The past few months have been incredibly important and busy for Biotech Booster. Our core mission is to accelerate biotech initiatives and support them in creating faster and greater societal impact in the biotech sector in the Netherlands. We do this by carefully selecting promising projects and working closely with them to achieve the best results based on their innovative ideas. After months of hard work and dedication, we can happily say that, together with you, we have taken some very important next steps towards achieving our mission. Out of over 200 applications, 50 Proof of Principle and 4 Proof of Concept project proposals have been submitted for approval. Of these, 26 Proof of Principle projects have already been granted the subsidy. This is an achievement worth celebrating.
Celebrating progress
October 3rd was a festive occasion to celebrate all that we have accomplished so far. In the morning, impact developers from all thematic clusters gathered for the first time to kick off a meet-up that we plan to hold every eight weeks. The session was led by Walter Zuijderduin, who has been instrumental in supporting our impact developers.
Walter shared his vision for the role of impact developers, and through engaging discussions and a questionnaire, participants had the opportunity to express their experiences, roles, and responsibilities. The impact developers expressed their appreciation for this gathering, highlighting the importance of coming together to strengthen the Biotech Booster community.
After the Impact Developer meet-up, all thematic clusters and the Biotech Booster team came together to celebrate this first round of projects. With over 50 people present, we kicked off the day with a series of photoshoots—both individual and group shots with the teams. Afterward, we walked together to Uncle Jim, a cozy café just across from our office in Utrecht.
Our CEO, Nettie Buitelaar, warmly welcomed the Biotech Booster community and shared highlights and key achievements from the past months. Following her introduction, our program coordinator, Rachel van Beem, took the stage to introduce each thematic cluster manager. One by one, the managers shared their experiences and invited their teams into the spotlight, where they handed out well-deserved gifts as tokens of appreciation.
To close the speeches, our operational manager, Keshen Mathura, shared insights on the next steps in the process. The speeches concluded with a round of applause and a champagne toast, after which the networking drinks began.
It was an afternoon filled with good conversations, and a strong sense of accomplishment. We all left with renewed energy to continue guiding current projects and preparing for the next round of proposals. At Biotech Booster, we are grateful to everyone who contributes to making biotechnology work.
Will you join us next time?
