ERRIN on the road: destination Eindhoven
The ERRIN Secretariat spent two days in Eindhoven, hosted by Brainport Eindhoven, to see one of Europe's most talked-about innovation regions up close.
The visit had a great start: Anthony Van de Ven, one of ERRIN's founding members and current management board member, met the team on arrival and shared the story of how and when ERRIN came to be, a nice reminder of the network's roots before diving into two days focused on its present and future.
Starting at Eindhoven's city hall, the visit then moved to Living Lab 040 and Buurtschap te Veld, where local projects test solutions to urban and social challenges with residents directly involved. The next day was spent at Eindhoven University of Technology, coordinated from start to finish by Delia Mitcan, ERRIN SEFS Working Group leader, who put together a programme starting with a welcome from Technical University Vice-President Patrick Groothuis. Guided by Niels Deen and Varsha Pridhivi, the team visited the EIRES Institute, home to the GENIUS project on energy innovation, as well as the Innovation Space presented by Alfons Bruekers, where students work on real challenges as part of their education.
From there, the programme moved to Brainport Industries Campus for a site tour with Erik Veurink and a stop at VET school Summa, which trains technicians right where the industry operates. The visit wrapped up with a look at Brainport Eindhoven's history, strategy and its Factory of the Future, presented by Wim De Kinderen, ERRIN ICT Working Group leader, Cas van de Ven and Mark van Lieshout. And then the jigsaw puzzle was completed, revealing a picture that put together the challenges of the past, present and future of the region.
The visit was particularly valuable as the team had the chance to see an innovation ecosystem at work in practice, not only as a concept but as something tangible and concrete to experience first-hand. Eindhoven offered a clear example of how a territory can bring different actors, local government, universities, industry and vocational schools, together around one shared vision for the region.
For the ERRIN team, it was a reminder of how much there is to learn from watching a region put its strategy into practice. Thank you to Brainport Eindhoven, the Municipality, the Technical University and the Industries campus and everyone who hosted the visit. ERRIN looks forward to bringing these insights back to its work, both to support members navigating similar challenges and to strengthen its policy work on regional innovation and place-based strategies.