Wonderful examples of the power of collaboration at the Utrecht Science Park New Year’s Café
Tuesday evening 21th of January was the Utrecht Science Park New Year’s Café. The programme was all about looking back on 2024 and forward to 2025.
Various themes from the past year were highlighted with an interactive quiz. Questioners from many partners looked back at some great developments in the Utrecht Science Park last year. Some examples that were reviewed were:
- Area developments at the Utrecht Science Park; both from Utrecht University, but also the arrival of new organisations such as the RIVM, which will move from Utrecht Science Park Bilthoven to Utrecht Science Park in mid-2025.
- Initiatives and activities around sports and exercise; the HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht initiated the WorkWalk in cooperation with the Utrecht Science Park Foundation. There were also several larger sports events with start and finish at the Utrecht Science Park, including the Utrecht Marathon and Giro d’Utrecht.
- Great progress was made in healthcare; we saw this for example during the successful TV series ‘Het Kinderziekenhuis’ on RTL4, where the WKZ was in the spotlight. And at the Princess Máxima Centre, the Infuuts was brought to life. This is a bicycle on which an infusion pump can be attached. This allows children in the hospital to cycle with an infusion pump on the back.
- The Utrecht Science Park has grown in employment and there is a lot of new business activity; this was shown in the BCI report published in autumn of 2024. Also with the arrival of the second satellite location Utrecht Science Park Zeist, the Utrecht Science Park continues to expand.
- Accessibility is a key topic. In 2024, a pilot was conducted to run trams on weekends. This pilot was so successful that in 2025 the tram will run on weekends when FC Utrecht has a home match and with the open days of Utrecht University and HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht.
- The Utrecht Science Week was a great success. In cooperation with various partners, various themes around groundbreaking science were put in the spotlight at the Utrecht Science Park. One of the great examples was Genmab’s symposium on Artificial Intelligence in R&D and healthcare, among others.
All these developments in the Utrecht Science Park are the result of many collaborations and connections established between the knowledge institutions, research institutes and companies. This only motivates even more to continue working together towards a healthy, sustainable society.
Registration for Utrecht Science Week 2026 is now open: the knowledge festival at Utrecht Science Park
From Friday 25 September to Sunday 4 October, the sixth edition of Utrecht Science Week will take place. Utrecht Science Park will open its doors to everyone interested in (applied) science and innovation in the fields of life sciences, health, and sustainability.
The first programme elements have now been announced and registration is open. Many more events and activities will be added to the programme in the coming weeks.
New artificial heart implanted for the first time in Europe
Earlier this month at UMC Utrecht, a patient with advanced heart failure became the first person in Europe to receive a BrioVAD ventricular assist device. The new system is being evaluated in a European study and may offer advantages over the existing ventricular assist device. For UMC Utrecht, the implantation marks a new milestone in a long history of innovation in the field of mechanical circulatory support.
Successful first edition of Utrecht Life Sciences TechConnect
On 4 June 2026, researchers, technology experts, facility staff and innovation partners from across the Utrecht Life Sciences community gathered at Utrecht Science Park for the first edition of Utrecht Life Sciences TechConnect. The new annual event was created to strengthen connections between researchers and technology facilities, showcase advanced research technologies, and stimulate collaboration across disciplines.
Opening Utrecht Science Week with keynote by Juliette Legler on the hidden influence of environmental chemicals
On Friday, September 25, the annual science festival ‘Utrecht Science Week’ kicks off once again at Utrecht Science Park. We are pleased to announce that this year, Prof. Dr. Ir. Juliette Legler will deliver the Utrecht Science Lecture. Juliette Legler is Professor of Toxicology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University and leads the ‘One Health Toxicology’ group at the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS).