Valorization

The department of Electrical Engineering has worked closely together with trade and industry ever since it was founded in 1957. Making scientific knowledge accessible to trade and industry, as well as to society, is considered a vital task within the department. The research concentrates in three themes:

• Connected World
• Smart and Sustainable Society
• Care and Cure

Collaboration with Trade and Industry

Employees and students of the department collaborate closely with trade and industry in each of the research fields listed above, working to develop new ideas, designs and products. At the same time, trade and industry participate in various educational projects, providing an opportunity for all those involved to acquire and share knowledge. The department also fosters and supports entrepreneurship through various phases of development. This involves cooperation with regional, national and international partners.

Take-off for tech startups in Brainport

The Gate is the platform for tech startups in the first stage of their existence. At The Gate, business developers and IP-experts of Brainport Development and Eindhoven University of Technology offer honest and independent advice. The shared goal is to improve the quantity and quality of the high tech startup climate in Brainport Eindhoven. Together with the partners Brabant Development Agency (BOM), Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Summa College and the regional startup ecosystem, the business developers provide information and guidance on workspaces, financing, training and coaching to entrepreneurial students, scientists and tech starters. 

Several of our older spinoff companies are doing very well. For example, Prodrive Technologies, one of our first spin-off companies founded in 1993, now has over 1000 employees and has branched out to Germany, the USA, Israel and China. We increasingly stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit of our students, for example via a hands on 3 ECTS course on Entrepreneurship that forms part of the EE Master curriculum. In this course and elective follow-up courses (e.g. on business plan development) students can be coupled to current spin-off ideas and initiatives within the department and with our strategic partners. We help create and support high-tech student teams to explore appealing new directions. Participating in such teams strongly helps students to obtain a broad perspective not only on technology development but also on associated organization and valorization perspectives.