CINERGIE
The world around us is fast changing. Companies are confronted with new developments in sustainability and circularity, which offer new opportunities but also come with obligations. To remain future-proof, it is important for entrepreneurs in Twente to continue to develop. The CINERGIE project helps them do just that.
CINERGIE supports companies in coming up with, researching, and developing circular and energy transition solutions. “We see that entrepreneurs want to become more sustainable, but encounter practical questions,” say Timber Haaker and Kees Schöller of Saxion University of Applied Sciences. “Where can I find the knowledge and capacity for innovation? How do I develop a new business model? And how do I respond to changing customer needs? Within the CINERGIE project, we address these issues so that companies can innovate more quickly and take advantage of new opportunities.”
The goal of CINERGIE is to help SMEs in Twente make the transition to a more sustainable way of doing business. “We achieve this by making knowledge and expertise available through professional researchers and business developers,” explains Timber. Saxion University of Applied Sciences collaborates with the University of Twente, ROC van Twente, Novel-T, Oost NL, and VNO-NCW, among others.
“CINERGIE follows a step-by-step approach of scouting, screening, research, and development,” says Kees. "Novel-T is the start of the funnel and scouts for business cases that can be developed. They sit down with entrepreneurs and professionals to identify the question behind the question. To this end, they organize Pitstop sessions, among other things, in which entrepreneurs identify their challenges and opportunities. Companies that want to go further can turn to CINERGIE. Here, they receive support for their specific innovation needs, for example, a pig farm that wants to replace soy from Brazil or a furniture company that wants to produce more sustainably."
CINERGIE has a short but powerful approach: “Our promise to SMEs: call us today, an intake will start within two weeks, and the first results will be available after six months. We always do this in co-creation with professional researchers from research groups, professionals from SMEs, and student researchers,” says Timber. “The core of CINERGIE is formed by matching the questions of (manufacturing) companies in the region with the expertise of research groups and academies at Saxion University of Applied Sciences. This match gives rise to R&D projects in which the concrete challenges of companies are addressed and innovative solutions are devised.”
In addition, practical tools are being developed, for example to make business models more sustainable, find new partners, and further professionalize employees. These can all be found at businessmodellab.nl.
Want to know more?
Please contact:
Timber Haaker: t.i.haaker@saxion.nl
Kees Schöller: k.scholler@saxion.nl
Gross Twents Happiness
Which indicators does the CINERGIE project contribute to?
✓ Income
✓ Job security
✓ Community engagement
✓ Environment