The program started at Photonis (Exosens Group), where plant manager Melvin Akker provided an overview of recent developments in the defense industry. These developments have led to the company making maximum efforts and now employing more than 400 employees.

This progress in the development and production of high-tech sensor and detection equipment is typical of the Northern Netherlands, where similar innovations are taking place at several locations. The visit concluded with a tour of the production facilities, where numerous precision processes could be witnessed.

Our second stop was at BD in Drachten, where host Joost Zeilstra, director of R&D, explained the significant impact of their technologies. BD works under the banner of SDG3: Health to combat bacterial resistance to antibiotics. With their rapid diagnostic methods for bacterial infections, they save lives around the world every day.

During this visit, during which representatives of the province of Friesland, the municipality of Smallingerland and the University of Groningen were present (with Prof. Dr. Joost Frenken, dean of the Faculty of Science & Engineering of the RUG, who contributed via a video message), the future ambitions and plans of the ICD and the broader systems community are set out.

The third visit was on NTS Drachten, where developments in high-tech ultra-precision technologies were highlighted. Klaas Geschiere, Managing Director of NTS Drachten, explained that renowned customers from all over the world come to NTS Drachten for the production of parts with extremely precise tolerances. R&D Manager Sytze de Graaf, PhD, Materials Specialist, demonstrated using electron microscope images the precision achieved when milling at the atomic level, comparable to machining risotto, but in metal.