๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐, ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ?
Thatโs the question Key Region Leiden is working to answer. Launched on July 7 at Leiden Bio Science Park, this new regional partnership brings together seven municipalities, three knowledge institutions, three business associations, and three innovation clusters in a focused effort to accelerate innovation and strengthen the economy across the LeidenโKatwijkโNoordwijk axis.
From healthcare to aerospace and autonomous systems, todayโs challenges require integrated solutions. That begins with close collaboration between science, business, and government. Key Region Leiden turns that collaboration into action, building more talent, faster innovation, and stronger infrastructure.
At Leiden Bio Science Park, more than 500 organizations work at the intersection of science and health every day. When combined with the space tech expertise at NL Space Campus and the autonomous systems developed at Unmanned Valley, the region becomes a powerful testbed for innovation, from AI-driven drug discovery to shared cleanroom infrastructure and drone-enabled healthcare logistics.
Whoโs involved? This is a coordinated effort between:
โข Municipalities: Gemeente Leiden, Gemeente Katwijk, Municipality of Noordwijk, Gemeente Leiderdorp, Gemeente Oegstgeest, Gemeente Voorschoten, Gemeente Zoeterwoude
โข Knowledge institutions: Leiden University, Leiden University Medical Center, mboRijnland, Hogeschool Leiden
โข Business associations: VNO-NCW Rijnland, PLNT Leiden, Katwijkse Ondernemersvereniging (KOV), Stichting Ondernemend Leiden, OVBSP Leiden
โข Innovation clusters: Leiden Bio Science Park, NL Space Campus, Unmanned Valley
As Leonie Hussaarts, director of Key Region Leiden, put it:
โThis collaboration helps us share knowledge faster and use it smarter, across clusters, across technologies. Thatโs essential if we want to hold our position in Europe and invest in real solutions for real people.โ
Leiden Bio Science Park plays a central role in this ecosystem. By connecting public and private stakeholders and scaling breakthrough science, the park helps ensure that innovation translates into real-world solutions and real jobs.
Esther Peters, director of Leiden Bio Science Park:
โIf we want to keep leading in Europe and continue contributing to the future of health, we have to invest in infrastructure that supports that growth. This partnership makes that possible, and shows what we can achieve when science, industry, and government work together.โ
This is how we build the science for life: for our region, for the Netherlands, for Europe, and for the future of health.
