Photonics to playgrounds: people shaping our innovation future
At the Common Ground for Innovation Awards by iBuilt, three winners stood out for the people, vision and inclusivity behind it.
Published on March 31, 2026
Common Ground for Innovation Awards 2026 © Floris van Bergen
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“The real differentiator in Eindhoven is not just the technology,” said Ankita Durani as she opened the evening. “There’s a little bit of PSV in there, there’s a little bit of collaboration in there through Brainport Eindhoven, where industry, academia and government come together to turn ideas into real, scalable impact.”
It set the tone for the Common Ground for Innovation Awards, organized by iBuilt. “Building impact doesn’t happen in isolation,” Durani added. “It requires alignment between community, innovation and leadership.” Moments later, she welcomed Eindhoven’s mayor, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, underscoring the public commitment behind the region’s innovation ambitions. The message was clear: in Brainport, innovation is a team sport.
A jury bridging worlds
The awards' jury showed an intentional mix of industry, academia and policy. Representatives from TNO and NXP Semiconductors sat alongside academic leaders from Rotterdam School of Management and Eindhoven University of Technology, complemented by policy expertise from the Dutch New Narrative Lab.
Their shared conclusion: meaningful innovation today is no longer about isolated breakthroughs, but about ecosystems: of people, partnerships and purpose.
Reclaiming Europe’s edge in imaging
Common Ground for Innovation Awards 2026 - EYEO Jeroen Hoet © Floris van Bergen
Promising Tech Innovation: Jeroen Hoet (Eyeo)
The Promising Tech Innovation award went to Jeroen Hoet of Eyeo, a company working at the intersection of photonics and CMOS technology. The jury emphasized that true promise lies beyond the “lightbulb moment.” It is about intent, scalability, and the ability to tackle real societal challenges. Eyeo stood out for all three.
Hoet himself was clear about what makes the difference: "At the end of the day, it’s really the team behind it.” That team is attempting something ambitious, combining two traditionally separate worlds, photonics and semiconductor electronics, to fundamentally reshape imaging technology. The ambition goes beyond technology alone. It is geopolitical: “We have the possibility to completely disrupt the world of imaging… and bring a leading position back to Europe.” In a landscape currently dominated by global giants, that ambition resonates strongly with Europe’s broader push for technological sovereignty.
Leadership in times of uncertainty
Common Ground for Innovation Awards 2026 - Kathleen Philips © Floris van Bergen
Visionary Leader: Kathleen Philips
If Hoet represents technological ambition, Kathleen Philips embodies the leadership required to guide it. The jury described a visionary leader as someone who “paints a better future and inspires others to build it”, a skill that becomes critical in times of geopolitical tension, supply chain disruption and rapid technological change.
Philips’ career reflects that trajectory. From early work on semiconductor circuits enabling wireless communication, she moved into leading cross-disciplinary R&D programs and building international ecosystems. More recently, her focus has shifted toward Europe’s emerging space sector, including next-generation satellite communications.
Her leadership, the jury said, is not just about advancing technology, but connecting worlds: academia and industry, regional ecosystems and global networks. That bridging role is increasingly seen as essential. In the words of the jury: "without direction, uncertainty leads to chaos and inaction.” Visionary leaders provide the opposite: clarity and momentum.
Inclusion as infrastructure
Common Ground for Innovation Awards 2026 - Simone Steeghs © Floris van Bergen
Social Innovator: Simone Steeghs
The third award reframed innovation entirely. Simone Steeghs, regional manager at Junior IOT, received the Social Innovator award for her work connecting children to technology, often before they ever consider it a viable path.
The jury’s message was clear: inclusion is not a side issue. It is foundational. “Real change doesn’t start in the boardroom, it starts much earlier,” the jury noted, pointing to the importance of early exposure in classrooms and communities.
Steeghs’ work builds what was described as “a bridge between curiosity and confidence.” Her approach treats inclusion not as a program, but as infrastructure, something that must be embedded into the innovation system itself. Her own advice is deceptively simple: “Show your face everywhere. Visibility… making bridges.”
The common ground
Across all three winners, a pattern emerges. Innovation is no longer defined solely by technical excellence. It is shaped by people who can turn ideas into reality, leaders who provide direction in uncertainty, and systems that include rather than exclude. Or, as one jury member summarized earlier in the evening: without sharing, there is no growth. The Common Ground for Innovation Awards made that explicit once more.