Why a Rotterdam business school is showing up in Eindhoven

What does a management school from Rotterdam have to do with one of Europe’s leading deep-tech regions?

That was the question Mirko Benischke addressed head-on as he took the stage in Eindhoven. Representing Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), he made it clear: if Europe wants innovation to translate into real impact, technology alone is not enough.

Beyond technology alone

RSM’s mission, Benischke explained, is to be “a force for positive change.” At its core lies the idea of inclusive prosperity: economic growth that benefits not just a select few, but society as a whole.

That ambition inevitably leads to technology. “High-tech and deep-tech will play a critical role in the European and Dutch economy,” he said. But where technical universities focus on building technology, RSM focuses on a different question: How do you make it work in the real world? Technology, in that sense, is only part of the puzzle, Bernischke adds. The real challenge lies in how people use it, how it scales, and how it creates value beyond a single company or region.

Complementing Brainport

That is precisely where he thinks Eindhoven comes in. The Brainport Eindhoven region excels at developing cutting-edge technologies. But scaling those innovations, turning them into global businesses and societal impact, requires additional expertise.

Benischke positioned RSM as a complementary partner in that process. “I think our expertise is really complementary to a lot of what is happening here in Eindhoven,” he said. In other words: where Brainport builds technologies, RSM aims to help scale them, organize them and embed them in society.

Common Ground for Innovation Awards 2026 - Mirko Benischke

Not teaching, but co-creating

Crucially, RSM does not want to play the role of an external advisor dropping in with ready-made answers. Instead, Benischke emphasized a different approach: co-creation. “For us it’s not just teaching others what we think are the right answers,” he said. “We truly believe in co-creating solutions together.”

That requires more than occasional visits. It requires presence. RSM’s ambition is to be visible and engaged in Eindhoven on a structural basis: working alongside companies, researchers and policymakers on real challenges around technology, growth and scaling.

Benischke summarized that philosophy in one simple principle: being present. Not a one-off keynote. Not a yearly visit. But an ongoing dialogue. “We will be here,” he promised. “Not just today.” That also means listening. RSM is not only bringing knowledge, it is actively seeking to understand what the Brainport ecosystem needs, and where a management school can genuinely add value.

A shared agenda

The connection between RSM and initiatives like iBuilt reflects a broader shift in how innovation ecosystems operate. Deep-tech regions like Eindhoven are increasingly aware that success depends not only on technological excellence, but also on scaling capabilities, organizational models, access to capital, and societal embedding

These are precisely the domains where business schools can contribute. Benischke framed his appearance not as a conclusion, but as a beginning. “This is the start of a dialogue,” he said. A dialogue about how technology and management can reinforce each other. About how ecosystems can move from invention to impact. And ultimately, about how regions like Brainport can deliver on a larger promise: innovation that drives inclusive prosperity.

For a business school from Rotterdam, that means one thing above all: showing up where the future is being built, and helping to make it work at scale.