The International MicroNanoConference 2023 occurred on 30 and 31 October 2023 in Utrecht. With 5 inspiring keynote speakers and more than 40 speakers in 12 theme sessions, we look back on a successful and fruitful meeting.
Keynote speakers
On the first day, keynote speaker Monika Hoekstra from NXTGEN HighTech kicked off the meeting with an inspiring talk about NXTGEN HighTech’s ambition to become a leading European top 5, high-tech ecosystem, how to get and stay there, and the intensive collaborations needed for durable economic and societal impact.
The keynote ‘QDNL – a new quantum economy for the Netherlands’ of Pieter de Witte from Quantum Delta NL, gave us an overview of the program Quantum Delta NL: from the first and second quantum revolutions, the supply chain analysis for all three KATs (Quantum Computing, Quantum Staging Network and Quantum Sensing) to the national opening of the Talent & Learning Centres and QDNL’s vision for 2035.
The third keynote speaker was Sander den Hoedt from Delmic. Sander discussed the unique Dutch ecosystem for deep tech (hardware) companies. To give the audience inspirational insights, Sander used his own company Delmic as an example. With an in-depth look, Sander showed us how his company started as a spin-off from academic groups and how its growth since then, benefited from the unique Dutch ecosystem. He showed the audience the opportunities and challenges Delmic has encountered.
On the second day, keynote speaker Marc Hendrikse from Holland High Tech kicked off with his lecture ‘Micro-Nano community as a crucial ecosystem for the urgent transitions’. In his talk, Marc also emphasized the importance of the ecosystem. He showed the ecosystem of Holland High Tech, where companies, knowledge institutes, and government closely work together to bring innovation to the market. Their ultimate goal? Helping to solve global challenges by bringing innovations that are based on distinctive Dutch technological strengths, to the market in public-private partnerships and hence achieve both societal as well as economic value.
The last keynote speaker was Mijndert van der Spek from the Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh. He discussed direct air CO2 capture and storage (DACCS), one of the available pathways to remove CO2 from the air and help achieve the Paris climate targets. It started with an overview of the different types of direct air capture technologies. The lecture then went into solid sorbent direct air capture, discussing the work at Heriot Watt University, including the understanding and modelling of molecular level interactions (nanometer-scale), which allows to achieve modelling of solid-sorbent direct air capture processes (meter-scale). In the end Mijndert projected the direct air capture performance and cost into the future.
Sessions and winners
Throughout both days, several theme sessions were organized by session chairs and speakers. Visitors of the iMNC could join multiple sessions on themes like Health, Quantum, Microfluidics, Manufacturing Technologies and Energy. Amitesh Singh of LioniX won the Exhibitor pitch, and the Poster of the Year went to Zhilin Wang of Delft University of Technology.
Marike Boertien
During the iMNC23, Quantum Delta NL and MinacNed introduced Marike Boertien, who started a new position as an Ecosystem builder for the micro- nano, and quantum ecosystem. If you have insights or suggestions to share, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Marike via m.boertien@utwente.nl
As MinacNed board, we look back at two days of inspiration from meeting new and well-known people at a well-organized conference. Hope to see you next year on 28 and 29 October in Eindhoven!
