Session Leads:

Tonnie Rijkers, Advisor Life Sciences & Health, Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO)

Pathways to impact? Output versus outcomes? Many funding calls ask for not only your research ideas, but also the impact you expect your project to have. Join this crash course on how to approach the impact section of your funding application. The session will be presented by Horizon Europe expert Tonnie Rijkers from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. Besides Horizon Europe Pillar 2 applications, the terms and methodology introduced in this session are also relevant for e.g. EIC Pathfinder, NWO NWA-ORC and NWO KIC applications. 

Session Leads:

Eva Moreno Iglesias, Biotech Booster Business Developer at VU IXA-GO
Roxanne van der Sluijs, 

Do you want to create impact with your research, but are unsure whether becoming an entrepreneur is the right path for you? There are many ways to bring scientific discoveries to society. In this session, Biotech Booster and NLC will show how researchers can advance promising innovations without necessarily becoming founders themselves. Biotech Booster supports researchers with funding, expertise, networks, and guidance to develop their technology, while NLC brings entrepreneurial leadership and venture-building capabilities to translate innovations into successful companies. Discover different pathways to valorisation and explore which role and route best fit your ambitions, technology, and desired level of involvement. 

Organised by the Centre for Defence and Resilient Society 

How can researchers build successful collaborations with societal partners? During this session, VU researchers and their partners will share practical examples of joint research and impact projects. Caroline Jagtenberg (VU, SBE, Logistics) and Maurice de Beer (Rotterdam-Rijnmond Fire Service) will present their collaboration on the logistics of emergency support points. Reinout de Vries (VU, FGB, Leadership) will discuss collaboration with Defence in the areas of talent development and leadership, together with Kim van de Heuvel and Amanda Bos of the Expertise Centre Leadership Defense (ECLD). Marit Sijbrandij (VU, FGB, Clinical Psychology) will demonstrate how her research on mental health and scalable psychological interventions contributes to societal resilience. This session is aimed at mid-career and senior researchers. 

Session leads:

Erwin Peterman, Full Professor, Faculty of Science, Physics o Living Systems at VU
Pieter Coppens, Associate Professo Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanties, Religious Sources

What happens after you click submit? This session offers a behind-the-scenes look at how grant proposals are assessed and selected. Experienced ERC and NWO Talent Line panel members will discuss what distinguishes strong applications from less competitive ones, how reviewer reports, rebuttals and interviews feed into the process, and how a panel arrives at a final funding decision. They will name the strengths and weaknesses they see most often, and give concrete advice on how to strengthen your own proposal. Bring your questions: a substantial part of this moderated discussion is reserved for you.