During our event “Doing Business with the Ministry of Defense: ‘Strong, Smart, and Together,’” it became clear that the growing need for security and resilience is a challenge not only for the Ministry of Defense, but for society as a whole. For entrepreneurs, there are concrete opportunities: in technology, dual-use applications, supply chain, personnel, and innovation. At the same time, doing business with the Ministry of Defense requires focus, collaboration, and perseverance.

Don’t wait

The key message of the day: don’t wait around—actively seek out connections. The Ministry of Defense and the government are working on new ways to collaborate more quickly with the market and scale up innovation. For entrepreneurs, this means they must clearly translate their technology or expertise into concrete military capabilities: what problem are you solving, for whom, and how does your solution fit into the chain? Successful entrants invest early in relationships, timing, and ecosystems.

Funding and Scalability

Financing and scalability were also highlighted. Rabobank has demonstrated its role in strengthening the strategic autonomy and resilience of the Netherlands and Europe, particularly through suppliers in the defense supply chain. The example of Robin Radar showed that innovative high-tech companies can grow significantly when they respond to current needs in defense and security, but also that perseverance and dual-use applications are crucial.

Resilience

It also became clear that resilience begins with collaboration. Companies are stronger when they share knowledge with the government, industry partners, and other organizations. People also make a difference: reservists bring discipline, stress resilience, and resilience to organizations and can help companies better cope with uncertainty and pressure.

Correct route

For entrepreneurs looking to take the next steps: start by clarifying your relevance to the defense sector, identify the right path, and connect with existing networks. InnovationQuarter’s South Holland Defense Innovation Team can be reached at defensie@innovationquarter.nl. To contact MINDBase, please send an email to mindbase@mindef.nl. If you’d like to discuss reservist policy within your organization, AReS would be happy to assist you at AReS@mindef.nl.

New connections were made during the networking reception. We look forward to more great events to come! Stay up to date on new events and upcoming activities through our newsletter.

Newsletter

This event was organized in collaboration with VNO-NCW Rijnland and was made possible in part by Rabobank.

Once a year, the doors of the laboratories and buildings at Leiden Bio Science Park open to the public. On Saturday, July 4, 2026, between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., you’re welcome to come see what life sciences research looks like in practice—not on a screen, but up close, alongside the people who work on it every day.

Come take a look inside!

The program includes guided tours of real labs, hands-on workshops, and lectures by researchers at the park. Whether you’re a student thinking about your future, a family with curious children, or someone who’s never seen the inside of a research building before, there’s something cool for everyone to check out!

Admission is free; it’s open to everyone.

The open house is part of Dutch Bio Science Week, a week filled with vibrant scientific energy. Think workshops, networking events, and activities for everyone!

Become a Scientist for a Day

Meet the researchers, take a close look at the equipment, and discover what the life sciences are like from the inside. On July 4, the labs at Leiden Bio Science Park will open their doors to everyone: from the curious 10-year-old to the professional who has always wanted to know what goes on behind those doors.

People of all ages are more than welcome

Meet the companies that turn lab results into real-world treatments—from early-stage startups to established names in drug development and medical devices. On July 4, you’ll have the chance to talk with the people working on the next generation of therapies.

Warning: May cause a sudden interest in science

Side effects include asking too many questions, rethinking your career, and an inexplicable urge to look through a microscope. Explore the extensive program and use the drop-down menu to customize your own itinerary.

Route Planner

FULL-BOOKED: The maximum number of participants has been reached.

The event is fully booked. It is no longer possible to register. Would you like to stay informed and receive the retrospective? Then sign up for our newsletter below this page or send an email to info@keyregionleiden.nl o.v.v. Business with Defense.

On June 18, VNO-NCW Rijnland, Key Region Leiden and Rabobank are jointly organizing the Defense Summit: Doing Business with Defense – Strong, Smart and Together. Led by chairman of the day Alex de Vries, crisis advisor and former journalist, we will explore the opportunities created by the rapidly changing geopolitical situation and the growth of the defense budget. These developments offer entrepreneurs new opportunities to contribute to security, resilience and economic growth with innovative solutions (dualuse).

Our region has a strong starting position here, where innovative strength meets the growing importance of the defense and security sector. During the meeting we will discuss how entrepreneurs can take advantage of these opportunities and how the cooperation between business, knowledge institutions and government can be further strengthened.

You will gain insight into Defense’s strategic priorities, discover how to apply innovations, and meet relevant network partners from the region.

Program

Notes on main program

Guest speakers: Hugo Leyte, Christine Foekens, Siete Hamminga, Rob Postma, Yorick Cramer.

Hugo Leyte, ODIN

Hugo will provide insight into how the Department of Defense is trying to strengthen collaboration with the market, thereby shortening innovation cycles now and in wartime. He himself was in the military for 8 years until an accident forced him to choose a different path. After several successes including setting up PROJAXION, which provides e-commerce solutions, he returned to Defense in 2019. Here he now leads the department that manages a public-private partnership in which at regional and national level Defense, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, ROMs, provinces and industry act together in the dual-use innovation domain.

Christine Foeke

Christine Foekens is program manager of the new National Defense Industry and Innovation Program. She will explain the operation and design of this program. She has worked at the Ministry of Defense for three years at the Policy Directorate of Industry and Innovation. Before that, she worked for the Province of South Holland for 8.5 years as team manager of Knowledge and Innovation Policy.

Siete Hamminga

Siete Hamminga is the CEO and founder of Robin Radar Systems, a technology leader in radars for small, short-range objects such as birds and drones. He received his Master of Science from the University of Twente and completed his studies in Silicon Valley. He then founded several high-tech companies, before corporatizing TNO’s radar technology into the commercial company Robin Radar in 2010.Under his leadership, Robin Radar’s focus shifted from preventing bird collisions at airports such as Schiphol Airport to protecting against drones within defense and security. A winner of several prestigious entrepreneurial awards, he won the Martin Schröder Entrepreneur Award on behalf of the Netherlands Air and Space Fund, Hamminga has grown the company to more than 250 employees and revenues of more than €100 million.Driven by the changing landscape of defense and security, he recently completed the Leadership in National Security (LNV) course. He is the author ofBeyond the Hype, a board member at the NIVD and a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of TNO Industry.

Rob Postma

Rob Postma is Managing Director of Airbus Netherlands BV, the largest aerospace company in the Netherlands. He leads the Leiden-based company with about 265 engineers in Leiden, Oegstgeest and Eindhoven. Airbus Netherlands develops solar panels, launch structures and technology for earth observation and optical communications, among other things, and is also active in sustainable aviation, safety, cybersecurity and helicopters.

Yorick Kramer

Due to geopolitical tensions, the urgency to make Europe more resilient is growing. This leads to a strong increase in defense spending, also in the Netherlands. This creates new opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurs in industry. More and more companies are directly or indirectly involved in this development. What does this mean for your company? In my role as Sector Manager Industry & Defense at Rabobank, I share my knowledge and network with both clients and colleagues and share responsibility for Rabobank’s policy towards the defense industry. On behalf of Rabobank, I am active within Defport and the Expert Committee Defense of VNO-NCW. I also fulfil the role of chairman of the NVB Defense Working Group. During the session, I will take participants through my vision of the defense industry and discuss recent developments within Rabobank in this area. Topics covered:

• The strategic direction of Defense and what opportunities this presents for your business;
• How you as a company can benefit from growth in the defense sector;
• How Rabobank supports entrepreneurs working with Defense;
• Practical tips for entrepreneurs looking to start or scale up in this sector.

Break-out sessies

PLEASE NOTE: At the end of May, all participants will receive an email in which you can indicate a preference for one of the following breakout sessions.

• Digital Resilience & Cyber. Speakers: Harm Teunis, Cybersecurity Evangelist, ESET and Jamil Sosa, Lead Security Analyst, ESET
  This session will cover some of the public-private collaborations ESET contributes to, why we think these collaborations are so important, and what it has contributed to digital security in the Netherlands and far beyond. We will zoom in on a number of cases.
  

• Products & Services (dual use): Jos Maccabiani, senior business developer Innovation Quarter
  How do you take dual-use innovations from concept to an initial commercial application at Defense? In this session we will discuss which routes are realistic and how to accelerate as a company towards funding, pilots, orders and sales.

• Employees & The Reservist: Erwin Kwakkel and Martijn van Galen, advisors AReS (Reservist and Society)
  How can entrepreneurs contribute to a resilient Netherlands while investing in strong employees? During this session, AReS speakers Erwin Kwakkel and Martijn van Galen will show what role reservists play within Defense and what this means for employers in practice. We discuss the opportunities, arrangements and cooperation between business and Defense, supported by concrete examples from practice. An inspiring session for entrepreneurs and HR professionals who want to contribute to “strong, smart and together.”

Sign up

The event is fully booked! Would you like to stay informed and receive the retrospective? Then sign up for our newsletter below this page or send an email to info@keyregionleiden.nl o.v.v. Business with Defense.

Creating sensor-based impact

On June 18 we will be guests at Unmanned Valley in Valkenburg, municipality of Katwijk (next to the hangar of the musical Soldaat van Oranje). This is the Netherlands’ largest field lab for drones and autonomous tech on former naval airbase Valkenburg. Here, high-tech applications are literally getting off the ground.

• Unmanned Valley, Marinevliegkampweg 356, 2236 ZZ Katwijk aan Zee

The symposium “Working together on broad prosperity in Key Region Leiden” focused on the opportunities and challenges of our growing knowledge region. In the opening speech, Hester Heringa (Platform Social Domain), Wietske Veltman (municipality of Leiden) and Christine Carabain (Knowledge Center Applied Broad Prosperity) emphasized that economic growth must go hand in hand with broad prosperity: a development in which not only economic progress is central, but also the well-being of residents and a fair distribution of opportunities within the region.

On June 18, VNO-NCW Rijnland, Key Region Leiden and Rabobank will organize a Defense Summit meeting with the theme Doing Business with Defense: ‘Strong, smart and together’. For innovative entrepreneurs and SMEs that can provide a product or service to these entrepreneurs and/or to Defense. The meeting will be held at Unmanned Valley in Katwijk. Mark the date in your agenda!

Purpose of the meeting

The changing geopolitical situation and a sharply increasing defense budget create great opportunities for entrepreneurs to contribute to security, resilience and economic growth with innovative solutions. Key Region Leiden has a strong starting position where innovation power and the growing importance of the defense and security industry come together. We want to exploit that potential!

Format of the meeting

Inform, inspire and provide entrepreneurs with concrete insight into:

• Defense’s strategic needs and “shopping list,” particularly in the areas of technological and operational innovation.
• The action perspective for entrepreneurs: how do I navigate the complex Defense organization and bring dual-use innovations and technologies from idea to application within Defense?
• The opportunities for collaboration with partners within innovation region Key Region Leiden where entrepreneurs, researchers, education and municipalities work together in the fields of bio science, space tech & data and autonomous tech at Leiden Bio Science Park, NL Space Campus and Unmanned Valley.

This is what you take home

At this meeting, you will be informed and inspired, gain insight into Defense’s strategic priorities, hear how to seize opportunities as an entrepreneur and supplier in the supply chain, and meet a relevant network.

Program

• 2:30 p.m. – Walk-in: meet the innovation ecosystem
• 3 p.m. – Opening ‘Doing Business with Defense: Strong, Smart and Together’
• 3:10 p.m. – Program: from need to business including partial sessions on cybersecurity, reservists, dual-use and chain collaboration
• 5:30 p.m. – Networking with Defense, VNO-NCW and Key Region Leiden
• 6:30 p.m. – End

Sign up

Registration for this meeting starts soon. Mark Thursday, June 18 in your calendar now. Subscribe to our newsletter to not miss a thing.

• Thursday, June 18, 2026
• 2:30 – 6:30 p.m.
• Unmanned Valley, Katwijk aan Zee

Creating sensor-based impact

On June 18, we will be guests at Unmanned Valley in Katwijk. This is the Netherlands’ largest field lab for drones and autonomous tech on former naval airbase Valkenburg. Here, high-tech applications are literally getting off the ground. https://unmannedvalley.nl/