actors
in the e-security value chain: users, hardware and software vendors, service and
knowledge providers, experts in information technology law, research institutions
and governmental organisations. Today, L-SEC has 40 members. L-SEC operates on an
international scale by organising theme programmes and by participating in relevant
e-security trade fairs and conferences all over the world.
l Life Tec Network (Maastricht)
LifeTec Network is an organisation founded by Philips, DSM, Schering-Plough (the
former Organon), Medtronic, Technical University Eindhoven and Maastricht University
Medical Centre.
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Its focus of attention lies in medical technology, biomaterials, pharmaceuticals and
bio-informatics – critical areas where Life and Technology meet. LifeTec Network’s
objective is to stimulate business and research in the south-east region of the
Netherlands to make it one of the world’s leading locations in these important and
rapidly expanding fields.
l LifeTecAachen-Jülich e.V. (Aachen)
LifeTecAachen-Jülich e.V. was founded in the year 2000. Its aim is to concentrate and
strengthen life science activities in the Aachen-Jülich region. As the biggest life science
cluster in the Aachen-Jülich region and internationally in the Meuse-Rhine tri-border
region, the main task is to allow access to complementary competences through close
cooperation among universities, institutes and smaller or larger industrial partners.
Additional funding helps create the essential general conditions for this to happen.
l PhotonAix e.V. (Aachen)
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The goal of the competence network for optical technologies and systems, PhotonAix
e.V., is to maintain and extend the international leading position of German industry
in network-coordinated partnerships through the use of optical technologies. The
network offers technology providers and users that concentrate on manufacturing
and measuring technologies opportunities for cooperation in all aspects of laser
technology.
l Protecca (Aachen)
The Proteca competence network is a regional platform for spin-offs and mediumsized to large production technology companies that develop and produce high-tech
products. The network and its partners cover the complete production technology
chain, starting from planning and organisation through the manufacturing process and
machines used right through to quality management.
l Regina e.V. (Aachen)
The regional ICT cluster association Regina e.V. - a network of more than 80
enterprises and research institutions - can offer a wide variety of specific services
for the industry.
l Regional Network of Technology Centres (Aachen)
The network of thirteen technology, business start-up and service centres in the
Aachen region offers an ideal environment for new businesses and relocations and is a
key component in the varied and innovative regional economy. The Aachen technology
centre was among the first centres set up in Germany in 1984 as a successful breeding
ground for innovative product developments from the RWTH Aachen University and
the Aachen University of Applied Sciences. Today, a total of thirteen centres work
together in a close-knit regional network.
l Sirris (Leuven)
Sirris is a knowledge centre for the technological industry. It represents almost 2,500
companies active in various types of industry, including mechatronics. The aim of
the organisation is to support companies by giving them insight into technology and
innovation developments.
l Technology & Food Network (Helmond)
An initiative on Food & Nutrition in the Eindhoven region is the Technology &
Food Network (TeFoN). With the start of TeFoN, Brainport, the national centre for
high-tech systems and materials, along with Greenport Venlo, one of biggest Dutch
agro-industrial complexes and Food Valley Wageningen, the national food product
knowledge, have joined forces in order to develop unique and highly sophisticated
machinery in the food sector.
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6.
Support and service
infrastructure
Support and service infrastructures are important for the innovation ecosystem; they
are crucial for high tech start-ups, the valorisation of scientific output and connecting
the region.
Within ELAt an extensive support infrastructure exists. This chapter presents the most
important organisations: intermediaries & start-up support and business acceleration
organisations.
Intermediaries and start-up support
Businesses, both large corporations and start-ups, regional government and knowledge
institutes need intermediaries to connect them with possible partners, related regional
projects and international programmes. Moreover, they need advice about business
location, access to research facilities, knowledge and relevant networks. This section
outlines the numerous intermediaries and start-up support possibilities in the ELAt
area. The institutes are presented alphabetically.
l AGIT (Aachen)
AGIT, the Aachener Gesellschaft für Innovation und Technologietransfer, is the regional
development agency for the Technology Region Aachen. AGIT’s main activities
include advising technology-oriented start-ups and innovative enterprise, advising
and assisting international investors, international marketing and regional monitoring
of the Technology Region Aachen, support for selected fields of technology and the
management of the two Aachen technology centres (TZA and MTZ). In over two
decades AGIT has made a decisive contribution to the structural change in the region
and developed from a technology centre to a regional economic development agency.
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l Brainport Foundation (Eindhoven)
The Brainport Foundation is a close collaborative partnership between businesses,
knowledge institutions and governments in Brainport. The aim is to expand Brainport’s
international competitive position as a hotspot in the field of innovative top
technology. By spurring on innovative projects we are helping to build the region’s
already strong economy. And as a promotor of Brainport, the Foundation is working –
internationally – to create an image that truly reflects all that Brainport has to offer.
l GründerRegion Aachen - Start-up Region Aachen (Aachen)
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The GründerRegion Aachen is a regional initiative that is supported by the economic
development agencies, commercial chambers, savings banks and credit unions,
universities, research institutions, towns and municipalities as well as AGIT. There are
almost 40 advisory offices in the City and District of Aachen as well as the districts of
Heinsberg, Düren and Euskirchen under the umbrella of the network GründerRegion.
The initiative was set up in 2000 and has set itself the goal of improving the
quality and quantity of start-ups and creating valuable synergy effects through
coordination and cooperation in support of the start-ups. The most important project
of the GründerRegion Aachen is AC² that was set up in 2003 with a pilot start-up
competition.
l Innovation Lab (Eindhoven)
Through specific innovation push, proactive technology and knowledge transfer and
efforts in the area of business development the TU/e contributes to the development
of the knowledge economy in the Netherlands. Its activities are concentrated on three
pillars: intensification and strengthening of strategic cooperation with big enterprises,
development of innovation projects and fostering of business development with SMEs,
and boosting the entrepreneurship of starters.
All activities in the field of knowledge valorization are united in the TU/e Innovation
Lab. This unit acts as a central point for all questions from the business community.
In the first three years of the program, over 300 initiatives have been started of which
approximately 60 grew to be successful niche companies and 20 grew to become
successful private companies.
l Leuven.Inc (Leuven)
Leuven Innovation Networking Circle, or Leuven.Inc, is a platform for technological
entrepreneurs that stimulates contacts between university, high-tech start-ups,
innovation actors, consulting agencies and venture capitalists. It is a network that
brings like-minded people together.
l LRD (Leuven)
KU Leuven Research & Development (LRD), the technology transfer unit of the KU
Leuven has been established to promote and support the transfer of knowledge
and technology from the university to the business world by giving professionals
legislative, technical and business advice.
l Start-up centre for entrepreneurs in cultural economy
(Aachen)
The Gründerzentrum Kulturwirtschaft provides for one of the very first agencies to
stimulate entrepreneurship in the cultural sector. Founded in 2004 and supported by
Nordrhein-Westfalen, the agency offers individual coaching for creative professionals.
Aachen is the first city in Germany to publish an exhaustive overview of cultural
economy in a knowledge-based economic region. The Gründerzentrum takes part in
a European project, ECCE, which brings together experience from several countries
in Northwest Europe in order to create a transnational network and platform in the
sector of cultural economy.
l Technology Liaison Office (Eindhoven)
The Technology Liaison Office (TeLeR) facilitates: access to technologies such as:
nanotechnology, signal processing, embedded systems, optical storage, wireless
connectivity and broadband. TeLeR also facilitates access to facilities and equipment
like technology services devices, prototyping and instrumentation, computer services,
centre for technical training, EMC Competence Centre. Moreover, TeLeR also provides
management support, for example, participation in international R&D programmes,
intellectual property rights and financing, and access to the regional knowledge and
business activity infrastructure.
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Business Acceleration
Financial and physical support for starting up a company, prototyping, testing and
other investments are very important for start-ups.
This chapter looks at the financial support organisations, incubators and business
accelerators in ELAt. The institutes are presented alphabetically.
l BÈTA (Eindhoven)
A business premises and facilities concept designed for technology companies with
5 to 25 employees in need of flexible premises, an inspiring work environment with
access to technical facilities (like cleanrooms and equipment) and knowledge of the
type located on the High Tech Campus Eindhoven. The aim is to foster technological
cooperation on the basis of ‘open innovation’ and to attract technology companies to
the region.
l Bio-Incubator (Arenberg)
The new science park Arenberg will offer than 120,000 m² of business space allowing
high-tech companies to rent state-of-the-art infrastructure. The park is located closely
to IMEC and is targeting specifically ICT enterprises, enterprises in biotechnology and
enterprises developing new materials. The Arenberg park has already its first modern
bio-incubator. The second bio-incubator will is planned for 2010.
l BOM (Tilburg)
The BOM (Noord-Brabant Development Agency) Venture Capital Department
finances innovative and healthy companies (which are beyond their starting phase) by
providing equity capital and subordinated loans of up to €1.8 million. The BOM also
supports these innovative companies by their extensive network including knowledge
institutions and business communities. l Business Centre Leuven (Haasrode)
The Business Centre Leuven is an incubator - located in Science Park Haasrode - which
provides modern offices for young companies. The Business Centre Leuven offers 70
modern offices. In addition, two business centres have been established within the
Leuven Region: Ubicenter and Campus Remy. Existing, old industrial sites of Philips
and Remy Industries were renovated in order to transform them into attractive, highquality equipped business centres.
l l EBC (Herzogenrath, Kerkrade)
The Eurode Business Centre is another international service centre on the national
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border between the towns of Herzogenrath and Kerkrade. Target groups are companies
from the fields of information technology, telecommunications, multimedia, service
companies as well as the research and development departments of international
firms. The Eurode Business Centre is a unique international location for both newly
founded ventures and established firms.
l euBAn (Aachen)
The Euregional Business Angels network (euBAn) brings together private investors,
so-called business angels, and young companies. The special feature of this network
is the possibility of support from a business angel from the neighbouring countries of
Belgium or the Netherlands. For example, a private investor from Belgium can help a
company from Germany or the Netherlands to penetrate the French-speaking market
and vice versa. The aim is to ensure that companies are “internationalised” at an early
stage so that they can survive in the face of global competition.
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l GründerStart-Initiative (Aachen)
The Aachen Chamber of Commerce (IHK) and the Aachen University (RWTH) have
founded the Starting Initiative (GründerStart-Initiative), to professionalise companies
with high growth potential by offering consulting services and financial capital.
In addition to various public investing agencies, there are a number of private
investment parties located in the Aachen region that concentrate their investments
in specific technologysectors:
• Intelligent Venture Capital Management: Life Sciences, IT, Microsystems, Nanotechnology
• Jülicher Kapitalbeteiligungsgesellschaft: Innovative companies
• RVC Rheinische Venture Capital Gesellschaft: Innovative companies
• S-VC Risikokapital-Fonds für die Regionen Aachen, Krefeld und Mönchengladbach: Young technology companies.
l Incubator3+ (Eindhoven)
Incubator3+ can provide (pre)seed capital of up to € 35,000 for prototyping, testing
as well as help starting companies to find additional investment and mediate
for housing and contacts with research & development institutions. Incubator3+
produced a sectoral spin-off: Design Incubator. This initiative works in the same way
as the original Incubator3+ with a focus on starting design companies.
The successful pilot carried out by Incubator3+ indicates that the approach of
clustering support and making pre-seed and seed capital available leads to more and
better starters and accelerates their growth. Technostars is a venture capital fund
which provides risk capital to starting and young companies which are innovative and
use their own, specialised technology.
Together with the InnovationLab, Incubator3+ has invested in more than 300
companies in the last three year, more than 50 of which have become successful.
l Innovation and Incubation Centre (Leuven)
The KU Leuven Innovation and Incubation Centre (I&I) provides offices, laboratory &
prototyping space, shared facilities, equipment and services for starting up innovative
businesses. The centre is aiming at new research-oriented businesses bringing
innovative services and/or products to the market. Priority is given to companies that
work in close cooperation with the University of Leuven and IMEC, but this is not a
prerequisite.
l Leuven Funds (Leuven)
Leuven has always been an active promoter of entrepreneurship. More than 95 spinoffs (KU Leuven and IMEC) have evolved from the exhaustive research activities
in Leuven. They can rely on solid and flexible financial guidance and an excellent
infrastructure.
The availability of venture capital in the Leuven region can be attributed to both
public and private investors.
The KU Leuven Gemma Frisius Fund I (GFF) is a seed capital fund related to the KU
Leuven with capital of € 16.4 million. It was established in 1997 as a joint venture
between KU Leuven, the KBC Group and the Fortis Group. The objective of the fund is
to stimulate the creation and growth of university related spin-off companies at the
KU Leuven by providing seed capital in the very early phases of research-based spinoffs. As a result of the success of the first fund, Gemma Frisius Fund II was founded in
2002 with capital of € 8.5 million.
In 2005 IMEC launched a new venture capital fund, called Capital-E focusing on
financing ‘young potentials’ within the micro- and nanoelectronics sector. In 2006,
the fund - together with its daughter fund Capital-E ARKiv – extended the capital
to € 35.5 million. In addition to IMEC’s contribution, injected through its
subsidiary Fidimec NV, Capital-E secured additional investments from various
(mainly institutional) Belgian players, including the Arkimedes fund of the Flemish
government.
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In addition to these university seed and start-up capital funds, various private venture
capital investors regard Leuven as an interesting region for investing in new companies.
Six venture capital groups are actually based in Leuven: Capricorn Venture Partners,
Quest Management, Software Holding & Finance, Beluga, Stonefund, Servifund
and Allegro Investment Fund. Together with the university and IMEC, they manage
accumulated capital of more than € 400 million. These venture capital funds have
an investment policy that is complementary to that of the university funds. This
complementarity has many advantages. While the university funds concentrate on the
start-up phase, the venture capital funds support companies’ further development, until
the companies are floated on the stock market or undergo another form of exit. Finally,
the Flemish Government has recently launched two initiatives to further increase
access to seed and early stage funding: Arkimedes and the Flemish Innovation Fund.
l LIOF (Maastricht)
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NV Industriebank LIOF is the Limburg development and investment company.
LIOF contributes to the prosperity of the province with an ongoing programme to
strengthen the province’s economic base. LIOF targets industry and the dynamic
service sector.
Its four core activities are Acquisition, Participation, Development/Innovation and
Business Parks, as these relate to the location/relocation of (foreign) companies,
venture capital participation in Limburg companies with prospects, the development/
implementation of programs and projects to sharpen the competitive edge of Limburg
business and the coordination of the development of new business parks.
l LRM (Hasselt)
LRM, Limburg Investment Company, supports the economical development in Limburg
with her expertise in venture capital, real estate and project development.
The venture capital arm of LRM provides risk capital to local and international
ventures that invest in the province of Limburg with a technological focus on Life
Sciences, clean tech and ICT. The venture arm of LRM also finances and advises
management buy-outs and buy-ins.
l MTZ (Aachen)
The regional economic development agency AGIT provides start-ups, enterprises
and research collaborations with a location specially tailored to medical engineering
requirements with the Medical Technology Centre (MTZ). The MTZ was opened in
1994 as a start-up centre in the middle of today’s Campus Life Sciences Aachen
and was extended in 1999 to cope with the great demand. Over 40 Life Sciences
enterprises have been set up to date in the MTZ, many of which have already moved
out into the region.
l NV REDE SME FUND (Eindhoven)
NV REDE is the Eindhoven regional economic development agency. With the aid of
the REDE SME Fund, risk-bearing financing can be provided to starting or existing
companies (up to approximately 50 employees) which are active in industry or the
commercial services sectors. The financing amounts to a maximum of €125,000 per
company and is made available in the form of a deferred loan or loan guarantees. The
financing can only be given when all financial prospects of the entrepreneur, the bank
and any other facilities have been totally exhausted.
l Stimulus Venture Capital Fund (Eindhoven)
Venture capital can be made available from this fund by means of share participation
of max. € 450,000. The Venture Capital Incentive Fund (SVCF) participation always
remains restricted to a minority interest. In addition to financing, advice and guidance
are given to companies by engaging a permanent ‘coach’. SVCF is meant for industrial
or related companies with up to 250 employees in the Eindhoven Region. The
company must be incorporated (have a BV designation in the Netherlands).
l TZA (Aachen)
The “am Europaplatz” Aachen TZA technology centre offers technology-oriented
business start-ups an ideal environment to enter the European market.
The accompanying management consulting services of the operator, the regional
economic development agency AGIT, are tailored to the needs of technology-oriented
companies. Technology-oriented start-ups are granted a subsidised rent over a period
of five years and further special terms. The consulting services include assistance in
drafting a business plan, arranging venture capital / subsidies and special events.
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7.
Infrastructure
Exchanging knowledge and doing business together requires well developed transport
infrastructures. This chapter describes the infrastructure of ELAt and the types of
connections: local connections, connections within ELAt and ELAt in Europe. Rail, road
and air connections are considered.
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Local Infrastructure
This section provides information on the infrastructure – road and public transport
connections – of the three cornerstones Eindhoven, Leuven and Aachen individually.
Brainport Eindhoven
In the heart of Brainport, Eindhoven has a wide range of local, regional and (inter)
national transportation possibilities and is therefore well-connected and easy to reach.
Car traffic within Eindhoven city boundaries is organised efficiently. Traffic jams
occur rarely and there is wide range of parking facilities. The motorway ring connects
six intensively used motorways: the A2 from Maastricht/Roermond, the A67 from
Düsseldorf/Venlo, the A67 from Antwerpen, the A58 from Breda/Tilburg, the A2 from
Amsterdam/Utrecht and the A50 from Arnhem/Nijmegen. When the renovation of
the motorway ring is completed, the ring will consist of multiple inner lanes for direct
throughput and multiple outer lanes for local traffic. As of 2008 there is a dedicated
motorway junction to the High Tech Campus Eindhoven, which significantly reduces
travel time to and from the High Tech Campus. Besides these motorways that provide
regional, national and international connections, the region also has an extensive
network of provincial roads that connect the more local areas.
Public transport in the region is efficient and connects almost every city, village and
neighbourhood. From Eindhoven Central Station about 2500 buses leave daily to a
wide range of local and regional destinations. Bus transport is relatively cheap and
good offers are valid during weekends and public holidays. Moreover, from Eindhoven
central station there are approximately 700 daily incoming and outgoing railway
connections. Almost half of these trains are local and connect surrounding cities in
Brainport Eindhoven. The others are long-distance connections with, for instance,
Rotterdam, Den Haag and Amsterdam.
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Since December 2007, Noor-Brabant has had a night service, which connects the
region 24/7 with, amongst others, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
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Leuven Region
Leuven is situated on the important axis Oostende-Brussel-Leuven-Liège-Köln and is
located near the junction of two important motorways: E 40 and E 314. Close by, the
north-south motorway E19 connects Leuven with Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerpen
(northwards) and Paris (southwards). In the centre of Leuven the city authorities are
trying to reduce road traffic, which causes difficulties in finding parking spots in the
old centre, so making public transport the better option for central Leuven.
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Leuven has a wide range of public transport possibilities. Local and regional buses are
well organised and the city is regionally and (inter)nationally connected through its
railway system. Each day its station is used by approximately 30,000 travellers.
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Aachen REGION
The A4, A44 and A544 roads converge at the Aachen junction. The A4 connects Köln
and Aachen close to the border crossing on the A76 in Vetschau, the A44 connects
Düsseldorf and runs close to the motorway networks of Belgium. The A544 connects
the Aachen node with the Europaplatz in the east of Aachen. Other roads in the city of
Aachen are the Bundesstrasse B1, B57, B258 and B264.
Since Aachen’s tramlines ceased to run, public transport in Aachen has been carried
out by buses. The lines run through Aachen and to neighbouring countries, for example
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Vaals and Heerlen (Netherlands) or Eupen (Belgium). There are several intercity buses
to Alsdorf / Aldenhoven, Jülich, Heerlen, Eschweiler, Roetgen / Simmerath and Roetgen
/ Monschau. The city buses are operated by ASEAG (Aachener Straßenbahn and
Energieversorgung AG) with a total of 60 lines (June 2004). The main bus terminal is
the bus station, where almost all lines stop. In addition to the central railway station,
there are several other train stations in Aachen: Aachen-West and Aachen Rothe Erde
as well as Aachen-Schanz and Eilendorf. The fast Thalys from Köln to Paris stops in
Aachen. The German ICE express Brussels-South - Frankfurt (Main) Hbf also stops in
Aachen.
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Connections within ELAt
Possibilities for car and public transport travel among the three cornerstones of ELAt
exist, but need improvement. The table shows the specific distances and travel times:
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ELAt in the heart of Europe
With an increasing number of high-speed trains, road connections and a wide range
of local low-budget and international airports nearby, the Eindhoven, Leuven, Aachen
triangle is a major transport node in the heart of Europe.
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• Annual number of passengers (2007)
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PArt 2
Statistics
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NUTS 2
NUTS 3
1.
Introduction
This part contains general ELAt statistics. While the charts, explanations, interpretations
and definitions together give some insight into the economic and innovation
indicators of ELAt, they do not present the full picture of ELAt, a cross-border network
of networks. Statistics give a static and quantitative snapshot of the region; regionalspecific strategies, important strengths and weaknesses as well as differences and
similarities between regions give more insight in the status of the region.
This chapter provides a statistical definition of ELAt and an overview of the structure
of this chapter.
Statistical definitions
ELAt consists of 16 statistical regions (EU-NUTS 3 level). These regions are part of six
provinces or, in Germany, Regierungsbezirk (EU-NUTS 2 level) and three countries.
The table gives an overview of these regions, provinces and countries.
ELAt regions (NUTS 3)Corresponding provinces (NUTS 2)Country
Arr. Turnhout Prov. Antwerpen Belgique-België
Arr. Hasselt
Prov. Limburg (B)
Arr. Maaseik
Arr. Tongeren
Arr. Leuven Prov. Vlaams-Brabant
Aachen, Kreisfreie Stadt Köln
Deutschland
Aachen, Kreis
Düren Euskirchen Heinsberg Midden-Noord-BrabantNoord-Brabant Nederland
Noordoost-Noord-Brabant
Zuidoost-Noord-Brabant
Noord-Limburg Limburg (NL) Midden-Limburg Zuid-Limburg | 81
The NUTS classification refers tot the NUTS system, a European system of levelling
between regions. It is an abbreviation of Nomenclature of Territorial Units for
Statistics. It is the standard for referencing the administrative divisions of European
countries for statistical purposes. Within countries, NUTS 1 are the largest regions, and
NUTS 3 the smallest regions used for statistics.
The ELAt aggregate
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In this booklet data on the individual ELAt regions are presented as well as data on
ELAt as a whole, the ELAt aggregate. The values for the ELAt aggregate are calculated,
where possible on the basis of the values of the ELAt NUTS 3 regions. For most of
the indicators, however, only data on the level of the provinces and regierungsbezirk
(NUTS 2) are available. For indicators that are only available for the ELAt NUTS 2
regions, the ELAt aggregate is calculated based on NUTS 2 data. The geographical area
covered is shown in the zooms on the chapter’s frontpage. It is important to note that
the ELAt aggregate for these NUTS 2 based indicators is only an estimation of the
performance of ELAt. ELAt aggregates based on NUTS 3 data are therefore far more
accurate than aggregates based on NUTS 2 data.
For each indicator an introduction states whether the value for the ELAt aggregate is
based on NUTS 3 data or NUTS 2 data.
Structure
Indicators are clustered around three main topics: (active) population, R&D and
economy. The indicators related to (active) population statistics show recent figures
of the total and active population, education, life-long learning, employment and
unemployment. The R&D part contains statistics on R&D expenditure, R&D personnel,
employment in medium and high-tech and patent data. The final part gives statistics
on GDP and number of jobs.
For each indicator a definition is given, answering the question: what does the
indicator mean? These definitions are based upon definitions from the Brainport
monitor, Eurostat and the meta-data of the Euregional Information Service (EIS)
database. Secondly, the importance of the indicator is explained, answering the
question: why is it important? This text is based upon explanations in the Brainport
monitor and to some extent the EIS database. Finally, an explanation of the statistics is
given, answering the question how the ELAt regions are doing. Here the performance
of ELAt is related to the best and worst performing European regions and, when
available, the EU15 average. This is supplemented by an interpretation of the
performance of the ELAt regions.
In principle, two graphs are given for each indicator. The most important is the large
bar chart in which the 10 best performing European NUTS 2 regions, the ELAt NUTS
2 regions, the ELAt aggregate, Liège and European benchmark regions are visualised.
In this way ELAt and the ELAt regions can be compared with other European regions,
both best performing regions which can be part of the top 10 as well – the top 10
- and regions with a more or less similar profile – the benchmark regions. Liège is
included because several regions within the Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen triangle have
partnerships with this region.
The other charts present – when available – NUTS 3 or otherwise NUTS 2 data of
the ELAt regions. Mostly, a time series is given showing the cumulative growth rate
of a region relative to the national growth rate. This reason for presenting the data in
this way is the goal of the ELAt strategy that the single regions perform above their
national average, and these visuals show this. Another way of presenting the data is to
show only the growth rate over 6 or 10 consecutive years in a bar chart. This method
is used where NUTS 3 data are available. A third way is that the regional scores for a
certain year are compared with national scores. This method is used when time series
are not available.
Benchmark regions:
Etelä-Suomi
Île de France
Karlsruhe
Oberbayern
East Anglia
Stockholm
Stuttgart
Rhône-Alpes
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2.
Population
What does the indicator mean?
The Population is the number of persons with registered permanent residence in a
particular municipality. The information is collated from Eurostat, CBS, LDS NRW and
local Flanders statistics. The ELAt figures are calculated and based on NUTS 3 data.
Why is this important?
The ELAt economy is driven by people. Demographic trends give insight in the local
availability of labour force in the long term and the size of the market for end products
and services.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
The size of the population within the Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen triangle is about six
million. Compared to other European regions ELAt has a large population. Looking at
the trends in the ELAt regions, we see differences. The Flemish regions are growing
a little above the national average while the NRW regions are growing faster than
Germany and the Dutch regions are below the national average growth rate.
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3.
Active population
What does the indicator mean?
The active population is the number of persons performing or looking for an
acquisitive activity, including all at the national offices registered as unemployed.
For the Dutch regions only activities with at least 12 hours per week are included.
The information is collated from Eurostat, CBS, LDS NRW, Flanders local statistics.
The ELAt figures are calculated and based on NUTS 3 data.
Why is this important?
The locally available labour force represents the important production factor of labour.
The development of the labour force is an indicator for the local availability of labour.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
In general, the same trends as those for the population indicator can be observed:
the Flemish and NRW regions above national average, the Dutch regions below the
average national growth rate. With an active population of 2.9 million people, ELAt as
a whole is significant within Europe and has critical mass.
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4.
Active population with
tertiary education
What does the indicator mean?
This indicator shows the percentage of the active population with tertiary education.
People with tertiary education have at least a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.
The information is collated from Eurostat. The ELAt figures are calculated and
based on NUTS 2 data.
Why is this important?
Within the ELAt economy knowledge intensive industry and services are becoming
increasingly important, those sectors depending on highly educated people.
The availability of people with tertiary education influences the competitiveness
and growth potential of companies within these sectors.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
Within ELAt, 28% of the active population has a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. ELAt is
ranked 50th of 191 European regions. The EU15 score is 24%. The rate of the lowest
ranked region is 8%.The ELAt regions perform very differently: the Flemish region
very well, the others below the ELAt average. The graph shows that, except for Dutch
Limburg, all ELAt regions have a growth rate comparable with the national average or
a bit above national average.
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5.
Life-long Learning
What does the indicator mean?
Life-long learning measures the percentage of population in the 25-64 age group
who participate in life-long learning like training on the job, symposiums, distance
education and evening classes. The information is collated from Eurostat. The ELAt
figures are calculated and based on NUTS 2 data.
Why is this important?
The Life-long learning indicator gauges the potential and willingness of the population
to engage in life-long learning in order to keep up with the demands of the knowledge
economy.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
Within ELAt, 12% of the active population participates in life-long learning. Out of
188 regions ELAt is ranked 74th. The EU15 mean score is also 12%. The lowest ranked
region has a life long learning rate of 1.2%.The ELAt regions perform very differently:
the Dutch regions relatively well, the others below the ELAt average. The graph shows
that the Dutch regions still perform above the national growth rate. Köln performs
below the national average, but is improving its performance. For the Flemish regions
the picture is ambiguous.
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6.
Employment rate
What does the indicator mean?
The employment rate is the percentage of the population of 15 years and older that
is part of the active population. The information is collated from Eurostat. The ELAt
figures are calculated and based on NUTS 2 data.
Why is this important?
The employment rate shows the extent to which the locally available labour force
potential participates in the labour market. In this way the indicator gives insight into
the used and unused labour potential.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
Within ELAt, the employment rate 67%. Of 215 regions ELAt is 95th. The lowest
ranked region has an employment rate of 41%. The ELAt regions perform differentlyly:
the Dutch regions relatively well, the others below the ELAt average, except for
Flemish Brabant. The performance of all the regions is comparable with the national
employment rates.
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7.
Employment rate females
What does the indicator mean?
The employment rate of females is the percentage of the female population of 15
years and older that is part of the active population. The information is collated from
Eurostat. The ELAt figures are calculated and based on NUTS 2 data.
Why is this important?
The female employment rate shows to what extent the locally available female labour
force potential participates in the labour market. In this way the indicator gives insight
into the used and unused labour potential of females.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
Within ELAt, the employment rate of females is 47%. Of 199 regions ELAt is 90th.
The lowest ranked region has an employment rate of 22%. The EU15 score is 45%.
The ELAt regions perform differently: the regions where female employment rates
have lower growth than the national average and those where the growth is above
the national average.
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8.
Employment rate
older workers
What does the indicator mean?
The employment rate of older workers is the percentage of the population of 55
years and older that is part of the active population. The information is collated
from Eurostat. The ELAt figures are calculated and based on NUTS 2 data.
Why is this important?
The employment rate of older workers shows the extent to which the locally available
older labour force potential participates in the labour market. In this way the indicator
gives insight into the used and unused labour potential of older workers.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
Within ELAt, the employment rate of older workers is 40%. Of 199 regions ELAt is
123rd . The lowest ranked region, Belgian Limburg, has an employment rate of 27%.
The EU15 mean score is 44%. The ELAt score for this indicator is worse than for the
other employment indicators. The ELAt regions perform differently: the Dutch and
German regions perform relatively well compared to the ELAt average, but the others
perform far below the ELAt average. The performance of all the regions is comparable
with the national employment rates, except two Flemish regions, which perform above
the national average growth rate.
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9.
Unemployment rate
What does the indicator mean?
The unemployment rate is the percentage of the labour force without work, but
registered and immediately available for employment. The information is collated from
Eurostat. The ELAt figures are calculated and based on NUTS 3 data.
Why is this important?
The development of the unemployment rate is an indicator for the labour market
situation as well as a basic indicator for the regional economy.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
Within ELAt, the unemployment rate is 6%. Of 197 regions ELAt is ranked 78th.
The lowest ranked region has an unemployment rate of 29%. The EU15 mean score
is 8%. The ELAt regions perform very differently: the Dutch regions very well, but
the others comparable with or below the ELAt average, except Flemish Brabant.
The unemployment rate of all the regions is more or less comparable with the
unemployment rate of the nations the regions are part of.
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10.
Long-term
unemployment rate
What does the indicator mean?
The long-term unemployment rate is the percentage of the unemployed workforce
that is unemployed for at least one year. The information is collated from Eurostat.
The ELAt figures are calculated and based on NUTS 2 data.
Why is this important?
The long-term unemployment rate gives insight into the structure of the unemployed
workforce. The unemployment rate and long-term unemployment rate together show
the percentage of the workforce that is structurally unemployed and does not find
another job within one year.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
Within ELAt, the long-term unemployment rate is 49%. Of 199 regions ELAt is 138th.
The lowest ranked region has an employment rate of 83%. The EU15 mean score
is 42%. The ELAt regions perform very differently, also compared with the national
average. The low scores of the European peer regions indicates that high long-term
unemployment rates are typical for technology regions.
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11.
R&D
What do the indicators mean?
The R&D expenditure indicator represents the total R&D expenditure in absolute
figures and as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product. The R&D expenditure
is the sum of the R&D costs and R&D investments. R&D costs are gross salary
expenditure and other costs related to R&D. R&D investments are expenditure for
buildings and machinery.
The people in R&D indicator represents the number of R&D people as a permillage
of the total workforce and includes the R&D people themselves as well as those who
support the researchers, like managers and staff.
The information is collated from Eurostat. The ELAt figures are calculated and based
on NUTS 1 and 2 data.
Why is this important?
The R&D expenditure and the people in R&D are indicators for the R&D capacity of
a region. The R&D capacity is an indicator for the innovation potential of a region.
The Higher Education R&D expenditure and personnel are indicators for the R&D
done by academic institutes; governmental R&D is an indicator for the R&D done by
governmental institutes. These two together stimulate business R&D, for example,
through joint research programmes.
Business R&D is essential for the development of new products and services, which
are necessary for the competitiveness of companies. Business R&D expenditure gives
an indication of the long-term investments of companies in R&D of the future of the
regional industry.
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How are the ELAt regions doing?
The R&D expenditure within the greater ELAt area (calculated using NUTS 1 and
NUTS 2 data) is high. As a percentage of GDP, the business R&D expenditure is 1.72%,
governmental 0.32% and higher education 0.45%. In total, the R&D expenditure
within ELAt is about 2.50% of GDP, ranking ELAt 23rd of 147 regions. The lowest
ranked region spends 0.11% of GDP on R&D. The EU15 mean average is 1.9%.
Because of the lack of R&D data on NUTS 3 level and in Belgium on NUTS 2, it is
not possible to calculate exactly the absolute R&D expenditure. But relating the R&D
expenditure as percentage of GDP in the greater ELAt area to the real GDP of ELAt
shows that in absolute figures ELAt is one of the biggest R&D intensive regions in
Europe, together with Stuttgart and München.
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In the greater ELAt area public and private R&D expenditure is fairly balanced: about
one third of the total R&D expenditure is public, the rest private. The Dutch regions,
especially North Brabant, score high in private R&D, but public R&D less so.
Köln scores very high scores in public R&D expenditure, resulting in a top 10 ranking
within Europe. With a 31st position in private R&D, Köln performs well in this respect
also. On the Flemish side only NUTS 1 data are available, indicating a well balanced
public and private R&D expenditure. In terms of R&D expenditure as percentage of
GDP, Flanders at 2% performs below the ELAt average.
The figures on R&D personnel also show the strong position of the ELAt triangle, with
1.95% of those employed classified as R&D personnel. Of 115 regions ELAt is 23rd.
The figures and performance of the ELAt regions on R&D personnel are comparable
with the figures performance of the ELAt regions on R&D expenditure.
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12.
Employment in mediumand high-tech
What does the indicator mean?
Employment in medium and high-tech manufacturing shows the percentage of jobs
found in chemicals (NACE 24), machine-building (NACE29), IT (NACE 30), electrical
machinery (NACE31), audio-visual and telecommunications (NACE32), medical
and optical (NACE33), transport assembly (NACE34) and transport equipment
manufacturing for the aerospace industry (NACE35).
Employment in high-tech services represents the number of jobs in the post and
telecommunications (NACE 64), IT (NACE 72) and R&D (NACE 73) as well as what
percentage these jobs represent in the total pool of jobs.
The information is collated from Eurostat. The ELAt figures are calculated and based
on NUTS 2 data.
Why is this important?
In addition to R&D, people and R&D expenditure, the number of people active in medium
and high-tech sectors is an indicator for the technological innovative capacity of a region.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
Within ELAt, 7.4% of the total workforce is employed by medium and high-tech
manufacturing companies. Of 180 regions ELAt is 62nd. The lowest ranked region has
a score of 0.7% on this indicator. In high-tech service, the position of ELAt is stronger:
of 160 regions ELAt is ranked 30th. Of the total workforce 4.4% is employed by hightech service companies.
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The graphs for these two indicators make clear that the strong high-tech service
position of ELAt is an advantage. In all ELAt regions, except Dutch Limburg, a shift
from industry to service can be observed. This is also a trend in Europe.
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13.
EPO patents
What does the indicator mean?
The indicator shows the number of EPO patents per million population. EPO patents
are applications filed directly under the European Patent Convention or under the
Patent Cooperation Treaty and designated to the EPO (Euro-PCT). Patent applications
are counted according to the year in which they were filed at and are broken down
according to the International Patent Classification (IPC). They are also broken down
according to the inventor’s place of residence, using fractional counting if multiple
inventors or IPC classes are provided to avoid double counting. The information is
collated from Eurostat. The ELAt figures are calculated and based on NUTS 2 data.
Why is this important?
The number of patents reflects the detection and protection of innovative ideas with
commercial potential. Thus, the number of patents is an indicator for the R&D activity
in a region and the effectiveness of this activity.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
Within ELAt, the number of patents per million population is 402. Of 158 regions
ELAt is 10th. The lowest ranked region has 0.5 patents per million population.
The performance of ELAt on patents shows that the R&D expenditure results in
disproportionately high patent figures. The two best performing ELAt regions in
terms of patents – Köln and North Brabant exceed the national mean growth rate.
The growth rate of the other regions is below the national average.
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14.
Gross Domestic Product
What does the indicator mean?
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) indicator is the monetary value of all goods
and services at market prices produced by a region within a certain period.
It includes government public expenditure, investments and export minus import.
The information is collated from Eurostat. The ELAt figures are calculated and based
on NUTS 3 data.
Why is this important?
GDP growth is a good indicator for the economic performance of a region.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
The total Gross Domestic Product of ELAt is € 157 billion. Of 199 regions ELAt is 9th.
The lowest ranked region has a GDP of € 1 billion. The growth rate of the ELAt regions
is very different from the national average.
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15.
Per capita GDP
What does the indicator mean?
Per capita GDP is the total GDP of a region divided by the total population.
The information is collated from Eurostat. The ELAt figures are calculated and
based on NUTS 3 data.
Why is this important?
Per capita GDP and its growth are indicative of the economic performance and
strength of a regional economy.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
Within ELAt, the GDP per capita is € 26,500. Of 192 regions ELAt is 73rd. The lowest
ranked region has a per capita GDP of € 11,000. The EU15 average is € 26,600 euro.
In most of the ELAt regions per capita GDP is below the national average.
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16.
Total employment
What does the indicator mean?
Total employment is the total number of jobs in a region. Agriculture is NACE A and
B; Industry is NACE C to F; Service is NACE G to P. The information is collated from
Eurostat. The ELAt figures are calculated and based on NUTS 3 data.
Why is this important?
A rise or fall in the number of jobs is a primary indicator of the health of the regional
economy. Categorisation by sector gives insight into the structure of the regional
economy.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
4.3 million people have a job within ELAt. Of 200 regions ELAt is 9th. The ELAt regions
have still a strong industrial profile with about 28% employment in Industry.
Only the province of Flemish Brabant has a significantly lower share of industry in
total employment.
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17.
Added value
What does the indicator mean?
The added value indicator shows the added value at factor costs. Added value is the
difference between production value and sales value, minus any production subsidies,
other costs and tax. The information is collated from Eurostat. The ELAt figures are
calculated and based on NUTS 3 data.
Why is this important?
The added value indicator gives insight into the competitiveness of a region and
specific sectors on which the regional economy is based.
How are the ELAt regions doing?
Within ELAt, the total value added is € 139 billion. Of 200 regions ELAt is ranked 10th.
The lowest ranked region has an added value of € 0.8 billion. Differences exist in the
added value growth rate among the ELAt regions in comparison the national average.
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18.
General conclusions
Six million inhabitants, an active population of 2.9 million people and a GDP of € 157
billion: the ELAt triangle has critical mass in terms of population, active population and
GDP. These are all indicators in which ELAt performs as a top 10 region within Europe.
But the regional characteristics make it clear that the ELAt regions differ in many
respects: regional statistics on education, employment, unemployment, life-long
learning and GDP growth point to few similarities among ELAt regions.
On two sets of indicators, similarities can be observed among the ELAt regions: strong
in R&D and a high-tech and industrial profile. This makes ELAt in absolute terms one
of the three R&D hotspots of Europe, together with München and Stuttgart.
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Link list
Universities & Higher Education Institutes
Aachen University of Applied Sciences
Design Academy Eindhoven
Eindhoven University of Technology
Flanders Institute for Biotechnology
Fontys University of Applied Sciences
HAS University of Applied Sciences
Kempen University College
KU Leuven
Leuven University College
Limburg University College
Maastricht University
PHL University
RWTH Aachen
TiasNimbas Business School
Tilburg University
Transnational University Hasselt
University Hospital Aachen
University Hospital Leuven
University Medical Centre + Maastricht
Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School
XIOS University of Applied Sciences
Zuyd University
www.fh-aachen.de
www.designacademy.nl
www.tue.nl
www.vib.nl
www.fontys.nl
www.hasdenbosch.nl
www.khk.be
www.kuleuven.be
www.khleuven.be
www.khlim.be
www.unimaas.nl
www.phl.be
www.rwth-aachen.de
www.tiasnimbas.edu
www.uvt.nl
www.tul.edu
www.ukaachen.de
www.uzleuven-be
www.azm.nl
www.vlerick.be
www.xios.be
www.hszuyd.nl
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Research Institutes
162 |
Automotive Innovation Centre
Centre of Drug Design and Discovery
Dutch Polymer Institute
DWI an der RWTH Aachen e.V.
EDM Expertise Centre for Digital Media
Embedded Systems Institute
Flanders’ Drive Vehicle Engineering and Test Center
Flemish Innovation Centre for Graphic Communication
Flemish Institute for Technological Research
Leuven Medical Technology Centre
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft
Holst Centre
IMEC Research Centre
Jülich Research Centre
Leuven Materials Research Centre
Rega Institute for Medical Research
TNO Research Centre
www.aic-aachen.de
lrd.kuleuven.be
www.polymers.nl
www.dwi.rwth-aachen.de
www.edm.uhasselt.be
www.esi.nl
www.flandersdrive.be
www.vigc.org
www.vito.be
www.kuleuven.be/lmtc/
www.fraunhofer.de
www.holstcentre.com
www.imec.be
www.fz-juelich.de
www.kuleuven.be/mrc
www.kuleuven.be/rega
www.tno.nl
Networks
Aachen Centre of Competence for Medical Technology www.mtz-aachen.de
Brainport Health Innovation
www.brainporthealthinnovation.nl
Car e.V.
www.car-aachen.de
Design Connection Brainport
www.designconnectionbrainport.nl
DSP Valley
www.dspvalley.com
Flanders Mechatronics Technology Centre
www.fmtc.be
Flanders Multimedia Valley
www.fmv.org
Intra e.V.
www.intra-aachen.de
Leuven Security Excellence Consortium
www.l-sec.be
Life Tec Network
www.lifetecnetwork.eu
LifeTecAachen-Jülich e.V.
www.life-tec.org
PhotonAix e.V.
www.photonaix.de
Proteca
www.proteca.rwth-aachen.de
Regina e.V.
www.regina.rwth-aachen.de
Sirris
www.sirris.be
Technology & Food Network
www.brainport.nl
Automotive Technology Centre
www.atcentre.nl
Flanders’ Drive
www.flandersdrive.be
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Intermediaries & Start-up Support
164 |
AGIT
Arkimedes
BÈTA
Bio-Incubator
BOM
Brainport Foundation
Business Centre Leuven
Capital-E
EBC
euBAn
Flemish Innovation Fund
GründerRegion Aachen
GründerStart-Initiative
Incubator 3+
www.agit.de
www.arkimedes.be
www.rede.nl
www.bio-incubator.be
www.bom.nl
www.brainport.nl
www.bcleuven.be
www.capital-e.be
www.eurode-business-center.de
www.euban.net
www.vinnof.be
www.gruenderregion.de
www.aachen-ihk.de
www.incubator3plus.nl
Innovation and Incubation Centre
Innovation Lab
KU Leuven Gemma Frisius Fund I
Leuven.Inc
LIOF
LRD
LRM
MTZ
NV REDE
REDE SME Fund
Start-up Centre for Entrepreneurs in Cultural Economy
Stimulus Venture Capital Fund
Technology Liaison Office
TZA
www.inileuven.be
www.tue.nl/ondernemen
lrd.kuleuven.be
www.leuveninc.com
www.liof.nl
lrd.kuleuven.be
www.lrm.be
www.mtz-aachen.de
www.rede.nl
www.rede.nl
www.kulturunternehmen.info/
www.stimulus.nl
www.hightechcampus.nl
www.tza-aachen.de
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Credits
ENGINEERING THE FUTURE
FACTS AND FIGURES
Is a publication of ELAt in cooperation with Brainport Operations BV
Telephone +31 40 264 9990
E-mail info@elat.org
Internet www.elat.org
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PHOTOCREDITS
ASML: cover, p16. 134
IMEC: p10, 11, 51, 162
Brainport Automotive: p15, p122
Bram Saeys: p 21, 22, 40, 58, 106
RWTH Aachen: p 36, 45, 61, 62
DAF Trucks: p 52, 102
Philips: p 57, 81, 110, 144, 148
Leuven Gasthuisberg: p 67, 152
SVDO: p 80
Patrick Meis: p 86, 94
royalty free stock image: p 90, 98, 114, 160, 168
HTCE: p 118
FEI Company: p 140
CFS: p 156
LAYOUT
Esther Ketelaars, Mariette van Oort
PRINT
Van de Garde _ JEME
DISCLAIMER
In the composition of this publication use has been made of various sources and information provided
by several organisations. However, ELAt cannot guarantee the correctness or accuracy of the data,
information or opinions contained in this publication nor the suitability thereof for any purpose,
situation or application.
ELAt can therefore accept no liability whatsoever for any damage, loss or other consequences arising
from use of any of the data, information or opinions contained in this publication. To the extent that
you place any reliance on this information, you are doing so at your own risk.
No right may be attached to this publication.
© ELAt 2008
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