On the Friday of Dutch Technology Week, a new event is taking place: PatentMatch. The aim of this event is to bring together people with ideas and people who know how to work these ideas out. This will occur within a full program with different speakers and workshops. The day is intended for people who would like to share an idea, or are searching for help with one, and for companies who are looking for them.
The initiator of this day is Hans Kamphuis, Liaison Officer for the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland and owner of The Link Solutions. He tells more about the emergence of this event: “I have been working to help people with innovation and entrepreneurship for a long time. What I have noticed is that there is no central event for innovators. You have the Household Fair and the AutoRAI, but a fair or a day for people in the Netherlands who are working on innovation does not yet exist. I want to change that. When I was walking around at Dutch Design Week, I came up with the idea to introduce this event during Dutch Technology Week. I contacted several parties who are active in this area and we decided to organize this event. I am doing this in conjunction with the Province of North Brabant, TNO, Brainport Development, the High Tech Campus, and GBO Design Studio from Helmond. Because an event like this needs time to grow, we agreed to organize this for three years.”
”I want this day to grow into an event where everyone in the world of innovation goes”Hans Kamphuis, PatentMatch
During the event, it will not only be about protecting or applying for patents, as entrepreneurship also plays an important role. There are workshops where you will learn how to finance an innovation pathway and how to market something as a real brand. According to Kamphuis, the most important goal of the day is to bring people together: “After this day you will know where to go if you need research institutions and you will know how you can attract investors. I want this day to grow into an event where everyone in the world of innovation goes to meet each other. That way, they can get to work to ensure that more ideas, concepts, and patents are actually realized in innovations.”
The event is intended for professionals who are working with innovation or are looking for new ideas. In addition, anyone with a good idea can submit that. The participants with the best ideas will be selected to pitch to a panel of entrepreneurs, investors and experts with the possibility of receiving an investment.