Updated March 07, 2014.
For a relatively small country, the Netherlands has shown tremendous innovative output in the life sciences. For anyone conducting a life sciences job search in the Netherlands, you will find a rich environment of opportunity.
Yet the Netherlands life sciences market is in many ways similar to others in the world. It too has formed within its borders clusters. Clusters are a phenomenon found in other countries where life sciences has taken hold.
The concept of a cluster is this: Researchers like to collaborate. Therefore, they have a strong desire to co-locate their labs near each other, often within walking distance.
They collaborate across organizational lines, meaning, a pharmaceutical researcher will want to collaborate with a university researcher who will want to collaborate with a medical institution researcher, and around it goes.
Collaboration drives development from discovery. So these researchers, and the directors of their organizations, are all incentivized to foster collaboration to advance the science, and bring new drugs, medical supplies, and medical devices to market for the benefit of the patient.
The two geographic clusters that have formed in the Netherlands are in Amsterdam and Eindhoven.
The life sciences sector has become a government priority for the Dutch because:
- it has an aging population
- it has a growing occurrence of certain diseases
- it is home to a growing number of medical innovations within its country's borders
Quick Statistics
- Dutch citizens have produced 2,575 life science patent applications, according to the UNISCO Institute for Statistics at the World Bank
- The Netherlands spends the equivalent of 1.8% of its gross domestic product on research and development
- 14% of its graduate students are in science, engineering, manufacturing, or construction
- The Netherlands has 5.2 researchers in science, per thousand total employment
As a result of this ripe environment, the Dutch government has shown its interest in furthering this momentum by investing heavily in the Life Sciences. And the industry is balanced across the broad spectrum of life science too. For example, in the Netherlands you'll find organizations in:
- agro-businesses such as animal science, food and nutraceutical science, and plant and seed research
- human health sciences that focus on diagnostics, therapy, and prevention
- environmental science
- and biotech sciences such as biochemicals, equipment, instruments, and reagents
Amsterdam Cluster
Amsterdam's cluster has grown up with a medical sector specialty. Two major universities have contributed to this growth. There are approximately 4,000 life science researchers in Amsterdam alone, and another 6,000 students are getting their degrees in life sciences and medicine there.
The largest life science campus in Amsterdam is the Science Park Amsterdam. In this 70 hectare campus, the University of Amsterdam's Faculty of Science resides.
The Amsterdam University College is also another major research employer in the area.
Eindhoven
Eindhoven is considered the research and development center in the Netherlands. Nearly half of all research and development funds are fed into this region. The High Tech Campus in Eindhoven houses many high tech companies and research institutes. Campuses like the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven are a perfect example of the clustering concept. Create a campus. Fill it with research and development tenants. Then let them collaborate.
The High Tech Campus in Eindhoven is 100 hectares large, and is home to more than 100 companies and institutes with over 8,000 employees.
To see how the Netherlands' life science market compares to other European countries, read:
Your Life Science Job Search in France
Medical Supplies and Life Sciences Job Market in Germany
Switzerland's Life Sciences Job Market