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Synergy Leiden – Delft – Erasmus Draft 23 February 2012
Joint memorandum appended to the separate Zijlstra documents
Strategic alliance Leiden – Delft – Erasmus:
Adding Value
Contents
1. Introduction and context
2. Intensifying the collaboration
2.a. Added value in the shorter term: a better range of degree programmes
2.b. Added value in the shorter term: intensifying the collaboration and exploring
joint LDE Centers and Graduate Schools
2.c. Added value in the longer term: Grand Challenges
2.d. Added value in the longer term: Graduate Schools
3. Valorisation
4. Internationalisation
5. Organisation
6. Planning
Appendix: Collaboration thus far
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Synergy Leiden – Delft – Erasmus Draft 23 February 2012
1. Introduction and context
This joint memorandum accompanies the three profile reports and/or institutional plans
that Leiden University, TU Delft and Erasmus University Rotterdam have each made for their
own institution. This has been prompted by the unique strategic alliance that has been
formed between the institutions and that will be further strengthened and formalised over
the coming period.
Worldwide competition: The comprehensive collaboration between Leiden, Delft and
Rotterdam Universities represents an essential contribution to the ambition of the
Netherlands to be part of the world’s leading knowledge societies and economies. Dutch
universities will be facing some major challenges during the coming decades. The focus of
global knowledge production is shifting from the western world to South East Asia, the Gulf
Region and South America. The worldwide competition between universities for academic
talent and scarce resources will become even greater. The Ministry of Education, Culture
and Science recognises in the Quality in Diversity Strategic Agenda the importance of a
stronger national and international profile for Dutch knowledge institutions, including
through mutual collaboration. At European level, the call for multidisciplinary teaching and
research to meet the ‘Grand Societal Challenges’ has been urgent for some time. In the
Netherlands, a parallel strategy ‐ the Top Sector Policy ‐ has also been introduced.
Strategic alliance: The alliance has been prompted by the positive experiences gained over
the past ten or more years with existing collaborative projects between Delft, Leiden and
Rotterdam, and by the enormous potential benefit to be gained through co‐operation
among these institutions arising from their geographic proximity and their complementary
range of programmes and facilities. The alliance covers a unique combination of specialist
fields, that can be summarised in six disciplines:
An analysis of the output in the form of publications makes the complementary nature of
the three institutions (indicated as L, D and E) abundantly clear. 1
1
The CWTS analysis focuses on the domains where publications are primarily in English (the fundamental science
and medical fields). This view contains no other types of output and should therefore be regarded primarily as an
indication.
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Synergy Leiden – Delft – Erasmus Draft 23 February 2012
CWTS density map
(publication activity)
The collaboration will be along these substantive lines. The oganisational structure of the
collaboration and the operational processes will mirror the choices made in terms of
substance. For detailed plans and choices per partner, please refer to the individual
memoranda/strategic plans of the three institutions. A shared approach to structuring the
activities referred to in this joint memorandum will make it possible to concentrate on the
core concepts of quality, focus and mass, and to create added value in addition to what the
three institutions can each achieve individually. This strategy will also avoid fragmentation of
activities.
In the context of this new alliance, collaboration is currently being intensified and specified
in a number of Joint Ventures (legally in the form of Joint Regulations).
Together more attractive: An objective of the alliance between the three institutions is to
safeguard the continuing quality of the teaching and research, and to promote a more
distinct profile for the range of teaching programmes offered, as well as to strengthen the
international positioning of the research carried out at the institutions. There will be greater
alignment of the complementary range of teaching programmes offered by the three
institutions, and the programmes offered will be made more accessible across all three
institutions. The alliance will lead to new, multidisciplinary combinations in the range of
programmes offered, that will be better placed to compete in an international market. The
present experiences with joint programmes or joint tracks will be further expanded (see 2a,
better teaching). By working together, relatively small but significant programmes can
remain intact, thus retaining a broad range of programmes for students to follow. To
achieve these teaching aims from the collaboration, it is important that the ‘principle of
established location’ of the three institutions is relinquished so that programmes can be
taught at each of the three universities.
The collaboration also offers improved opportunities for further developing support to both
teaching and teaching staff. Expertise in this area will be brought together.
As a combined force the institutions will not only improve their study programmes and make
them more attractive (added value for teaching), but will also build on their distinctive
research profiles. Co‐operation between disciplines offers better opportunities to contribute
to the Grand Challenges formulated by the European Union and to the Dutch Top Sectors,
and will also put the institutions in a stronger position, with their combined academic
strength, so that they can continue to be counted among the top academic institutions
worldwide. This will result in added value for the research position of the Netherlands. The
ambition is, by combining forces, to make the institutions more attractive for talented
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Synergy Leiden – Delft – Erasmus Draft 23 February 2012
students and staff and to increase the opportunities for attracting external financial
resources for excellent research.
The combination of a broad general university (LEI), a broad technical university (TUD) and
a more specialised university (EUR) that are in close proximity in a densely populated and
economically important region, with the port of Rotterdam and the position of The Hague
as the third city of the UN, offers major opportunities for added value for teaching,
research and valorisation. It is the aim of this strategic alliance between the three
institutions to bring these opportunities to fruition: together we are more than the sum of
our parts.
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Synergy Leiden – Delft – Erasmus Draft 23 February 2012
Medical Delta: an example of the collaboration between Leiden, Delft and
Rotterdam
The success of the Medical Delta partnership clearly demonstrates the complementary
nature of the universities of Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam.
Medical Delta (www.MedicalDelta.nl) is a consortium of the universities and UMCs in
Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam, along with business parks, incubators, companies and local and
regional governments in West Netherlands, that aims to develop and apply medical
technology. Multidisciplinary teaching at the cutting edge of medicine and technology is an
important aspect of this collaboration. Medical Delta is an example of powerful
collaboration between the complementary fields of expertise of the three institutions:
In terms of academic impact, the Medical Delta knowledge institutions are comparable
with world leaders Oxford and Zurich (ETH and the University of Zürich)
Medical Delta has been recognised by the EU as a Region of Knowledge, and is part of
the prestigious European consortium Health‐TIES (www.HealthTIES.eu), of which Oxford
and Thames Valley (incl. Oxford University), Life Science Zürich (incl. ETH and the
University of Zürich) are also a part.
The Medical Delta collaboration has already generated more than 50 million euro in new
public‐private research, including the Netherlands Centre for Nanoscopy (NeCEN).
Medical Delta comprises a total of 300 companies in the field of life science and medical
technology, with some 18,000 staff members in total. Between 2007 and 2010, fifty new
companies were started via the incubators in Delft, Leiden and Rotterdam. The
acquisition partners of the cities of Delft, Leiden and Rotterdam are working together to
attract more companies to the Medical Delta area.
Plans for teaching/research:
Establishing a joint BSc (and in time also a joint MSc) programme in Clinical Technology.
In 2016 doubling the number of dual appointments (now: 10). These ‘Medical Delta
Professors’ will have an appointment at the TU Delft as well as at LUMC/Erasmus MC.
Strengthening the scientific focus areas of Healthy Ageing and innovative cancer
treatments (HollandPTC, proton therapy). Stronger co‐operation in this field offers
opportunities for scientific breakthroughs and for raising the international profile of the
institutions. By making strategic choices, it will be possible to claim world leadership in
particular niche areas.
Investment agenda to 2016:
Testbed for innovation in healthcare, where new products/services are tested and
validated by the healthcare partners in the region.
Realisation of the first Dutch facility for proton therapy: the Holland Particle Therapy
Center (HollandPTC), an out‐patient clinic for innovative cancer treatments to be set up
in Delft, that will treat between 800 and 1000 patients annually (www.HollandPTC.nl).
Expansion of NeCEN (total 100+ M€/10 year, part of the National Road Map for Large
Scale Research Facilities)
Creation of Population Imaging Infrastructure (100+ M€/10 year, also part of the
National Road Map for Large Scale Research Facilities)
3 of the 8 national centres that will together constitute the public‐private IMDI
programme will be formed by the Medical Delta. Together these centres have an
ambition level of 270 M€ for 10 years and represent an important element of the Top
Sectors.
New initiatives such as the Medical Delta Multiplier BV and the creation of a fund for risk
capital will give an impetus to the development of innovative – possibly spin‐off –
companies in the region.
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Synergy Leiden – Delft – Erasmus Draft 23 February 2012
2. Intensification of the collaboration
In brief
The three institutions have for many years enjoyed successful collaboration on projects in a
range of different areas. There is a growing number of successful joint teaching programmes
and many research collaborations. The practical experiences gained through these shared
activities form the basis of the further collaboration to be achieved in the short and long
term. The strategic alliance is the catalyst for this further collaboration.
Added value in the shorter term: better teaching programmes, intensification of the
collaboration and exploration of joint LDE Centers and Graduate Schools 2
In the shorter term (2012‐2015), the greatest opportunities for concrete added value can be
found in the following areas:
Better and more attractive teaching programmes across the whole spectrum, through
alignment and collaboration. The student is the focal point in these considerations. In
the area of master’s programmes, the link with research will be strengthened. Through
collaboration, niche academic areas such as Philosophy can be brought together to form
a joint master’s programme (thus reducing fragmentation). Opportunities will be
created for new, socially relevant programmes and tracks in which disciplines of
individual institutions will work together, analogous to such already existing examples as
Life Science & Technology; this will allow us to better serve the interests of students.
Intensification of partnerships, including those already in existence, for example by
means of the joint Schools and Graduate Schools to be established, such as those within
the field of Natural Sciences (Graduate School of Science) and the interdisciplinary
Centers. Examples of this last form of partnership include the expansion of the scope of
Medical Delta, the establishment of an LDE Center for Governance, an LDE Center for
Education & Learning (CEL, teaching support, research into measures for improving
study success), and an LDE Center for Sustainability. The possibilities will then be
investigated for Graduate Schools in the field of Law (for example, first a joint research
master’s), Humanities (for example, an Institute for Culture, History and
Communication, linked in time to the Faculty of Humanities in Leiden) and Public
Administration within Social & Behavioural Sciences. The intensification of joint activities
will be achieved by such means as agreeing the policy on professorial chairs, sharing
such – often expensive ‐ facilities as labs, jointly organising training for PhD candidates,
and sharing best practices, for example in the field of lateral transfer students or
decentral selection for the medical faculties.
Fields:
Short term:
Better teaching X X X X X X
Medical Delta X X
Graduate School of
X X
Science
LDE Center for
X X X
Governance
LDE Center for
X X X
Educat. & Learning
Philosophy X
2
Graduate Schools, as referred to here, comprise master’s programmes including research master’s and PhD
tracks.
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Synergy Leiden – Delft – Erasmus Draft 23 February 2012
Added value in the longer term: Grand Challenges
In the longer term (2015‐2020), the alliance will exploit the combination of social sciences,
humanities, economics, law, psychology and medicine with the technical sciences, a
combination that is unique for the Netherlands. A number of multidisciplinary, thematic
partnerships will be set up, arising from major social questions, for example, such as the so‐
called Grand Challenges, on which the European research policy 2020 is based, and the
Dutch Top Sector policy. The initiatives follow on from the successful example of the
Medical Delta partnership (medicine + technology) of the three institutions.
The diagram below shows a number of thematic initiatives across the three institutions.
These initiatives will be addressed in greater detail in paragraph 2c. With regard to the
theme of Heritage, the already existing collaboration between Leiden and Delft (CAAS) will
be expanded in the short term to form the LDE Center for Heritage.
Gaining added value in terms of these themes calls for close co‐operation across several
disciplines. These disciplines are combined within the strategic alliance (see diagram). These
close partnerships will be set up or expanded on the basis of the longstanding relations
between the three partners.
Fields:
Themes:
‐ Shorter term
Medical Delta X X
LDE Center for
X X X
Heritage
‐ Longer term
Network Society X X X X X
Safety & Security X X X
Urban World
X X X X X
(Inclusive Societies)
Infrastructures &
X X X
Mobility
Added value in the longer term: Graduate Schools
For the longer term the aim and feasibility will be explored of different collaborative models
for graduate schools in such fields as Law (Graduate School of Law), and Humanities
(Graduate School and combination with Economics, for example, Chinese Economy, joint
degrees).
Paragraphs 2a‐2d will address in greater detail the added value that can be achieved in the
shorter and longer term by exploiting the broad profile of the strategic alliance.
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Synergy Leiden – Delft – Erasmus Draft 23 February 2012
2.a. Added value in the shorter term: better teaching
The table below summarises examples of the current collaboration between the institutions
in the field of teaching. An indication is also given of further improvements that can be
achieved in order to make the teaching better, more accessible and more attractive. The
basic principles here are an equally broad range of bachelor’s programmes and more
specialised master’s programmes that are closely allied to the research carried out at the
institutions.
Present collaboration Opportunities for further added value
Through the alliance, the range of programmes offered
will be further expanded, improved and made more
accessible to the members of the alliance:
Easier access for the alliance partners to the broad
range of bachelor’s programmes, easier to combine
programmes, exploiting what is currently available
with a minimum of administrative inconvenience to
deal with different study credits, minors, etc.
Full‐scale joint programmes Jointly developing digital learning programmes and
BACHELOR‐ONDERWIJS
(for example, Life Science & teaching resources, to achieve a good mix of ‘live
Technology, Molecular learning’ and ‘distance learning’.
Science & Technology, Programmes that are too small to guarantee optimal
Nanobiology, etc.). critical expertise will be merged. Example:
Programmes based on close Philosophy.
collaboration (Maths, Setting up new multidisciplinary tracks, minors or
Physics). programmes that are in line with the European
Joint tracks (Information Grand Challenges and the Dutch Top Sectors. First, a
Technology and Economics). pilot track will be developed together with students,
then multidisciplinary minors, and finally, if this
proves to be both desirable and useful, completely
new programmes.
Jointly setting up programmes for specific target
groups, for example a part‐time Law programme and
in time an English‐language Psychology bachelor’s.
Sharing international networks, including with a view
to work placements abroad.
Full‐scale joint programmes Based on the close embedding of research within the
(Life Science & Technology, master’s programmes, consideration will be given to:
MASTER‐ONDERWIJS
Industrial Ecology, Chinese
Agreeing specialisations in order to avoid overlap
Economy & Business)
and to present a stronger profile within the alliance.
Programmes based on close
Expanding the joint degrees.
collaboration (incl.
Jointly setting up programmes for specific target
Biomedical Engineering)
groups, such as an Executive Master’s in Public
Joint tracks (Bioinformatics,
Administration, Master of Public Administration for
Statistical Science for the
the private market.
Life & Behavioural Sciences,
Casimir pre‐PhD Physics).
2.b. Added value in the shorter term: intensification and exploration of joint LDE
Centers and Graduate Schools
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Synergy Leiden – Delft – Erasmus Draft 23 February 2012
Leiden‐Delft‐Rotterdam clusters will be formed in three areas, in which the institutions will
co‐operate closely. These clusters will take the form of ‘LDE Centers’ or ‘Graduate Schools’
(i.e. master’s+ research master’s + PhD).
Graduate School of Science: The three institutions have a great deal of experience with
collaborative projects where sciences play a key role, and where the complementary
profiles of the institutions – that also reinforce one another – are optimally exploited,
such as in the area of Health/Bioscience. There is already strong collaboration in the
field of teaching via shared programmes (such as Life Science & Technology, Molecular
Science & Technology, Nanobiology). The medical‐technological consortium Medical
Delta (see above) is an important example of collaboration in which natural sciences
play a role. The proposed establishment of a Graduate School of Science (incl. master’s
programmes and PhD tracks) will further strengthen the teaching and allow expensive
lab facilities to be shared, as well as ensuring that choices relating to the subjects of the
programmes are agreed among the partners. Concrete issues that will be developed in
the short term include the further combining of strengths in information technology and
mathematics, the establishment of an LDE Center for Sustainability (not only for Science
disciplines), a contribution from Science to the LDE Center for Education & Learning
(CEL) and further optimisation of the collaboration in chemistry, physics and electrical
engineering. Building further on the existing links, more plans are expected from the
field of Science, Engineering and Design (strongly related to the theme of The Network
Society), Media Technology, Energy, Transport Economics, Management of major
infrastructure projects, Cleantech and Air and Space Law.
LDE Center for Governance: A collaboration offers opportunities for studying societal
problems from the perspective of a broad palette of disciplines such as law,
communication, history, philosophy, political sciences, psychology, economics, sociology
organisational sciences, business administration and in particular technical public
administration. All types of governance issues will be investigated and researched at a
high level within the Center for Governance. The breadth of such a collaboration is
unique in the Netherlands and will be capable of competing with such top institutes as
Harvard (JFK School of Governance). The LDE Center for Governance will be set up as
part of the public administration discipline, probably at Campus The Hague, in
collaboration with other relevant disciplines. Initially a start will be made on developing
a post‐initial top programme with international governance as the key orientation, after
which the programme will be applied to a number of themes such as Global Challenges
(Global Justice, Human Interaction, International Development, Sustainability, World
Politics), global economic shifts, inter‐state integration (such as the EU) and urbanisation
processes and the comparative analysis of national approaches. Collaboration will, of
course, be sought at both national and international level. The intention is to set up a
Joint Venture by the three partners for this center (GR).
LDE Center for Education & Learning (CEL): CEL brings together the teaching expertise
of the individual institutions and ends the separation between teaching sectors and
between general didacticians and subject specialists. CEL will focus on research into
teaching and education in a broad sense and will in the coming years concentrate on:
(a) Research, training and curriculum development to ensure the performance
agreements made with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science can be met in
terms both of substance and implementation: what is the effect of the measures
(including study yield, application of study time, quality of teaching and lecturers)?
By bringing together the expertise already present, the synergy can be strengthened
and excellent opportunities will be created for the valorisation of knowledge and
instruments developed (development and research questions will be in line with the
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Synergy Leiden – Delft – Erasmus Draft 23 February 2012
needs in terms of knowledge and professionalisation of the participants within the
different programmes). As a result of this embedding within the ‘working field or
practical environment’, it reasonable to expect that the CEL will deliver products
that have a broader application elsewhere in the Netherlands.
(b) The collaboration will be structured along supra‐university lines, based on already
existing partnerships for teacher training programmes in Leiden and Delft. This
collaboration will be expanded to include Erasmus University.
(c) A third aspect that requires further exploration is the means by which a greater
number of international master’s students can be recruited.
(d) The advantages of intensive collaboration in this area can be found in such areas as
cost efficiency, a broader international range of programmes, synergy and ‘pooling’
of distinct specialisations. On the basis of an initial exploration, a decision will be
taken before summer 2012 regarding the form to be adopted by the CEL.
Implementation should be completed during 2015.
Philosophy: Opportunities for co‐operation and alignment can be drawn from the fact
that the three institutions have complementary strengths within the field of philosophy.
In terms of teaching, a consolidation of the present small‐scale master’s programmes is
being considered into a joint master’s programme in Philosophy, with separate tracks in
Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam; jointly organising substantive training for PhD candidates;
and jointly providing post‐initial teaching for such target groups as civil servants within
Ministries and members of the judiciary. Finally, there is the opportunity for setting up a
joint Centre for Political Philosophy as an umbrella organisation for existing activities
and for promoting the Centre’s public role. This may in time lead to a joint Graduate
School of Humanities.
LDE Center for Heritage: The present classical evaluation of the term ‘heritage’ is currently
under fire. Socio‐economic circumstances and popular culture have become more
important. This calls for a new approach, in which such disciplines as archaeology, technical
sciences and social sciences work together to research the significance and usefulness of
heritage in present‐day society. The existing Leiden‐Delft (CAAS) partnership will be further
expanded.
2.c. Added value in the longer term: Grand Challenges
In line with the Medical Delta model, there are unique opportunities within the Leiden‐Delft‐
Erasmus alliance for added value from new combinations between different
domains/specialist fields. What makes the alliance so unique in the Dutch context is the mix
of social sciences, humanities, economics, law, psychology combined with medicine, and
technical sciences. Multidisciplinary partnerships are essential to meet the challenges of a
complex, modern‐day society for which individual disciplines are unable to provide adequate
answers. This approach of reflecting demands from society is in line with European policy,
specifically the Horizon 2020 agenda, and the Dutch Top Sectors strategy. The following
themes that offer potential for success have been identified, based in part ‐ though not
exclusively ‐ on European policy:
Network Society: A ‘Network Society’ is a society where technology networks,
specifically communication technology and information processing technology, are
ubiquitously represented. Social, economic and cultural relations can be described in
this respect as networks typified by intersections, connections, hubs, etc. These
networks increasingly influence our collective and individual behaviour. Traditional
views of such subjects as work, cognition, communication, politics, government, science,
learning and economics all have to be reconsidered in the light of the network
revolution.
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Synergy Leiden – Delft – Erasmus Draft 23 February 2012
Safety & Security: This theme comprises the management of risks as a condition for a
secure and stable society. It covers different fields of science that are addressed by all
three universities in one form of another: criminology, security studies, crisis
management, public administration, ethics, technology development, international
conflict studies and ICT. The alliance is ideally placed to strengthen the cohesion
between these disciplines. Furthermore, the theme is closely allied to the international
profile for which the Netherlands, and in particular The Hague as the third city of the
UN, is striving. The LDE partners will have no option but to align themselves with this
objective.
Urban World (Inclusive Societies): This theme includes the effects of increasing
urbanisation in combination with water, sustainable construction, infrastructure,
economy, planning, ethics and sociology. The strategic alliance offers the required
combination of disciplines to carry out successful research and to generate added value.
A link can be made with the direct environment (the region, cities, port); the research
also offers applications for regions in China, India, the US, etc. The institutions envision
three cornerstones for collaboration: Mainports (port, airport), Sustainable
Infrastructure (energy), and Complex Cities (western and non‐western). Technology and
the human factor (behaviour, culture, inclusive society) come together in this theme.
The theme is a perfect match for the theme of the same name from the Horizon 2020
agenda and the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Urban Europe ‐ global challenges –
local solutions and the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) Smart cities. With a
broader approach, alignment with further EU themes (food, water, climate,
transport/mobility, energy, demographic change, etc.) is conceivable.
Infrastructures & Mobility: Infrastructures and mobility constitute the backbone of our
present society and the basis for our prosperity. They have to be reliable, affordable ad
accessible, but are typically enormously complex. Integration is increasingly taking place
between different systems, whereby a crucial role is played by ICT. This demanding
environment calls for multidisciplinary solutions and close alignment with the needs of
society. Transport and logistics constitute an important sub‐theme. It is evident that this
theme is highly significant for the region in which the LDE partners are located, given the
presence of the Rotterdam port, and that the package of disciplines brought together
within the LDE alliance can offer more than each partner is able to offer individually.
In further developing the thematic plans, a limited number of themes will be translated in
the short term into concrete plans that can be implemented in 2015‐2016. Other promising
themes will be addressed in the longer term.
2.d. Added value in the longer term: Graduate Schools
On the basis of the findings of the exploration into the establishment of joint graduate
schools (objective, feasibility), the following possibilities can considered.
Graduate School of Law: The enormous demand from society for law programmes
means that the individual programmes in Leiden and Rotterdam are both successful and
necessary. Nonetheless, collaboration within a Graduate School (comprising master’s,
research master’s and PhDs) will provide essential advantages in the form of dual
appointments, a joint part‐time Law programme and new links with other disciplines (for
example, Air and Space Law in collaboration with Delft). A start can be made with a joint
research master’s programme.
Graduate School of Humanities: Besides the consolidation of expertise in the field of
Philosophy described earlier, there is also the possibility in time of creating a
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Synergy Leiden – Delft – Erasmus Draft 23 February 2012
combination of Culture/History and Communication (EUR) with Humanities (LEI). Further
exploration is needed to determine the benefits and structure of this option.
3. Valorisation
The region of South Holland makes its mark with the presence of a broad industrial basis
extending across a large number of technology sectors. Looking at the evidence, one might
reach the somewhat irreverent conclusion that the province of South Holland is the biggest
business park in the Netherlands. This, however, together with the presence of our three
research‐intensive universities, two university medical centres and the many universities of
applied sciences and knowledge institutions such as TNO, forms an extremely strong
innovation cluster that is primed to assume an important role in both the Dutch Top Sectors
and the European Grand Challenges.
In recent years, concentrations of innovation and entrepreneurship have emerged around
the knowledge clusters. The Leiden BioScience Park, that has two (soon to be three)
business incubators and an accelerator, is one of the four mature science parks of national
significance, and in 2010 was voted the best business park in the Netherlands. Science Port
Holland is one of the fastest growing science parks, Yes Delft is an extremely successful
business incubator, the Erasmus Medical Center has set up a business incubator, currently
undergoing expansion, and a business incubator related to Erasmus University Rotterdam is
being set up at a rapid pace.
Each LDE university and its associated medical centre has a strong valorisation organisation
with a particular focus on knowledge transfer and innovation in the industrial cluster to
which it belongs. This is described in more detail in the separate development overviews and
plans of the three universities. Together, more than 110 FTEs are dedicated to valorisation
and research support at the LDE universities, with the largest concentrations in Leiden and
Delft although there are also resources at Erasmus MC (12 start‐ups in the holding that will
be linked and accelerated within the context of LDE). They have been placed in charge of a
number of activities including entrepreneurship training, scouting/screening, knowledge
protection/patenting, licensing, assisting spin‐outs/company creation, supplying
professional (generally external) management, managing/organising business incubators,
advising on grant tracks, managing the university holding and managing the science parks.
Each of the three universities has a different focus due to the nature and needs of the
different knowledge clusters that have formed around the university and UMC. This means
that the competences of the three valorisation organisations are highly complementary. At
Erasmus University, for example, entrepreneurship is highly developed, Delft has a strong
focus on company creation and Leiden has a focus on knowledge protection and patent
licensing.
The three universities and their UMCs are shareholders of and participants in pre‐seed and
seed funds, which provide business start‐ups and growing businesses that can demonstrate
sound plans and staffing with access to the necessary financial resources. About 30 new
companies emerge each year from the universities and UMCs, some of which are based on
university inventions. The knowledge institutions also have an important role in reinforcing
the relationship between the labour market and the needs of the businesses via healthcare
academies (zorgacademies) and expat centres, and in Leiden a labour pool and a Bio
Simulation Factory.
Together the LDE universities set up and now run the HOPE Centre of Entrepreneurship (as
part of the Holland Program on Entrepreneurship), which has been successful in promoting
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Synergy Leiden – Delft – Erasmus Draft 23 February 2012
awareness and entrepreneurship among students and provides entrepreneurship training.
Another joint venture, also within the context of the Medical Delta, is the Business to
Science Portal, again set up and run by the universities and UMCs. This portal clarifies the
needs of (mainly medium‐sized and smaller) companies and successfully matches them to
the knowledge available at the knowledge institutions. The three valorisation organisations
are closely involved with regional and European initiatives (sometimes jointly related) such
as Medical Delta, Health Ties, Tridelta, Metropoolregio, Clean Tech Delta, Climate KIC and
Greenport Campus.
In the coming years the LDE partners will strengthen their joint contribution to valorisation
and innovation in the region of South Holland and thence in Europe. They will do this by
bundling a number of activities and initiatives. The partners within the alliance will make
their different complementary competences available to each other to increase the quality,
effectiveness and efficiency of their individual operations. They will also support each other
in promoting the knowledge cluster of which they are part, for example by referring new
companies to the most suitable cluster/environment for them and by guiding them in this
process.
The HOPE Centre of Entrepreneurship will be continued. Entrepreneurship training is
bundled here, and the possibility of setting up a single joint association for entrepreneurial
students/student entrepreneurs is under investigation. The aim – with the help of the
Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation – is to establish a Regulation for
Temporary Entrepreneur Placements (Regeling Tijdelijke Ondernemers Plaatsen). Such a
regulation would enable starting entrepreneurs (students and staff) to receive a loan under
favourable conditions, which would allow them to dedicate a year to building their business.
In a joint effort with the Medical Delta organisation, an attempt is being made to establish a
Health KIC analogous to the Climate KIC. A joint contribution will be made to regional
initiatives such as Tridelta and the Metropool knowledge and innovation programme.
The further reinforcement of entrepreneurship and innovation in South Holland will be well
served by the establishment of the Regional Development Society (Regionale Ontwikkelings
Maatschappij) and a Participation Society that operates within it, as has already existed for
many years in several provinces. Together the LDE Alliance partners will advocate the
establishment of a Regional Development Society to the province, the Ministry of Economic
Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, the municipalities and investors; they will also contribute
to its design.
4. Internationalisation
Bundling strengths in the international field represents an opportunity for adding value, in
terms of raising the profile of the individual partners as well as strengthening our joint
activities. This will also offer advantages to looking for foreign placements. The partners are
currently looking into the following possibilities for forming an alliance:
The institutions could reinforce each other in order to increase their chances of success
with European funds (e.g. Horizon 2020). They could act as one body, for example, in a
single ‘rep office’.
The institutions could set up a joint platform for student exchange programmes with the
USA.
From 2014, the European Knowledge & Innovation Communities (KICs) will provide
opportunities (including in the field of Healthy Ageing) that could better be exploited
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jointly than as a single university.
The identification of shared target countries (first inventory: China, Indonesia, Brazil and
India) and acting together in strengthening and using the links with these countries.
The joint recruitment of international and PhD students, the further development and
expansion of ‘study abroad’ packages with summer schools, for example.
5. Organisation
In the next phase the organisational structure of the areas of collaboration will gain shape
with:
a. the appointment of quartermasters per theme, to be made in the period of July‐
September 2012 by the steering committee of the LDE Strategic Alliance (consisting of
the Executive Boards of the three partners)
b. the establishment of the Joint Ventures (under Joint Regulations) and the appointment
by the steering committee of the board responsible for this
c. the further exploration of the possibilities in both the short and long term for maximum
exploitation of the added value of the strategic alliance: this will result in a concrete
action plan before the end of 2012.
d. the monitoring of each section’s progress and the assignment of key fields of interest to
each member. The steering group will be responsible for this.
6. Planning
The plans for the further intensification of the Strategic Alliance will be worked out in
further detail before end of 2012. The deadline for the plans is 2016.
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APPENDIX: COLLABORATION THUS FAR
Overview of the current joint bachelor’s degree programmes:
Bachelor’s degree collaboration L D E
Life Science & Technology X X Joint BSc degree programme
Molecular Science & Technology X X Joint BSc degree programme
(Technical) Mathematics X X BSc degree programmes in close collaboration
Nanobiology X X Being set up (BSc): realised by ...
Computer Science & Economics X X Joint BSc Computer Science Track
Track
Current partnerships in the field of master’s programmes:
Master’s degree collaboration L D E
Life Science & Technology X X Joint MSc programme
Industrial Ecology X X X Joint MSc degree programme
Chinese Economy & Business X X Joint MA degree programme
City Developer X X Joint programme
Biomedical Engineering X X X Delft programme with input from L and E
Casimir/Physics X X Joint track in MSc Applied Physics (D) and MSc
Physics (L)
Statistical Science for the Life & X X Collaboration between L+R and other medical
Behavioural Sciences centres/universities in the Netherlands
Bioinformatics X X Joint track in MSc Computer Science (L) and MSc
Media & Knowledge Engineering (D)
Highlights of current research collaboration:
Current collaboration Subjects L D E
Research School on Transport, Infrastructure and Logistics (TRAIL) Mobility, transport, logistics, X X
traffic flows, infrastructure
and transport systems
Medical Technology/Medical Delta Life Science, Health Science, X X X
HealthTIES (EU) Medical Technology.
IMDI.nl centres of research excellence Specific programmes in the
Highlights in the Delta (Pieken in de Delta) field of electron microscopy,
Netherlands Centre for Electron Nanoscopy (NeCEN) proton therapy.
Holland Particle Therapy Centre (HollandPTC)
Master’s tracks in Medical Technology and Medicine for
Engineers
Master’s degree programme in Medical Technology is being set
up
Cleantech Delta Biochemistry and X X X
Bio‐based Ecology Balanced Sustainable Industrial Chemistry biotechnology with a view to
(BE‐BASIC) sustainable energy and
Kluyver Centre for genomics of industrial fermentation production techniques
Biotechnological Sciences Delft Leiden
CYTTRON 1 and 2
Nano‐Imaging under Industrial Conditions (NIMIC)
Interdisciplinary Physics Interfaces between physics X X
Casimir Research School and biology, chemistry, etc.
Solid State Quantum Information Processing Concentration
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Group
Centre of Art and Archaeological Sciences (CAAS) Art and heritage material X X
research
Top Institute for Healthy Ageing (Topinstituut Gezond ouder Integral approach to healthy X X X
Worden; Ti‐GO) ageing
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