The Netherlands is too small a country to flourish optimally in ICT innovation on its own. That is why international cooperation is necessary. Only in this way can we achieve global economic growth and respond to important social issues that affect us all. This is why the ICT Top Sector has identified Internationalisation as a priority.

Focus

Topsector ICT identifies international opportunities for ICT research and innovation from key technology programmes and activities and organises cooperation with priority countries. The Netherlands is promoted as an ICT partner in those countries and companies with international ambitions towards those countries are supported. We also set up multi-year strategic public-private partnerships, with priority being given to strengthening connections between researchers and companies in EU programmes. Finally, Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) supports foreign (knowledge-intensive) ICT companies from the aforementioned priority countries that want to set up activities in the Netherlands.

The focus in multi-year international cooperation for Topsector ICT is on key technologies, often in collaboration with other top sectors. In the short term, for example, the focus is on the interface of Artificial Intelligence and the Health & Care application area. The Topsector Life Sciences & Health (LSH) has already implemented multi-year programming in recent years to strengthen the Netherlands' proposition. Together with Topsector LSH, the already mentioned HTSM and the Dutch AI Coalition (NLAIC), a plan of action is being made for international cooperation with German healthcare.

Another example is international cooperation in the field of Smart/making industry and ICT in Germany. Together with the Topsector HTSM, the application of AI and blockchain, among others, is being examined. A number of strategic trade fairs are also cofunded by Topsector ICT. For example the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and the World Summit AI.