The delegation visited Accelerate Cambridge programme offices at Cambridge Judge, and met at a lunch with Cambridge-based entrepreneurs and several senior members of the School.
Sander Dekker, State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science in the Netherlands, said the delegation wanted to learn more about how innovative companies are launched. “One way to do this is to commercialise the science that comes from our universities, and Cambridge is an excellent example of how that is done,” he told the lunch gathering.
Among the other Dutch visitors were Neelie Kroes, former EU commissioner and now Special Envoy for start-up companies in the Netherlands, and Simon Smits, Dutch Ambassador to the UK.
Jack Lang, co-founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, maker of the ultra-low-cost computer, passed around a Raspberry Pi computer for the delegation to examine, and spoke of the importance for young people to work on computer coding beyond school. “Learning to code is like playing a musical instrument,” he said. “It’s the practice at home that counts.” Raoul-Gabriel Urma, CEO and co-founder of Cambridge Coding Academy, an Accelerate Cambridge venture, spoke of his company’s efforts to get more young girls interested in coding.
The Cambridge Judge delegation meeting the Dutch visitors included Christoph Loch, Director of Cambridge Judge; Stelios Kavadias, Head of the new Entrepreneurship Centre and Director of Research; Khaled Soufani, Director of the EMBA programme; Hanadi Jabado, Director of Accelerate Cambridge programme; and Jaspar Robertson, Senior Business Development Director for Executive Education at Cambridge Judge.
Image (L-R): Professor Stelios Kavadias (CJBS), Neelie Kroes, Special Envoy for start-up companies in the Netherlands; Sander Dekker, State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science in the Netherlands, Professor Chrsitoph Loch (CJBS), Simon Smits, Dutch Ambassador to the UK.
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