The IO+ Week: Opportunities for Europe?
Every Sunday, our weekly overview provides a summary of the most interesting stories about important innovations.
Published on May 11, 2025
Bart, co-founder of Media52 and Professor of Journalism oversees IO+, events, and Laio. A journalist at heart, he keeps writing as many stories as possible.
The annual survey on the state of democracy in the United States had a slightly different tone this time than in previous years. To put it bluntly, America is closer to autocracy than ever before. This is also evident from the Authoritarian Threat Index, in which a thousand American experts are asked each month to rate their assessment of American democracy. Almost 50 percent of those experts consider it likely that the US will become an autocracy. In the first hundred days of President Donald Trump's presidency, researchers see many similarities between him and world leaders who have increasingly ruled as autocrats in recent years.
In this context, we were also struck by the weekly blog post by the always sharp Professor Scott Galloway. Yesterday, he discussed the brain drain that is currently in full swing in the US. Scientists are seeking refuge outside the borders of the Land of the Free, or are postponing their move and, on second thought, deciding to stay in their own country after all. This could be a huge opportunity for Europe, were it not for the fact that our continent – and even more so our own country – is rapidly undermining the climate for science. We wrote an analysis about this:
While the U.S. squanders its edge, Europe seizes the opportunity?
Fourth generation
Our universities are already busy with their own development. Maarten Steinbuch (TU Eindhoven) and André Dorée (Twente University) are calling for more demand-driven research in order to build the so-called “4th Generation University.” Read about their ideas here.
It will take a number of years to realize, but the students are not waiting. They are already fully engaged in demand-driven research: Anyone can be a student.
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Maarten Steinbuch and André Dorée
Gerard & Anton Awards
The Gerard & Anton Awards are coming up again. On July 3, we will announce the next 10 winners: all startups that will significantly change our society in the coming years. We welcome your nominations in the coming weeks: send them to .
On the sidelines of Gerard & Anton, there was a very nice meeting last week. A dozen seasoned startup founders gathered in an informal backyard in Eindhoven, with plates of pasta and bottles of beer on the table. Their topic of conversation: the state of the startup climate in the Netherlands. The result was a candid, critical, but also hopeful conversation about what works and what doesn't, and what needs to change. Read all about it here.
And then there was this:
- European Chip Act targets unachievable, says EU's own Court of Auditors
- Carbon capture in Europe: policy and startups for more growth
- Eyeo raises €15 million to make cameras razor sharp
- Better bread, better earth: straw cultivation
- Growth in battery storage in Europe slows down
- Photonics in the Netherlands: from science to commercial opportunity
- One Way Up: Why recruitment needs to change radically
- Six top projects in Imaging Technologies receive NWO funding
Watt Matters
In the meantime, we are busy preparing for our event on November 26: Watt Matters In AI.
Don't want to miss a thing? You can find an overview of all our articles here. Have a great Sunday!