Successful matchmaking at Radboudumc Investment Day  

On the 5th of October, over 100 scientists, investors and entrepreneurs came together at the second Radboudumc Investment Day. The event, jointly hosted by Radboudumc, Oost NL and Briskr, aims to accelerate innovation in healthcare by creating new business opportunities and forging strong public-private partnerships.
 
This years’ edition featured an inspiring line-up of speakers with broad expertise in (bio)medical innovation, med tech and AI. Together, they touched upon the main challenges and opportunities that scientists and entrepreneurs face when they try to bring their research to the market. One key takeaway was the importance for scientist and (potential) investors to get in touch early on in the research process. That makes it easier to align applied research with societal needs and lowers the chance of promising start-ups folding in the infamous ‘valley of death’.

In addition to the plenary sessions, attendees had ample opportunity to partake in one-on-one meetings, some of which were pre-arranged via a digital match-up platform.

Support and celebrate entrepreneurial scientists

The spirit of the event was aptly summarized by Constantijn van Oranje, special envoy at TechLeap, during the panel discussion at the end. He emphasized the importance of creating a culture at academic institutions that actively supports and even celebrates entrepreneurial scientists. For while the academic pursuit of knowledge is a valuable endeavor in itself, translating the fruits of research into market success and societal impact is equally important and that’s why we will organize the event next year as well.