The Informatics Institute (IvI) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is looking for a business developer with the focus on the collaboration with SMEs in Amsterdam.

The IvI of the UvA has a strong ecosystem in AI and is very entrepreneurially minded. Within the institute, researchers collaborate with different types of organizations and several startups have emerged from research initiatives of the IvI. Together with existing partners at the Science Park and in Amsterdam, we as an institution want to build a stronger relationship with SMEs and scale ups in the Amsterdam region.

What are you going to do

You will become part of the team of business developers where we will work together and build an ecosystem where AI-talent and knowledge will flourish. Within this team your role will be new and is to be formed by the goal we have in mind for this position and by the way you step into this role.

Your focus will be on the development of a local ecosystem to strengthen the connection with SMEs and scale ups in line with the projects currently being developed. By the end of 2022, the institute will be located in a new building, LAB42, with dedicated floorspace for SMEs and scale ups to rent offices and become part of the ecosystem. Next to the physical space, in this role of business developer, you will focus on building a community between the UvA and these companies and in addition develop new projects and initiatives for a national project with a clear role for SMEs and scale ups, which need to be externally funded.

The project will be part of a national research consortium which includes a specific element of collaborations with SMEs. For this SME part in the program, you will be taking the initiative to develop and coordinate a project to strengthen the interaction with SMEs together with external partners locally and nationally.  

LAB42 and the SME project are each expected to occupy half of the time for this position.

For this position, you will need sufficient knowledge of and affinity with the AI field. This can be either a technical background in the field of AI or working experience in the field in a similar role. You are expected to understand the basics of AI, but does not need to have the technical experience of implementations. You will be working with multiple colleagues who are active with business relations and project management at the UvA to build and strengthen the ecosystem. This role has the focus on SMEs, but the UvA has more collaborations in the AI field and a broad portfolio of corporates, governmental organizations, non-profit organizations and other knowledge institutes where you can play a role in working closely together.

Your tasks will be to:

• attract SMEs and build an ecosystem in LAB42;
• amplify and execute the community plan for LAB42 together with the team (communications, business etc.);
• expand the connections with other stakeholders on Science Park and beyond;
• be the contact point internally and externally for the LAB42 community;
• initiate and develop projects with specific focus on SMEs and scale ups;
• coordinate the national project for SME collaboration with the other business developers from knowledge institutes on national level;
• align the goals of projects for SMEs with external partners (e.g. ACE, Start-up Village, Municipality etc.).

What do we require

To be a good fit for the job, you:

• have an academic background;
• are interested in and have decent knowledge of developments in the field of AI;
• have experience in setting up new initiatives and have experience in such a responsibility;
• have experience with working in the field of academic-university relations;
• are entrepreneurial minded and hands on;
• know how to keep the balance between working independently and working together with others inside and outside the UvA;
• are a networker and can maintain and develop a relevant network inside and outside the UvA.

Fixed-term contract: 1 year.

Our offer

A temporary contract for 38 hours a week preferably starting as soon as possible. After positive evaluation, an extension of one year will follow. The starting date is preferably as soon as possible. The salary, depending on relevant experience before the beginning of the employment contract, will be €3,807 to €5,211 (scale 11) gross per month, based on a fulltime contract (38 hours a week). This is exclusive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Take a look here.

University of Amsterdam

With over 6,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science – Informatics Institute

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

LAB42 will be a unique environment and one of a kind. We bring together the best researchers, talent and companies of AI together. LAB42 will be a bustling environment where a lot of different things will happen in the fiend of Digital innovation and AI.

The mission of the IvI is to perform curiosity-driven and use-inspired fundamental research in Computer Science. The main research themes are Artificial Intelligence, Computational Science and Systems and Network Engineering. Our research involves complex information systems at large, with a focus on collaborative, data driven, computational and intelligent systems, all with a strong interactive component.