(Editor’s note: This post about Open Day at High Tech Campus Eindhoven is part of our Tech Tuesday series. Dispatches covers tech because so many of our highly skilled internationals are engineers and entrepreneurs.)
Open Day is back, with High Tech Campus Eindhoven welcoming the community for the first time since 2022. If you’re an expat who’s new in town, you don’t want to miss this opportunity on Saturday, 8 June to get up close and personal with Europe’s largest R&D campus where so many highly skilled internationals work in advanced technologies.
Held every two years, Open Day is part community get-together, part tech event and part debut of big HTCE improvements and expansions such as the new 11-story Lucis One currently under construction. For the 2024 version, the biggest campus tech companies and deep-tech research institutes will participate, including NXP, Philips, Signify, TNO and Holst Centre.
Building 5 and the AI Innovation Center will be dedicated to startups such as Axelera AI, STENTiT, SMART Photonics and Vention Technologies.
The back story
To appreciate why visiting High Tech Campus Eindhoven is such a cool opportunity, you have to know the back story. First, this “smartest square kilometer in Europe” used to be Philips’ top-secret R&D campus, off-limits to everyone except Philips employees. Here, the multi-national electronics giant created world-changing consumer products such as the compact disc and the video cassette recorder. Yet, Philips kept such a low local profile that many Eindhoven residents didn’t know the campus existed.
Second, the former Philips campus – now owned by American private equity giant Oaktree and Singapore’s CIG sovereign fund – has grown to 300 companies, with plans for major expansions and a shift to being a community with more entertainment and long-term housing.
By the way, there’s no charge or registration for Open Day. Just show up. The forecast is for great weather, so expect a crowd. About 10,000 visitors attended the 2022 Open Day.
Parking is free and visitors are asked to park in P0 just off the A2 highway at the east entrance to HTCE.
Note: There are so many companies participating we can’t possibly tag them all. You can check out the Open Day landing page here for more information.
Let’s get organized!
For Open Day, the campus is divided into five color-coded activity zones.
Some highlights per zone:
🟧 Orange zone: Shimano, TMC, Workplace Vitality Hub, Zens
🟦 Blue zone: Signify, VitalFluid, cricket and tennis clinics at the Sports Forest.
🟥 Red zone (Central): Startup hub at the AI Innovation Center, including 12 companies with demos, displays and activities.
Conference Center High Tech Campus Eindhoven: NXP Semiconductors, TomTom, TNO, Holst Centre, E Ink Corporation, Salvia BioElectronics, Smart BioMaterials Consortium (SBMC), FAULHABER Drive Systems, De Ontdekfabriek, University Racing Eindhoven redesign life Foundation, Volans Rowing, and many activities in the Summer Tent including a barbeque.
The entire Strip in Zone Red is filled with restaurants and food trucks where you can eat in or take-out food and drinks.
🟪 Purple zone: Philips (Buildings 33, 34, 38), Signify (Buildings 7 and 48) Internationals Market and Philips Pop-up Store, Campus Wellness Center, HTC Merchandise Shop. 💡
🟩 Green zone: aptly named, you can visit the High Tech Sheep and The Farm, where you can make candles, see how High Tech Honey is made and visit the Community Garden, complete with High Tech Farmers!
The PSV team bus will be shuttling around the Campus and you can hop on and hop off and hit all the zones. PSV mascot Phoxy and the PSV Dutch championship plate will be set up at the Conference Center from noon to 1 p.m. Set your alarm for this one, because the championship plate is only on Campus for one hour.
Conference Center
Inside the Conference Center, you can witness unique demos and activities from imec, TNO, Holst Centre, E ink Technologies, Salvia BioElectronics, Smart BioMaterials Consortium (SBMC) with Holland Hybride Heart and De Ontdekfabriek.
Outside the Conference Center, experience NXP Semiconductors’ radar technology in a demo car, TomTom’s test car, and FAULHABER Drive Systems’ miniature motors that are inside actual robots!
Philips opens their doors
In Zone Purple, step into the innovation hub of Philips (HTC 33 + HTC 34) and seize the opportunity to explore their cutting-edge technology. There will be demos for visitors of all ages, and don’t miss out on the chance to grab some ice cream while you’re there.
In addition, there will be the Philips Myshop pop-up store (near the Food Lab) with discounts on Philips TVs, air fryers and other consumer products.
Visit Shimano and TMC
In Zone Orange, Shimano welcomes you to building HTC 92 for an immersive cycling and fishing experience. This was a huge hit with kids and parents in 2022.
TMC challenges you to participate in thrilling activities in building HTC 96 such as a racing simulator, robot racing, soldering to build your TMC puppet and programming your own light show!
International’s Market
Embark on a journey through the Internationals Market at the Food Lab, where you’ll find market booths packed with fun activities from various organizations focusing on Internationals: Bridge the Gap and learn with me, Expat Housing Center, Expat Spouses Initiative, Eindhoven News, Expat Center, Eindhoven Sport, Eindhoven Museum.
At the end of The Strip, dive into various sports and vitality activities at HighFive & Campus Wellness Center.
Advanced lighting company Signify opens two buildings
In the atrium of Signify Building HTC 7, visitors get a glimpse behind the scenes of research with the demos of City Farming and HUE innovation. You can sample tomatoes grown under a special pink light “recipe,” or discover light recipes specially designed for animals.
Inside HTC 48, you can see how 3D printed lamps are made from recycled materials. A 10-minute film is shown in the Lighting Experience Center. Relax and immerse yourself in the creation of light. In the various experience spaces, visitors can see and feel what light can do and experience the effects and impact in a supermarket, fashion store, office, warehouse, industrial environment and as an eye-catcher: NatureConnect, a skylight with light scenes tailored to people’s needs based on nature.
At Building HTC 48, you can also “make a green switch.” In front of the building, exchanging a non-LED lamp for a new sustainable LED lamp for free at the e-truck, the first Signify electric truck, which was just launched last week.
More events around Eindhoven
Suffice it to say, there are tech demos, activities for tech enthusiasts of all ages, kids’ activities (including a scavenger hunt), food, drinks, entertainment. See? There’s a LOT to see and do on Saturday! Put on your walking shoes and see what’s happening at High Tech Campus!
Open Day at HTCE is part of the Discovery Route, organized by Brainport Eindhoven. There are other stops in Eindhoven, so plan your day to check out other hotspots and finish the day at HTCE.
If you’re a techie or want to see the future today, you seriously don’t want to miss this event.
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Read more about High Tech Campus Eindhoven here in Dispatches’ archives.
