A full ICD Safari day took place on Thursday, Jan. 22, at the A7 site in Drachten. Three affiliated ICD companies welcomed 35 students of Technical Business Administration from NHL Stenden. The purpose of the day was to introduce students to product and process innovations within ICD's industrial network.
Reception and tour at BD Kiestra.
The day began with a welcome by host Tom Bergstra In the Shared Space of BD Kiestra. This international company specializing in bacteria detection through advanced laboratory automation was able to show both types of innovations. Students were therefore shown around the R&D site and the production site ( 200 m away) to taste the differences.
In the afternoon, the group moved to Variass, also in Drachten. Here the company was split into three groups.
Understanding high-tech production systems at Viventris
Viventris provided insight into the necessary steps in developing production systems for inspection and assembly. Using a concrete example, he showed Floris Goet see what it takes to successfully develop high-tech systems. In doing so, it became clear that close cooperation with partners and continuous innovation are essential for flexible production systems of the future.
Innovation and process optimization at Variass Medical Systems
In addition, Variass Medical Systems provided a comprehensive factory tour. Afterwards Hendri Kortman a presentation on organizing innovation. He not only addressed improving physical processes, but also showed how office processes can be optimized. This is done with self-developed low-code apps that support information flows. This creates context-rich information collections and avoids searching multiple internal databases. This results in significant productivity improvements.
Introduction to ICD companies and future opportunities
At the end of the program, students received the ICD-leaflets with all affiliated companies. The now familiar cards with QR code to the ICD vacancy list were also in great demand.
Although the students are still at the beginning of their studies, we had a good opportunity to show how technical business experts function in data-rich environments anno 2026. Therefore, we certainly expect to see some of them back as interns at ICD companies.
