Knowledge Park director Eric Jan de Widt discussed his plans two weeks ago with a small group of scientists and entrepreneurs during their monthly meeting, this time at the Faculty Club. De Widt, director of UT subsidiary Holding Technopolis Twente, will soon announce his plans to a wider audience, including representatives of the local innovation platform and the partners in the Knowledge Park.
In his opinion, the UT should focus less on the innovative power of start-ups and spend more energy getting the most from existing companies. The university can take that step, but not before it deals with fragmentation, individual interests and isolation, according to De Widt. `Only then will there be a truly entrepreneurial university.'
To get the desired `acceleration' De Widt intends to start a business that is independent from the university (but maintains close contacts with scientists and businesses) so, as he puts it, he won't get caught up in the academic bureaucracy. `I don't want to have to ask permission for each step. It's time to add the turbo. The UT is bursting with unused knowledge. There is much more to be gotten here than just Mesa+.' The cooperation between science and business should concentrate on new techno centers.
De Widt is conscious of the fact that his step implies a drastic change of course. `Think of it as an experiment if you want, but I'm convinced the idea will work.' The company, with a currently undisclosed name, will form a bridge between science and business.
Trans. Jeroen Latour
