Biotech Booster connects Business Developers and the newly introduced Impact Developers to the broader ecosystem. While both roles focus on transforming knowledge into impact, they operate in different contexts. Since the role of the Impact Developer was recently introduced at Universities of Applied Science, we plan to feature monthly interviews with Impact Developers in our program.
If you have an idea at a UAS or are an industry partner seeking applied R&D, connect with the innovators featured in this series and explore opportunities to collaborate.
Who are you, and what does your role look like in practice?
My name is Paul Spelt. I’ve spent most of my career working in sales, business development and valorization in life sciences and biotechnology, both at large international companies and in startups. I have a background in life sciences and technology, and I’ve always been fascinated by understanding life at the level of a single cell.
What has really shaped my career is figuring out how to turn good science into something that can make a difference in the world.
In practice, that means bringing people together. I work with researchers, companies, investors and other stakeholders, looking for connections that can help move an idea forward. Sometimes that means generating revenue, but at Hogeschool Leiden, impact is broader than that. Education and contributing to society are equally important.
What inspires or drives you most about working at a University of Applied Sciences?
What I really like about working at a University of Applied Sciences is the combination of scientific expertise and a very practical mindset.
The Leiden Center for Applied Biocentre (LCAB) is a great example of that. It is one of the leading expertise centers in the Dutch UAS ecosystem and was again recognized as Excellent in 2026. The researchers are not only interested in whether something works scientifically, but also in what it could mean outside the lab.
That makes the step from research to application much smaller. And that is exactly where I like to be.
What makes innovation at a UAS different from other knowledge institutions?
A lot of the research starts with a real-world question. Instead of asking, “What can we discover in this particular field?”, the starting point is often, “What problem are companies or society facing, and can research help solve it?”
That creates a very different dynamic. LCAB actively works with companies and other knowledge institutions to identify relevant questions and develop solutions together. There is also a strong willingness to share expertise and facilities, which makes collaboration much easier.
What trends or developments excite you most from innovations coming from the UAS?
I’m excited by the idea of making good science accessible to as many people and organizations in the Netherlands as possible.
Not every innovation has to be a huge breakthrough. Sometimes a relatively small improvement can make a real difference, especially when it is picked up by others and leads to the next improvement. Those incremental steps can eventually add up to significant progress across an entire sector.
Can you share a project or moment that really stayed with you?
I’ve been involved in the valorization of antimicrobials, and that project really stayed with me because the potential impact is enormous.
At the same time, there is an interesting contradiction. Scientifically and commercially, you want to develop new products, but when it comes to antimicrobials, we also want to use new products very carefully to avoid resistance. So the very thing that makes these products valuable can also limit their commercial potential.
It’s a good example of why impact and commercial success are not always the same thing. And, by the way, we still haven’t found a good way to completely break through that deadlock.
What is something people often misunderstand about your work?
People sometimes assume that my job is simply about turning research into a business. It’s not.
I’m called an impact developer for a reason. Of course, commercial success can be part of the impact, but it is not the only goal. Especially in life sciences, there are many people who are motivated by the opportunity to improve lives, education or society. I think we should make room for all of those forms of impact.
What is one challenge you encounter regularly in your work?
One recurring challenge is agreeing on who owns the intellectual property that comes out of a project.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer. IP ownership and the rights to project results are usually something the partners need to negotiate. Sometimes the IP ends up entirely with one partner, and that can be perfectly reasonable, as long as everyone is clear about it from the start.
What common mistake do you see in early-stage innovation projects?
Getting stuck in planning instead of actually doing something.
Of course, you want to think things through and reduce risks. But at some point, you have to test an idea in the world. That will probably mean making mistakes, and that’s okay.
In business, I think you have to be comfortable with a level of uncertainty that would probably make a scientist uncomfortable. You learn by doing.
Where do you see the biggest opportunity for UAS in the coming years?
Hogeschool Leiden has a strong combination of education and applied research. I see a lot of potential in bringing those strengths even closer to the market and society.
Biotech Booster can help accelerate that process by giving projects the support and connections they need to take the next step towards valorization. And when those projects succeed, they also strengthen the reputation and network of the institute itself.
What would you say to someone considering working with a UAS?
Talk to us.
UAS are often very interested in the research questions that come directly from practice. We are flexible, pragmatic and connected to a wide range of regional and national networks.
So if you have a problem that you think research could help solve, reach out. You might be surprised by how much can happen when you start the conversation.
If you had unlimited resources for one project, what would this project be?
I would put them into finding and developing new antimicrobials.
Humanity desperately needs new products that can be used as antibiotics in modern medicine. What makes this particularly interesting to me is that it brings together microbiology, technology and human health: three areas that fit very closely with my own background and interests.
It’s also a field where the scientific challenge and the societal need are both enormous. If money and resources were no object, that is where I would start.
