Part of the smart

Our collaboration

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The Big Five

Our innovative cluster goes for content and we like to share our knowledge. We do this, for example, with honor programs for students and Hightech Safaris. We also have special career and development programs for talents and support high-tech startups.

Our companies jointly use a high-tech Shared Facility Centre with industrial 3D printers for metal and plastic, and cobots. This is where we host our workshops for R&D projects, and where our development and testing facilities for 3D printing and auditoriums for school and student programmes are located.

ROADMAP

Our Big 5 of the high-tech

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Big data
3D Printing
Robotics
Visual Intelligence
Renewable propulsion

Big 5

We work together on providing solutions for the future, by combining our 'Big 5' of high-tech: robotics, metal 3D printing, remote sensing and big data, visual intelligence and renewable propulsion. A few examples:

  • A healthy living environment, through renewable energy and smart solutions for reducing fossil fuel in transport.
    Remote sensing and big data; remotely connecting devices, instruments and machines to collect, transfer, store, analyse and act on data.
  • Healthy and safe food for everyone, by using sensors and big data to monitor and improve the quality of food and drinks. Visual intelligence; a unique combination of camera techniques, big data and neural networks.
  • Better healthcare, helping doctors to recognize diseases faster and better by using smart software.
  • A safer society, in which visual intelligence and big data help prevent child pornography and terrorist attacks.
  • Healthy working conditions, by making work cleaner, safer and easier with 3D printing and robots.

Together we create more than 50 new products a year worldwide, which contribute to society in the areas of safety, simplifying the operation of complex systems, providing access to data that improve food quality, and tailoring them to individual consumer needs.

 

Knowledge sharing

The exchange of knowledge is the foundation of our collaboration. Through this knowledge sharing and cooperation, a unique high-tech ecosystem is emerging in the Northern Netherlands. Knowledge institutions are getting involved, including the University of Groningen, the University of Twente, NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, and vocational colleges FIRDA and Drenthe College. Their involvement is not only for conducting research, but especially for providing internship and work experience opportunities in a high-quality technical environment. In addition, recently Technicnoord started with the cooperation of members of the ICD. This institution has a unique BBL Mechatronics training program. Furthermore, we have facility sharing programs. And what about the special career and talent development programs for both MBO and HBO/WO graduates and a special program in which we guide high-tech start-ups!

'Part of the smart'

Being part of the ICD means contributing to solutions for the future. More than 3,500 motivated professionals are leveraging the power of the ICD to build their careers in the high-tech industry in the Northern Netherlands. Together, we take on the challenge of developing high-quality, unique products — and often producing them ourselves. Not by competing, but by sharing knowledge. Because together, we go further!

Knowledge exchange

Knowledge exchange is the basis of our collaboration. This also attracts the attention of schools. University of Groningen, University of Twente, the northern universities of applied sciences NHL/Stenden, Hanze University of Applied Sciences and ROC Friese Poort, Friesland College and Drenthe College have now joined in. Not only for their students to conduct research, but also to gain work experience through an internship in a high-quality technical environment. In addition, we run facility-sharing programmes, special career and talent development programmes for both secondary vocational education (MBO) and higher education (HBO/university) graduates, and we supervise high-tech start-ups.

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