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Utrecht Science Park is the biggest science park in the Netherlands. The number of employees has increased strongly thanks to the magnetism effect of the concentration of knowledge, even during the economic crisis. That growth continues with the arrival of new companies and knowledge institutions, such as the today.

This is shown in a report by Buck Consultants International, which researches campuses/science parks once every four years on commission of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the knowledge cities. The report states that with its over 26,000 employees at the knowledge and healthcare institutions and at the companies (which has since increased to over 27,000) Utrecht Science Park is by far the biggest science park in the Netherlands.

The bigger science parks and campuses have a big economic interest. The total number of companies and jobs in the top-10 campuses and science parks has increased by 22 % compared to 2014. The employment on campuses and in science parks has increased much further than in the municipalities where they are located. They are desirable locations to settle in.

The magnetism effect clearly also applies to Utrecht Science Park, which not only attracts Research & Development divisions of companies, but also new knowledge institutions such as the RIVM. Thanks to strongly growing companies such as Merus, Genmab and GenDx, but also the Princess Máxima Center with 800 employees, the number of employees at Utrecht Science Park has strongly increased.

To Utrecht Science Park Foundation Director Jan Henk van der Velden, the report is a confirmation of the enormous potential of Utrecht Science Park. But Van der Velden thinks there is still much to gain in the field of corporate jobs. “R&D companies are crucial for the translation of the knowledge that is currently present into products and services that provide solutions for big social challenges. Therefore, the ambition is to increase the number of R&D jobs in the science park by several thousands. More new laboratory buildings will need to be realised for this reason, such as the new that already has a temporary design.”

Van der Velden believes that the recommendations for Utrecht Science Park in the report are welcome support for the underlining of the importance of the accessibility of Utrecht Science Park to the municipality, to the province and especially to the national government.

New technologies in the fields of life sciences and sustainability that could bring about a breakthrough, such as in the fight against cancer, are being developed at Utrecht Science Park. The science park is the beating heart of one of Europe’s most competitive regions. Here, knowledge institutions, research institutes and companies collaborate intensively to discover new solutions to provide a longer and healthier life.