Witteveen+Bos opens office at Wageningen Campus

A launch party in the Impulse building, where the office is based, officially marked the start of a period of close collaboration between the firm’s engineers and the university, research institutes, and on-campus businesses. The new office aims to be a hub for these various organisations to meet, inspire each other and work together.

Witteveen+Bos hopes the pop-up office at the Wageningen Campus will establish a link between Wageningen’s scientific research and the day-to-day work of the engineering consultancy. Stephan van der Biezen, director of Witteveen+Bos, said: ‘We are confident that collaboration between research institutes, governments and the private sector can add value to all participants, and ensures that our shared knowledge and expertise helps to create a more sustainable world for future generations.’ Speaking at the launch event, Marjo Lexmond, programme director at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) said that the visible presence of companies on campus was important in helping students engage with the application of their work.

Wolf Mooij, aquatic ecologist at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) added that collaboration within the golden triangle of government, business and research institutes is challenging but essential in tackling problems such as climate change. Ivo Demmers, head of the Sustainable Water Management Programme at WUR, suggested that the presence of a research-driven engineering consultancy at the campus could also encourage the university to develop other partnerships, specifically related to the global challenges of water and food security.

About Witteveen+Bos pop-up offices

Witteveen+Bos is experimenting with pop-up offices based in and around universities that are relevant to the organisation’s work. These offices are designed to be temporary. They are accessible, informal places where Witteveen+Bos employees, students, clients and partners can meet and learn from each other. The first pop-up office, based at the Wageningen University & Research campus, will have a specific focus on collaborating around the themes of Smart Cities, Smart Cycles and Smart Deltas.