SEPTEMBER 26 TO
OCTOBER 5 2025
OCTOBER 5 2025
SEPTEMBER 26 TO
OCTOBER 5 2025
OCTOBER 5 2025
The Utrecht Science Week 2024 was a great success! For over a week, you could visit inspiring events around (applied) science and innovation at the Utrecht Science Park. We are now preparing for the fifth edition of Utrecht Science Week, which will take place from Friday 26 September to Sunday 5 October 2025.
The Utrecht Science Park will open its doors and, together with various partners, a varied programme will be created for a diverse target group. The programme will focus on the themes of health and sustainability and include components such as lectures, presentations, tours and workshops.
Like last edition, in 2025 the Betweter Festival, the ‘Dag van de Duurzaamheid’ (Sustainability Day) and ‘Weekend van de Wetenschap’ (Weekend of Science) will also be part of the Utrecht Science Week.
Keep an eye on the website for current updates: https://utrechtscienceweek.nl/en.
Curious about what last year was like? Take a look at the recap, with photos and the aftermovie: https://utrechtscienceweek.nl/en/edtion-24/.
We look back on a wonderful week full of inspiring events around groundbreaking science at the Utrecht Science Park. A week in which it became even more clear how crucial education, research and innovation are to providing solutions to major societal challenges.
From 27 September to 6 October, the Utrecht Science Park was well attended during the Utrecht Science Week. The programme included more than 30 components with various topics focusing on the themes of health and sustainability. In cooperation with many different partners at the Utrecht Science Park, a varied programme was realised. The Utrecht Science Week is interesting for various audiences, both employees and students at the Utrecht Science Park, but certainly also professionals and residents from the entire region or country.
The Utrecht Science Week was officially opened on Friday 27 September by board directors Jan Henk van der Velden, Anton Pijpers, Wilma Scholte op Reimer and Arno Hoes. This was followed by the Utrecht Science Lecture by Peter Luijten, which was dedicated to his farewell and in which he and colleagues discussed the developments, collaborations and successes of the Utrecht Life Sciences.
To make research and innovation in the field of cancer treatments even more efficient, a collaboration platform, ‘Utrecht Cancer’, has been established by various partners at the Utrecht Science Park. Monday 30 September saw the official kick-off of the collaboration platform at the Walking Dinner.
Monday 30 September saw the official kick-off of the collaboration platform at the Walking Dinner, in the presence of board members, entrepreneurs and scientists from the Utrecht Science Park, representatives from the city, region, The Hague and national organisations.
Tuesday 1 October was the ‘Dag van de Duurzaamheid’ (Sustainability Day) at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, filled with inspiring lectures, workshops, a Climate Casino and the Spacebuzz. In the evening, the Ziekenhuis van de Toekomst (Hospital of the Future) opened at the UMC Utrecht, where impressive presentations and demos were given on the latest innovative cell techniques, which accelerate healing and recovery.
For the very first time, the Utrecht Science Park Pubquiz was organised, this time for students. 13 teams gathered at Café Minnaert on Wednesday evening and took up the challenge to put their knowledge of sports, science, Utrecht and, of course, the Utrecht Science Park to the test. And with success: the commitment of the teams was strong and there was a lot of laughter. On to the next edition!
Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation and digital transformation are playing a major role in healthcare and laboratories. This was nicely reflected on Thursday afternoon during Genmab’s ‘Healthcare and Laboratories of the Future’ event, which looked ahead to groundbreaking (digital) developments within healthcare.
Throughout the week, there were also various components from Life Sciences and Planetary Health, with interesting lectures, meetings and workshops on the relationship between planetary health and human health.
The Utrecht Science Week ended over the weekend with the finals of the Sustainable City Challenge on Friday afternoon and the ‘Weekend van de Wetenschap’(Weekend of Science) on Saturday and Sunday.
In the Sustainable City Challenge, a five-day pressure cooker challenging teams of students to come up with creative ideas for a more sustainable Utrecht, Team ‘Utrecht Oost’ won with their idea around ‘Green Corridors’ near stadium Galgenwaard.
During the ‘Weekend van de Wetenschap’ thousands of people of all ages visited the Utrecht Science Park for experiments and workshops. From growing cells to making your own flower bulbs. And from soil research with fungi to practising in court. There was plenty to experience!
Besides the events mentioned above, there was more to see during the Utrecht Science Week. Check out the recap. More photos and the aftermovie will be added here in the coming week: https://utrechtscienceweek.nl/en/edtion-24/
Many thanks to all speakers, organisers and partners who contributed to this successful Utrecht Science Week!
See you next year!
From growing cells to making your own flower bulbs. And from researching soil with fungi to practising in court. There was plenty to experience at the Utrecht Science Park during the ‘Weekend van de Wetenschap’ (Weekend of Science).
The Utrecht Science Week wrapped up with the ‘ Weekend van de Wetenschap’ on Sunday 6 October. Six organisations at the Utrecht Science Park opened their doors to science lovers of all ages.
Starting in the morning, visitors were already queuing up to discover science at the various organisations.
Throughout the day, it was nicely crowded around the Koningsberger building and the Botanic Gardens, where Utrecht University’s wide range of activities could be found, with experiments, presentations and experiments on various topics such as the brain, veterinary medicine, climate, law and health. In addition, visitors could do research at the Tuinlab in the Botanic Gardens.
At the Hubrecht Institute, the activities of the institute itself, the Westerdijk Institute and Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht came together. Here, visitors could, among other things, isolate their DNA, make a fungus and look through the eyes of a doctor.
At the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital (WKZ), visitors were introduced to bacteria in our bodies and there was an inflatable bowel through which they could walk as true bacteria. They also practised dealing with emotions, using VR glasses to practice different situations where these emotions arise.
The Princess Máxima Center opened its doors to introduce visitors to the world of researchers and, for a day, they were researchers themselves. Wearing lab coats, they did many experiments, were shown around the labs and gained knowledge at the mini-lectures.
The ‘Weekend van de Wetenschap’ at the Utrecht Science Park was a great success. It is great to see that even the younger audience can learn about science and the research being done here at the Utrecht Science Park in an accessible way. This was a great ending to the Utrecht Science Week.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation and digital transformation are playing a major role in healthcare and laboratories. This was reflected very well on Thursday 3 October at Genmab’s ‘Healthcare and Laboratories of the Future’ event, part of the Utrecht Science Week, which looked ahead to pioneering (digital) developments within healthcare.
The event started with a plenary session. Several persons from the industry shared their experience on digital developments within the organisation and in their field, including stories from the biotech industry and around healthcare research. This was followed by a panel discussion where professionals and students from Utrecht University, HU University of Applied Sciences, UMC Utrecht and Genmab discussed the future of healthcare and labs together.
The plenary session was followed by the ‘Health of the Future Fair’ at which (young) professionals could interact with companies and healthcare and educational institutions.
A valuable addition to the diverse programme of the Utrecht Science Week, where this important topic was discussed from different perspectives.
Friday 4 October was the finale of the Sustainable City Challenge, a five-day pressure cooker (from 30 September to 4 October) during the Utrecht Science Week, where student teams are challenged to create imaginative ideas for a more sustainable Utrecht. Team ‘Utrecht East’, with the theme Climate Adaptation, won the challenge with their idea around ‘Green Corridors’.
Utrecht healthier, more liveable and greener
Around 100 students (some international) from ROC Midden Nederland, Utrecht School of the Arts and the HU University of Applied Sciences worked in mixed teams on this challenge. The challenge took place in various districts in the city, such as Overvecht, Cartesius, Merwede and Utrecht Science Park. The five sustainable themes of this year’s challenge were climate adaptation, active mobility, community building, (mental) well-being and circularity.
Together with partners including the Cartesius Consortium, Utrecht University, Project O, ROM Utrecht Region and the Municipality of Utrecht, the student teams worked on challenging issues with the aim of making Utrecht healthier, more liveable and greener.
Green Corridors
On Friday 4 October, as part and closing of the Utrecht Science Week, the students presented their ideas during the expo in the Accelerator at the Utrecht Science Park. This was followed by the finals where five finalist teams presented their innovative ideas and visitors could vote for the public winner.
Team ‘Utrecht Oost’ won this year’s challenge with their idea on Green Corridors around stadium Galgenwaard. The concept consists of planted tunnels that guide the public to and from the stadium. Around these, green communal areas can be created for residents. The winning group was presented with the award by André van Schie ( provincial executive of Utrecht Province) and Jan Henk van der Velden (managing director of the Utrecht Science Park Foundation), in the presence of Eva Reuling (member of the Executive Board of HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht).
Great to see the teams developing wonderful innovative and creative ideas for a more sustainable city in such a short time.
On Wednesday 2 October, the Utrecht Science Park pubquiz was held during the Utrecht Science Week. The pubquiz took place in the cosy Café Minnaert and with 13 teams signed up, the café was quite full.
At 5 pm, the doors of Café Minnaert opened and people joined in for delicious pizzas. The pub quiz was then opened by the evening’s presenting duo: Mei Nelissen and Daan Warnas.
Mei is a PhD candidate at Utrecht University and is involved in research on climate (change) and the ocean. She likes to share her knowledge and experience with a broad audience to make scientific research more accessible and fun. Daan is a presenter and host. He studied Social Work at the HU University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht a while ago and regularly returns to the Utrecht Science Park as a presenter for HU education festivals, for example. Mei and Daan did not know each other yet, but it soon turned out that this is a golden duo.
The pubquiz consisted of 7 rounds with 10 challenging questions on various themes, such as sports, science, Utrecht and, of course, the Utrecht Science Park. The 13 teams faced the challenge of putting their knowledge of these topics to the test and did their very best to answer the questions correctly.
It was a head-to-head competition, but the eventual winner was the team from student association Anteros. The team received the trophy and the prize; a climbing workshop at the outdoor climbing wall Kalymnos at the Utrecht Science Park.
It was a successful Wednesday evening during the Utrecht Science Week. The commitment and enthusiasm of the teams was great and there was a lot of laughter.
Thanks to all the teams. Until next time!
On Tuesday 1 October, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht organised the Sustainability Day (Dag van de Duurzaamheid) during the Utrecht Science Week. This year, the theme of the day was ‘A social and fair sustainability transition’.
Globally, the urgency to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and inequality is being sensed. Students and teachers in higher education are also calling for more attention to these issues. It is important to explore together how sustainable ambitions can be shaped and how everyone can contribute to a sustainable and fair society.
The opening
The day began with the plenary programme in a full lecture hall at Padualaan 101. Day chairman Aniek Moonen, former president of the Young Climate Movement, opened the day and introduced the theme. Next to speak was Wilma Scholte op Reimer, chair of the Executive Board, followed by welcoming the keynote speaker Eva Rovers. Eva is a writer and director of ‘Bureau Burger Beraad’. She took the audience through 4 ‘ democratic weaknesses’ that she believes are slowing down the transition to a sustainable society and how setting up a citizens’ council helps to solve this problem. The opening ended with a panel discussion, during which people discussed the topics.
Choice of eight workshops
The opening was followed by the workshop rounds, with the choice of eight different workshops. There were workshops on recognising climate disinformation, citizen participation in the sustainability transition and the future of higher education in the climate crisis, among others.
The Green Market
Throughout the day, the Green Market was open, with various activities from the Green Office, Gender and Sexuality Alliance and the Diversity and Inclusion Network, as well as others. These included learning about swapping clothes at the Swaplab and scoring a plant at the Plant Doctor’s Clinic. In addition, as part of Diversity Day, there was the Diversity Wall where people talked about diversity and inclusion.
SpaceBuzz and ClimateCasino
Besides all the inspiring and cool workshops, visitors could drop by the ClimateCasino, where they could test their climate knowledge in a game format, and the SpaceBuzz. In the SpaceBuzz, (a virtual) André Kuipers took visitors on a space journey. The chair moves and through the VR glasses you can see the earth turning. From space, you have the ‘overview effect’ and see how extremely beautiful, but also how vulnerable the earth is. The aim is to make visitors even more aware of climate change and motivate them to get involved.
During Sustainability Day, the importance of paying attention to issues such as climate change and the sustainability transition is highlighted. It is important to discuss this and plan how we work together to create a healthy, sustainable society.
Curious about all the other sustainability initiatives at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, visit the website (in Dutch).
A new knee with your own cartilage cells? Or a world where there is no shortage of donor organs? It sounds like future music, but during the well-attended public event ‘Ziekenhuis van de Toekomst’ (Hospital of the Future) on Tuesday 1 October at UMC Utrecht, it turned out that reality is closer than you think.
Regenerative medicine
The theme of the evening was regenerative medicine. This aims to develop new treatments that take advantage of the body’s ability to repair damaged tissue itself. During the evening, there were very interesting presentations and demos that gave visitors a unique insight into the future of medicine.
Stem cells
After the introduction by Carina Hilders, chairman of the Executive Board of UMC Utrecht, and Stephan van Duin, University lecturer and biologist Joost Fledderus gave a clear explanation of what stem cells are, why they are so important for medicine and how they could change the future of treatments. Stem cells, form the basis of the human body and through division are able to change into other cell types.
A new knee with your own cartilage cells
Orthopaedic surgeon Roel Custers gave visitors more insight into the effective treatment of osteoarthritis (a decrease in cartilage around a joint) through the use of stem cell cartilage transplantation.
Repairing DNA
Next, paediatrician Sabine Fuchs told an impressive story about treating children with metabolic diseases. These are often serious diseases caused by a mistake in the DNA. Advances in genetic techniques are making it increasingly possible to repair faults in DNA.
Alternatives to dialysis and repairing brain damage
After the break with interesting demos, nephrologist Karin Gerritsen explained her research on how we can make dialysis better, more sustainable and less stressful for patients by using smart materials, chip technology and kidney cells. Paediatric neonatologist Manon Benders explained how stem cells can repair brain damage in newborns.
The costs of innovation
Finally, health economics researcher Renske ten Ham addressed the cost side. Cell and gene therapies are often much more expensive than regular treatments, but essential for curing a patient. Renske develops models to support reimbursement decisions.
Impressive evening
Overall, a very impressive evening during the Utrecht Science Week, in which visitors were taken through the wonderful innovations within the field of medicine at UMC Utrecht, in cooperation with many other parties and organisations.
The Utrecht Science Park houses a unique combination of knowledge institutes, (academic) hospitals and companies within one square kilometre. For quite some time, these partners have been working intensively together on pioneering research and developments in the treatment of cancer among children, adults and animals. On Monday 30 September, this unique collaboration on cancer research was empowered by the official launch of the ‘Utrecht Cancer’ collaboration platform, during the Utrecht Science Week.
Major societal challenge
Since 2008, cancer has been the number one cause of death in the Netherlands. In 2024, nearly 130,000 people in the Netherlands will be diagnosed with cancer. And that number continues to rise. The consequences are wide-ranging. First of all, for the patients and their loved ones, of course, but also for the healthcare sector, among others, such as the deployment of (increasingly scarce) staff and rising healthcare costs.
Unique ecosystem at Utrecht Science Park
Only through innovations in diagnostics and treatment we can improve the prospects of patients with cancer. Innovations resulting from groundbreaking research. Groundbreaking research requires deployment of many different areas of expertise. The Utrecht Science Park, with 30,000 employees and 55,000 students the biggest science park in the Netherlands, has a unique ecosystem of knowledge institutions, research institutes and companies within walking distance of each other, working intensively together and making use of each other’s expertise and facilities.
Utrecht Cancer
In order to carry out research and innovation in the field of cancer treatments even more efficiently, a cooperation platform, ‘Utrecht Cancer’, has been established by Utrecht University, the UMC Utrecht, the Prinses Máxima Centre and the Hubrecht Institute. This also involves intensive cooperation with research & development companies at the Utrecht Science Park, such as Genmab, Merus and Danone.
Importance of physical proximity
Monday evening 30 September marked the kick-off of this collaboration platform at the Walking Dinner during Utrecht Science Week. In the presence of the mayor of Utrecht Sharon Dijksma and Commissioner of the King Hans Oosters. In his speech, the commissioner called the Utrecht Science Park the ‘proud sparkling crown jewel of our regional economy’. And he stressed the importance of physical proximity: ‘Because the stakeholders here are physically so close to each other, they easily find each other and connections and cross-overs arise. Cooperation successes. Physical proximity is a factor in itself. Even in our digital world, where distance seems to have become irrelevant,’ Hans Oosters said.
Several stakeholders met this evening and rotated in groups along three locations: UMC Utrecht, Princess Máxima Centre and the Hubrecht Institute. The locations featured demonstrations and presentations on the groundbreaking cancer research at the Utrecht Science Park.
More accuracy, better prospects
Examples of pioneering innovations in cancer research can be seen throughout the Utrecht Science Park. For example, professionals within Utrecht Cancer frequently use so-called ‘organoids’, mini-organs grown from tumours of patients (human and animal). This allows them to better understand how cancer originates but also what the best medicine is for that specific tumour.
They also make clever use of harmless light, linking light-activated drugs to mini-antibodies that can very specifically recognise cancer cells. Image-guided treatment, such as MRI-guided radiotherapy developed in Utrecht, has clearly improved the treatment of men with prostate cancer and is now being evaluated in other cancers.
Another great example is a high-speed AI algorithm developed in Utrecht in combination with a new DNA analysis technique. In children with brain tumours, this allows the best operation to be determined for each individual patient during surgery on the basis of genetic characteristics of the tumour.
Combining different expertises
The above examples are an illustration of what can be achieved through cooperation and combining knowledge and expertise from different disciplines and organisations. The unique infrastructure at the Utrecht Science Park contributes to the innovations needed to improve the prospects for people and animals with cancer, for now and in 10 years’ from now.
About Utrecht Cancer
Utrecht Cancer is a collaborative platform at the Utrecht Science Park and initiated by Utrecht University, UMC Utrecht, Princess Máxima Center and Hubrecht Institute. Over 1,200 cancer researchers at the Utrecht Science Park work together, making an important contribution to a better understanding of the disease and improving the prospects for children, adults and (pet) animals with cancer. For more information visit https://www.uu.nl/en/research/life-sciences/societal-challenges/utrecht-cancer
The Utrecht Science Week starts today. Until Sunday 6 October, the doors of the Utrecht Science Park will be wide open. Are you interested in (applied) science? Then be sure to join the event!
At 3:30 pm, the Utrecht Science Week will be officially opened by Jan Henk van der Velden (managing director of the Utrecht Science Park Foundation), Anton Pijpers (chairman of the Executive Board of Utrecht University), Wilma Scholte op Reimer (chairman of the Executive Board of HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht) and Arno Hoes (vice-chairman of the Executive Board of UMC Utrecht), and there will be a preview of the wonderful, innovative week with a well-filled programme around the themes of health and sustainability.
This will be followed by the lecture by Peter Luijten, vice-dean of the Strategic Theme Life Sciences (Utrecht University). As part of his farewell, he will give a lecture ‘From science to impact: Utrecht Life Sciences’. Together with talented colleagues from the Life Sciences community, the unique achievements of Utrecht Life Sciences are highlighted and the valuable opportunities for societal impact in the future are previewed.
After the lecture, there will be time to chat and toast to the start of the Utrecht Science Week.
Utrecht Science Week
At the Utrecht Science Park, leading knowledge institutions, research institutes and companies work intensively together to find solutions to major societal issues. During the Utrecht Science Week, these collaborations and pioneering innovations are put in the spotlight. The week offers a varied programme including lectures, tours, dialogue sessions, panel discussions, knowledge markets and more. On topical themes such as preventive healthcare, climate change, animal-free innovation, socially responsible research and regenerative medicine. Subjects on which the Utrecht Science Park is working on a daily basis with combined efforts and with heart and soul.
Registration is still possible for many programme elements. Take a look at the programme.
