Four years after he joined the pilot class at Faculty of Impact as one of the 'original ten', Aytac Yilmaz leads Ore Energy, a promising start-up in the energy transition sector that now employs around sixty people. This summer, he raised an additional $43 million to build a battery factory.

Ampelmann cofounder and angel investor David Cerda Salzmann enjoys using his knowledge and experience to mentor new start-ups. 'At Faculty of Impact's investor event, you could clearly see that these were people who know a lot about their field. Real academic gems who are being pushed to step out of that ivory tower of science. But who were perhaps being confronted with the business side for the first time.'

Professor Harry van Vliet of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences points out that there is 'definitely potential in our sector’ to participate in the Faculty of Impact programme. Still, applications from universities of applied sciences lag significantly behind those from universities and medical centers. His appeal: we need to move towards a broader definition of impact.

Faculty of Impact’s program director Frans Nauta shares his views on the new cabinet’s innovation policy, along with his unsolicited advice. His message is clear: we need to create much more space to take valorisation seriously, in whatever form it takes.

Physics professor Davide Iannuzzi, former chief impact officer at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Faculty of Impact advisory board member, shares his reflections on valorisation, offering a candid and thought-provoking view on what we can do at the national level to better connect science and society.

Kim Poldner, professor at Groningen University with a background as a professor at The Hague and Amsterdam University of Applied Science, ánd as an entrepreneur, believes that impact programmes certainly help to bring the domains of research and entrepreneurship together. However, these programmes are still relatively unknown, particularly at universities of applied sciences.

This April, three remarkable researcher-entrepreneurs joined the Faculty of Impact with bold visions to transform their scientific breakthroughs into real-world impact. From next-generation cancer therapies to sustainable flame retardant materials, these fellows are tackling some of society’s most pressing challenges, and they are doing so with ambition, creativity, and a strong entrepreneurial drive. Meet Amber, Alsya and Ali.