How do you describe valorisation?
Valorisation in the broadest sense is all scientific research and education that reaches beyond the academy and makes an impact on society. For example, scientific knowledge can be transferred to society in the media, companies can benefit from scientific knowledge and the expertise of scientists in joint projects and sometimes companies, called start-ups or spin-offs, arise from scientific research.
I myself focus mainly on entrepreneurship and start-ups, but also on innovative technologies and the cooperation with companies. Because of my own experience in the start-up ecosystem of Amsterdam and the applied path I took at the end of my PhD programme in Applied and Experimental Psychology, this suits me well. I get a lot of energy from researchers who, in addition to the relatively slow process of writing articles and grant applications, suddenly have to switch gears quickly and learn new things to get a project with impact off the ground. As a dedicated business developer for the faculty, I am of course open to supporting all researchers of Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences (FGB) in the process of valorisation and thus creating impact.
The terms impact and valorisation are used interchangeably. How do you interpret the difference?
As far as I am concerned, valorisation and impact go hand in hand. Valorisation describes the process of which impact is the result. By valorising, we as a university have an impact on society. Within Vrije Universiteit, we often see the term impact being used instead of valorisation. I think this fits in with the current times and recent developments that we also see in bodies such as NWO. Within Vrije Universiteit, for example, we have the Impact Board and within the faculty we have our own Impact Board FGB. As far as I am concerned, we at Vrije Universiteit are all going to consistently use the term impact.
What is IXA?
IXA supports researchers in creating impact. IXA is the partnership of the Amsterdam Technology Transfer Offices of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), University of Amsterdam (UvA), Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HVA) and Amsterdam University Medical Centers (AUMC). By facilitating the interaction between academic researchers and external parties, IXA stimulates the transition of scientific discoveries and results into innovations and insights from which society can benefit in many ways. As of January 1, 2022, IXA at the Vrije Universiteit has merged with the grant office to form a new department IXA-GO under administration. As a business developer at IXA-GO, I work together with fellow business developers, legal counsels, marketing and communication staff, grant advisers and our secretariat. The team is compact, diverse, decisive and hands-on. There is a lot of expertise and also different expertise among colleagues so we can learn a lot from each other.
What is your role at IXA-GO? What are your focal points?
I am a dedicated business developer for Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences. I deal with cases of researchers who work at our faculty. In addition, I am involved in the start-up facilities and the start-up ecosystem across Vrije Universiteit and even in pan-Amsterdam. Examples are the Demonstrator Lab, AVS (Amsterdam Venture Studios) and ACE (Amsterdam Center for Entrepreneurship).
I am involved in supporting researchers to create impact within FGB. This may involve a licence or cooperation agreement, working out a case and translating a scientific project into a business plan, finding external partners, or consulting and negotiating with external parties.
In addition, I am involved in training, enthusing and implementing projects in the field of entrepreneurship. That is where my passion lies and that is where I can add most value. When I notice that my enthusiasm about a project with potential impact spreads like a spark (sometimes sooner, sometimes later), it gives me great satisfaction in my work. Researchers broaden their horizons and skill set and, as a result, they not only create impact, but their research and teaching also improve. That is, of course, what it is all about for me and, I believe, for the university as a whole; scoring well on the three pillars of research, education and impact.
What are the things you can support researchers with?
Many of the requests we receive from researchers have to do with contracts, for example large grant applications with companies or other external parties. It is often a matter of laying down agreements about, among other things, existing intellectual property, but also about how possible revenues or new intellectual property will be distributed. All these matters must be thought through beforehand and, as far as possible, laid down in a contract. We like to do this as openly as possible so that knowledge can be shared, but we do protect our intellectual property where necessary. Also when we do contract research or a consultancy job for a company, it has to be in order. This must not only be legally sound, but also socially responsible. Because we operate on behalf of a knowledge institution, we have to take a lot of things into account. In daily practice, I usually discuss the wishes and starting points of the researcher, we place them within the context of the faculty and central strategy and we focus on making the greatest possible impact. This can be both economic and social impact; both go hand in hand nicely.
In addition to the above activities, I am also committed to training researchers and making them familiar with the process of valorisation and making an impact. This is an important trend that Vrije Universiteit has been paying more attention to since this year. For example, we have the Basic Education for Impact, IXA courses and workshops and various programmes of ACE to which we contribute content from IXA. We are also increasingly collaborating with educations such as Entrepreneurship in Human Movement Sciences and more experience-driven education such as the Demonstrator Lab. This benefits the entire chain of impact.
How do you work together within IXA-GO?
I find it interesting that in a case as a business developer we work together with a legal counsel to find out for the researcher what he/she wants and how that relates to the other party: 'how are we going to create the most impact with this in the collaboration? You then have to translate that into legal algebra: rules and laws laid down in a contract or an agreement that solidifies the agreements between the parties. Researchers often dread doing this, they may think 'oh dear, another contract, the hassle with IXA', but we try to unburden the researcher, to make the translations and to look at the possibilities. This concerns immediate opportunities, but also opportunities in a further future for the researcher himself, or opportunities for cooperation with colleagues within Vrije Universiteit or other parties outside Vrije Universiteit, who are not necessarily immediately on the radar of the researcher. Recently, cooperation with subsidy advisers has been added to our activities. It is great to see that there is a lot of synergy between the initially different looking teams. We are now getting to know each other, our work processes and service packages and I am confident that as the IXA-GO team we will soon be able to mean even more for researchers and Vrije Universiteit.
What is Vrije Universiteit's vision on valorisation and how do you see it reflected in the work you and your team do at IXA-GO?
Valorisation is (next to Research and Education) the third core task of Vrije Universiteit, so it also involves obligations from the university. There is certainly momentum within VU now in the field of entrepreneurship. One of VU's three spearheads, in addition to sustainable and diverse, is entrepreneurial. Mirjam van Praag (chair of the Executive Board) has a very entrepreneurial mindset and is also committed to entrepreneurship throughout the Netherlands. In addition, Davide Iannuzzi has been appointed Chief Impact Officer of Vrije Universiteit as of 1 January 2022. In this role, he will be the strategic point of contact and driving force behind the creation of impact. In this way, the right preconditions have been created and a major step has been taken in setting up a knowledge institution to create impact. It is important to realise that this is special and that we are also one of the forerunners, at least in the Netherlands, in these matters. I am proud of that.
What is your future vision regarding valorisation?
I would like to build a bridge between the academy and the world outside: creating impact with research and education, entering into partnerships with companies, starting businesses. Sometimes I see that valorisation is requested in addition to research and education, or that researchers think it comes on top of that, but personally I think valorisation actually strengthens existing research and education.
For Vrije Universiteit, I see that we need to educate researchers and share knowledge and experience even better. We should be proud of the impact we make and celebrate our successes. Scientists who often already have expertise in creating impact in many different areas can still learn a lot from each other. By providing training and adapting communication about impact, together with the changing climate in the Netherlands and Europe regarding valorisation, a culture change can be achieved in which valorisation and entrepreneurship are normal. I am looking forward to that.
Because this requires major changes and it is all relatively new, until now VU-wide has been working hard on all strategy plans. It is now important for all of us to convert this into concrete actions and to link the strategy to implementations. What I personally find important is that an entrepreneurial culture is considered normal at Vrije Universiteit and to ensure that researchers become enthusiastic about it instead of seeing it as an extra task on their plate. We want to educate and provide tools to generate impact with the education and research that researchers are so familiar with. In the past two years, FGB has produced many projects that have brought in new scientific grants but also set up companies. I think it is great to see that by offering the right support, among other things, we can achieve something extra as a university.
Are there differences between faculties when it comes to valorisation?
Of course there are. Because of the differences in content, but also because of a difference in support, you see differences between faculties. In the Beta faculty with more exact science, for example, you see many more patents. Case studies within our Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences often involve setting up collaborations. This may be an externally funded PhD research project, a consortium grant application or a public-private partnership with our own spin-offs.
Can you give an example of a case?
A case I am very intensely involved in is that of Melvyn Roerdink (Human Movement Sciences). He is doing a lot of valorisation, also because he was given this opportunity by the department in consultation with the faculty. I was involved in the successful application of a proof of concept grant for an Augmented Reality application to help people with Parkinson's disease.
The grant application went simultaneously with the sale of an earlier version of the technology to a fast-growing UK company Strolll. In addition, a large European grant was obtained on the same theme, which allowed us to attract new researchers and create more impact. I am particularly proud of this case, because in the valorisation process a number of elements come together and reinforce each other so that we can make the greatest possible impact. In addition, impact is created through initial research and education, but the impact created also provides new input for education and research.
How can you further integrate valorisation into the academic culture?
To further integrate valorisation into the culture, it will help to organise hybrid conferences (or rather showcase or demo days) where the focus is on connecting academia, industry and society. By communicating about scientific research with players from outside the university and by entering into partnerships with industry on projects with very concrete social outcomes, researchers will be proud of what they are achieving. The impact becomes visible to them not only within but also outside the academic world. I expect that this will lead to valorisation becoming embedded in the culture. In addition, reporting and internal communication (e.g. in newsletters and internal events) on impact will play an important role in creating the culture of valorisation within a larger group of researchers. For the awareness and positive association with valorisation, it is important that we celebrate and draw attention to the successes. A good example of this is the annual symposium (7 June 2022) of the Institute of Brain and Behavior Amsterdam (IBBA), which this year has the theme "Science to business" and where researchers, among others, talk about the valorisation process and the impact they have achieved.
What drives you, what makes you enthusiastic?
It is great to be able to work daily with researchers who are world-leading experts in their field. Making them enthusiastic for and supporting projects that make an impact. To be able to translate the newest and most innovative ideas, research and techniques into possible applications.
I get excited when researchers get a new source of inspiration or can tap into a new line of research by, for example, entering into a collaboration with a company or working out a value proposition for their own start-up. It is not only about valorisation or impact, but also about improving research and education, which goes hand in hand.
Which person or team at Vrije Universiteit would you like to compliment?
The researchers. Those who, in addition to all their responsibilities, are also asked to valorise. And especially those who take up this task enthusiastically and courageously, who embark on adventures, gain new ideas, tap into new networks and acquire new skills.
Tell us about the IXA Awards?
The Amsterdam Science & Innovation Award (AmSIA) is organised by IXA and is Amsterdam's competition for research-based innovative ideas and impactful innovations. The AmSIA consists of two types of awards, the Innovation Awards and the Impact Awards. The Innovation Awards are given to the best innovative research-based ideas that contribute to a better world. The Impact Awards are performance prizes for Amsterdam researchers who have created a meaningful impact on society through their research projects and innovations. It is great to see that researchers and initiatives that participate in AmSIA (not only the winners) often get further with their project because of the pitch training, media exposure or new contacts they have gained.
What is the added value of participating in the Amsterdam Science & Innovation Award?
Every participant will benefit from their participation in the Innovation Award. The competition offers an excellent opportunity to further develop your idea, explore its potential, present it to an experienced jury and share it with the public. All participants can get in touch with and receive support and advice from IXA. In addition, the winners of the competition will receive prize money to further develop their innovative idea.