Different initiatives around the Eindhoven University of Technology bring students and SMEs closer together. They offer support to the Brainport region through time, money and knowledge to develop innovative ideas and develop them into startups. Innovation Origins looks at a number of these projects and shows what they can do for this region.

“The Vragenbank gives SMEs the opportunity to get in touch with the university. They can quickly and easily submit their question about an innovative idea in their company to a student.” Monique Greve leads this project from the TU/e and sees that it brings SMEs and students closer together.

The Vragenbank is supported by a group of students, they function as a kind of helpdesk. The questions that come in are divided among the right students. A telephone conversation follows between the student and the entrepreneur to clarify the question. Finally, the student answers the question and the entrepreneur receives a small report with the findings. “This is often about the technical feasibility of an idea. From the entrepreneur’s point of view, these are often ideas that he has walked around with for a while, but for which he has no time to develop them further,” says Greve.

Read the full story at innovationorigins.com.