On 20 January, the Association of Universities (VSNU) and the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centers (NFU), together with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the VU Amsterdam, organized the online event Impact 2021.
Impact of science
During Impact 2021, the broad impact of science on society was discussed. Scientists are constantly looking for solutions to the challenges of modern society. In this way they develop and provide access to new knowledge and put this knowledge into practice. The universities and university medical centers do this together with the knowledge field, social organizations and the business community. They work together every day to make society more innovative, healthier and future-proof.
Ecosystems
One of the themes of Impact 2021 was Innovation through collaboration in ecosystems. This theme was introduced with a short film in which Iris Vis, Dean of Industry Relations at the University of Groningen and chairwoman of the board of Hive.Mobility, introduced the conversation. Iris emphasized in her story the importance of collaboration between students, researchers and the business community in ecosystems such as Hive.Mobility. These ecosystems make it possible for startups to develop new concepts and for students and researchers to meet and link research issues to innovation projects in practice. As an example, Iris mentioned the collaboration with startup and delivery platform Dropper. The University of Groningen and Dropper are collaborating in projects on the sustainability and further development of delivery options in city logistics.
Watch the film with Iris Vis and Jantine Doornbos from Dropper here.
