Kennispark Twente Unveils 2035 Strategy to Create 16,500 Knowledge-Intensive Jobs
Enschede, Monday 16 March 2026
By 2035, Kennispark Twente will expand its ecosystem to house 700 companies, targeting 16,500 knowledge-intensive jobs to cement the Dutch region as a critical deep tech hub.
Expanding the Deep Tech Ecosystem
The ‘Kennispark Twente area strategy 2026-2035’ outlines a blueprint to transform the 230-hectare site into the technological core of the Eastern Netherlands [1]. Currently home to approximately 480 companies and almost 13,000 jobs, the initiative targets a 30 per cent workforce expansion by the middle of the next decade [1]. By 2035, the area aims to host around 700 companies, pushing total employment to roughly 16,500 positions [1][2]. This represents a projected addition of approximately 3500 jobs within the ecosystem, driven primarily by the scaling of knowledge-intensive organisations such as university spin-offs and deep tech startups [1].
Defence Manufacturing and Dual-Use Innovation
In an era of shifting geopolitical landscapes, Kennispark Twente is also establishing itself as a vital node for defence and security technologies [1]. The region’s strategic focus encompasses defence-related manufacturing and dual-use technology—innovations engineered to serve both civilian commercial markets and military applications [GPT]. By integrating scale-ups and established tech firms into this specific vertical, the strategy aims to strengthen the domestic supply chain for hardware that is critical to national and European security frameworks [1].
Broader Regional Integration and Urban Development
Beyond industrial and academic capacity, the 2035 strategy recognises that attracting top-tier engineering talent requires a holistic approach to urban planning. To prevent the area from becoming a sterile corporate park, Kennispark is set to evolve into a mixed-use environment, incorporating new housing, cultural venues, sports facilities, and catering services [1]. The overarching objective is to cultivate an optimal living and working climate situated on the edge of the region’s green outskirts, ensuring that high-tech professionals have access to a high quality of life alongside cutting-edge laboratory spaces [1].