Entrepreneurship summit focuses on innovating faster together

Big companies and start-ups can meet, work together on each other’s future and invest in their organisations at the How To Get There Summit, which is organised by the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship (ECE). This year’s entrepreneurship summit’s theme is ‘Innovate faster together’, and it will take place in The Hague on Thursday 17 November 2016.

The Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship (ECE) combines the knowledge and skills researched at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE). Around 2,500 participant will join the How To Get There Summit (HTGT).

Investing in the future

The HTGT Summit closes the gap between the worlds of corporates, start-ups and innovation hubs, in order to make smart connections and to innovate faster together as a ‘single hub’. Participants will not only present what they are doing and to learn, but also invest in the future of their company.

44 How To sessions

During 44 How To sessions, 99 speakers from Dutch corporations across sectors will discuss with 1,500 innovation professionals how people and organisations can innovate faster when working together. Professionals from companies including DSM, Nationale Politie, Ahold, Shell, USG, NRC and Vopak will share their expertise, success stories and failures.

New business opportunities

Cases will also be discussed by Dutch top academics on entrepreneurship and innovation such as RSM’s Justin Jansen, professor of Corporate Entrepreneurship and academic director of the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship, and Vareska van de Vrande, professor of Collaborative Innovation and Business Venturing at RSM. Prof. Justin Jansen, who was named one of the world’s most highly cited scholars by business information organisation Thomson Reuters, will lead a workshop about ‘managing today and inventing the future’. The session will explore breaking away from current logics and emphasise on today’s financial results toward engaging in new business opportunities.

Innovation hubs

In the Ecosystem Café, participants can explore innovation hubs, such as Brainport Eindhoven, StartupAmsterdam, Rotterdam Science Tower, Kennispark Twente and The Hague Impact City, which will all showcase their facilities and share their knowledge and expertise.

At the How To Get There Summit, ECE will reveal the annual ScaleUp Dashboard which provides new insights into the statistics and dynamics about scale-ups in the Netherlands, and launch its top 250 growth companies of the Netherlands.

Get in the Ring

Speakers on the main stage event will include Heleen Dura-van Oord (business woman of the year, investor), Albert van Veen (CIO Schiphol), Patrick van der Pijl (CEO Business Model Inc.) Han de Groot (founder Matrixlab, investor), Paul Smits (CFO Port of Rotterdam) and Prince Constantijn (special envoy StartupDelta).

Simultaneously, more than 350 start-ups will compete in Get in the Ring, which includes workshops, and networking opportunities with 150 investors and 75 corporates. The HTGT Summit will conclude with spectacular Get in the Ring start-up battles with the six most promising start-ups of the Netherlands.

More information

How To Get There Summit

The HTGT Summit is an initiative of StartUp Delta, and organised by all innovation hubs of the Netherlands with as lead organiser the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship. The HTGT Summit takes place at The Hague University of Applied Sciences during the Global Entrepreneurship Week on Thursday 17 November 2016.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is one of Europe’s top-ranked business schools. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam – a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who can become a force for positive change by carrying their innovative mindset into a sustainable future. Our first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes encourage them to become critical, creative, caring and collaborative thinkers and doers. www.rsm.nl

For more information about RSM or this release, please contact Erika Harriford-McLaren, Media & Public Relations Manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at harriford@rsm.nl. For more information about the How To Get There Summit, contact Jurgen Nieuwenhuijsen, project leader HTGT Summit, via htgt@ece.nl.