Our innovative companies would not be truly innovative without alternatives to the events canceled due to corona measures. So there are! The first online knowledge circle and high-tech safari are over. Successfully. Yet the exchange remains different from physical gatherings. The challenge: how do you stimulate online interaction?

It may be the first ICD Webinar, but as host, program manager Joost Krebbekx skilfully navigates through the online meeting. No fewer than 23 R&D staff are taking part in this first online Knowledge Circle New Product Innovation. Guest speaker is Ferdinand Coehoorn, Manager Research & Development at Assa Abloy entrance systems in Heerhugowaard. He reports on the innovation methods of five of our companies. This creates a benchmark for New Product Innovation. As in his 'fleet review', Coehoorn examines the companies in his presentation. Should you separate innovation from day-to-day business? Is collaboration with knowledge institutions necessary? And how do you make choices? What do you tackle and what not? He mainly asks the questions to trigger, to help get interaction going. Anyone who is not speaking has their microphone off and anyone who has a question raises their hand or reports this in the chat and gets the floor. It is a first experiment and according to Krebbekx it was a success with positive reactions afterwards. "We'll definitely continue with it!"

From visit to webinar

With the 'intelligent lockdown' in mid-March, Krebbekx sees all activities of the collaborating high-tech companies fall into the water. But that's short-lived. “It is not for nothing that we are an innovative business cluster. We immediately investigated and initiated the possibilities for online meetings. The result is that knowledge circles continue online as much as possible.” Just like the high-tech safaris for students. Study association Paradoks of the University of Twente will experience the scoop in mid-April: a tailor-made webinar instead of a visit. With good substantive presentations of the ICD companies, according to Krebbekx. ,,The way in which they were handed over to each other was very professional.'' However, the interactivity here also lags somewhat behind compared to company visits. “We still have to think about that.”

High-tech Pub Quiz

Less than ten days later the study associations arrive scintilla (Electrical Engineering) and Arago (Physics) from the University of Twente 'passed by' for an online high-tech safari. In the meantime, thinking about stimulating interaction, the ICD has put together an online high-tech pub quiz. ,,That way we want to stimulate the students to actively participate,.'' It's not the high-tech content that's the cause, that's interesting enough Krebbekx knows from experience. Why will the students participate now? ,,The main prize of the pub quiz is a tour with a Tesla. I think we can get them excited with that, the registrations are already pouring in.”