Eindhoven: european city of innovation.
Located south in the Netherlands, Eindhoven was named in 2018 the european city of innovation by The Guardian. “Eindhoven wants to be the place in which the future is being tested”, states this newspaper which compares this city with Silicon Valley*.
The Netherlands is the eighth country with the highest registration of patents regarding inventions and technological developments. And Eindhoven, is where these have the highest concentration percentage, according to the European Patent Office.
But a few decades ago this was a city known as an industrial center directly related to one company of technology and electronics: Philips. The city had no choice but to reinvent itself after Philips delocalized its production to China. Nevertheless, this company research headquearters are now in Eindhoven’s tech campus, and Eindhoven has now several other companies working there.
¿How did Eindhoven went to being the “Philips’ city” to position itself as the epicenter of northern Europe’s innovation? It was a consequence of a sinergy between government, business and education institutions. They offered incentives to innovators in social problematics, in order to attract capital and businesses. Among these are housing, sustainability, and job creation based in the industrial profile which the city already had.
Today, the development of technology, sustainable architecture, hardware design and materials innovation are cutting edge in Eindhoven. And this is also the reason why students from different backgrounds choose this city in which the first 3D printed houses in the world are being built. In this project, Eindhoven’s city council (Gementee), T/U University and the architecture firm Houben & Van Mierlo are working together.
The model of close colaboration between knowledge and innovation in this city emerges mainly from two institutions: Technological University from Eindhoven (T/U) and the Design Academy of Eindhoven. The first one is known from having the most sustainable building in Holland (the “Atlas Building”), and a strong orientation in entrepreneurship and technology, from medicine to electronic engineering.
The second institution has an open model of teaching and pure experimentation. Through recruiting the best professionals of Europe in design and innovation such as the british star Ilse Crawford, the Academy implemented a series of “open labs” in which students and teachers build together world class exhibitions.
“Dutch Design Week” is one of those exhibitions, which has been matched with Milan’s Design Week. Students prepare to be designers and hackers and to build along with their experienced teachers.
This way, in one institution materials are explored, in the other new technologies are developed, and the city with companies generate this framework in which that innovation gives results. The Strijp R district, an old and abandoned industrial zone from Philips now holds the most innovative startups and small business from the city.
On the other hand, Eindhoven counts with one of the low cost airlines airport from the region, with direct flights to the main cities of Europe. Its closeness to Belgium and Germany converts it in a hub which connects languages and nationalities, the key recipe of diversity needed for any innovation effort.
Lastly, a 100% dutch urban lifestyle with bikes, parks and recycling of any every aspect of life is added. In summary, Eindhoven’s current success is the formula you can never get by copying a “Silicon Valley model” but rather understanding the specificities of a place and promoting an organic growth which includes a city stakeholders.
*This is articles includes a version in english of an article I wrote for the newspaper LosAndes before traveling to Eindhoven in 2019, where I learned a little bit more about this city, and pictures I took while visiting some of its spots.
