Tuesday, June 10, 2025
With Dr. Sanne de Vries taking over from Prof. Dr. Frank Willem Jansen, the Medical Delta consortium will have a new chair as of August 1. In a double interview, they look back and ahead together. “The health challenges we face are many-headed monsters. You can’t solve them alone.”
Why did you apply for the position of chair of Medical Delta?
Sanne: "Because of the importance of good collaboration. We are facing major societal challenges in the field of health, and we really need everyone: healthcare institutions, universities, universities of applied sciences, vocational education, governments, and companies. As the director of the Centre of Expertise Health Innovation at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, I have already played a connecting role in this. Now, through Medical Delta, I have a wonderful opportunity to do so on a larger scale on behalf of multiple parties.
The health and innovation network is expanding; the connection with the province of Zuid-Holland is becoming more intensive. As Medical Delta, we can play an important role: with the North Sea at our back and our focus Zuid-Holland and the rest of the Netherlands.
There is a strong program in place, and I’m really looking forward to becoming even more involved. I look forward to working together within the office, with the team, and with all other partners. I’m also looking forward to collaborating with Young Medical Delta — a fantastic and inspiring group of young people with great potential.”
As a professor of applied sciences, you’ve been affiliated with Medical Delta for quite some time. What has it brought to your research?
Sanne: "Through Medical Delta, you get a behind-the-scenes look at other organizations, disciplines, and educational programs, and that is incredibly valuable. You come into contact with other researchers, designers, and engineers to share ideas and work together on important societal challenges.
The sense that we also have a societal responsibility has grown stronger within the Medical Delta community in recent years.I've noticed that within the Medical Delta community, the sense that we have not only a scientific task but also a societal one has grown stronger in recent years. This is due in part to Medical Delta gatherings, the recent working conference, and the action agenda that is being developed. It's less about innovation for its own sake and more about: what are we going to do with it? What impact will it have on the residents of the province of Zuid-Holland and the Netherlands, on patients and healthcare professionals? It's great that this has emerged and evolved further in recent years.”
What further developments do you foresee?
Sanne: "My involvement with Medical Delta actually began through Vitale Delta. This was around the same time that four universities of applied sciences joined Medical Delta, in 2016. Vitale Delta has since become one of the scientific programs of Medical Delta. During that period, I saw Medical Delta evolve from primarily a medtech collaboration into a partnership that also includes contributions from the social domain, incorporating vitality, prevention, and social innovations. With the strategy and programming that started at the end of 2024, this has matured even further. Prevention and practical healthcare now play a more significant role.”
Frank Willem, you’ve of course experienced and helped shape these developments. What has changed for the better?
Frank Willem: "At the start of Medical Delta, the focus was on medical technology. At the time, we were pioneering in that area, but as a surgeon, I also saw the risks of too much of a 'technology push' toward the medical domain. Over time, we’ve made great progress in fostering closer collaboration between doctors and engineers: the technology push became a clinically driven approach. At the same time, there was increasing attention on the region — as Sanne nicely described — and on what healthcare professionals and patients actually want.
When I started as chair, the 2019–2024 scientific programming had just begun. That was a great move, with an emphasis on scientific collaboration and the medical field. And now we’ve entered a new phase, moving from ‘interdisciplinary’ to ‘transdisciplinary’. In addition to scientific collaboration, valorization and implementation are now also part of our objectives.
We are looking at healthcare with a broader perspective. There are so many interconnected challenges that you really have to go beyond just the medical and technological aspects.”
What do you regret has been let go?
Frank Willem: "We certainly haven’t let it go, but it’s something we need to keep paying attention to — making sure that the purely scientific aspect of Medical Delta remains actively involved. The creativity and the unknown that arise from that, or the potential of emerging technologies like AI, are incredibly valuable. That’s why we’re not losing sight of it.
We do not lose sight of the purely scientific aspect of Medical Delta.
One of the challenges will be to keep meeting each other and to maintain that connection. Because as much as the events we organize are appreciated, it seems increasingly difficult to actually get people in the same room. We need to keep creating opportunities for ‘serendipitous encounters’ — where people step outside their own domain and, at a meeting or networking event, just happen to meet the person with whom they can start a new collaboration.”
As chair, you can also set certain priorities, as you’ve done with the topic of sustainability in healthcare. How do you approach that?
Frank Willem: "As a collaborative network, we originated from various institutions, and our role is to build alliances and create connections. At the same time, I believe we should also take a leading role. When I started, I noticed that sustainability in healthcare wasn’t high on the priority list. I took the initiative to address it more prominently, also because I knew that our community considers it an important issue.
I’ve found that, as chair, you can set those kinds of priorities. But not only as chair — also as a member of the community. Especially since the shift toward a transdisciplinary partnership, many new opportunities have emerged to look beyond your own discipline and adjust your focus.
Within the sustainability theme, I will continue to do so — as chair of the Green Operating Room initiative, as a Medical Delta professor, and as a committed researcher in sustainability studies.”
For Medical Delta, promoting collaboration is a top priority. How do you view the concept of ‘collaboration’?
Sanne: "Together, you achieve more. I truly believe that’s true. I’ve experienced it myself. It sometimes takes more coordination and time to get to know each other and learn to speak — or at least understand — each other's language, but it’s worth it. The key is to bring everyone’s expertise and experience together effectively. And that’s absolutely necessary, because the health challenges we face are multi-headed monsters with all sorts of interconnected issues. You can’t solve them alone. And very practically: in times of scarcity, with fewer staff and reduced research funding, you simply can’t do without one another.”
Frank Willem: "I can only agree with that. We’re currently operating in an economic model that we all know requires us to take a step back. Not everyone can put on their own light show anymore — so we need to seek each other out.
We should also start letting go of the competitive mindset a bit more. The push for more competition in healthcare was justified at the time — changes were needed. But now we need to change course again, pause for a moment, and reconnect. Less focus on profit-driven elements in healthcare, more steps toward solidarity and joining forces.”
It's about finding the right balance — specialists who excel in a specific area, and generalists who can recognize that expertise and connect the dots.
Sanne: "And not doing everything twice — that’s still something we need to improve in our region. That also means not always trying to take everything on when someone asks. It’s important to acknowledge that there are specialists with years of experience in certain areas — and we need them. Involve those people, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel yourself. Stick to your core expertise.”
Frank Willem: "At the same time, in the medical field — where I come from — we also need to return to more generalist thinking. We’ve gone too far toward ultra-specialization, to the point where someone might say, ‘Sorry, I can’t operate on that broken left leg — I specialize in right legs.’ That risk also exists with technology, and really across society. Just try calling an organization — you’ll almost always be transferred, and transferred again, and again.”
Sanne: "It’s about finding the right mix. Specialists who are excellent at something, and generalists who recognize that and know how to connect it. That works well, for example, in the programs and living labs. Call them ‘lab directors’ or ‘coordinators’ or ‘program managers’ — these people are essential to the success of a program or lab, in my experience. It’s not just about making connections, but also about spotting new opportunities with a kind of cognitive creativity. That’s a skill in itself.”
The Medical Delta community has long since expanded beyond just scientists from different disciplines.
Frank Willem: "That’s right. I also see at universities that it's no longer just about ‘thinking things up’, but also about developing and implementing them. And that collaboration is increasingly being sought with universities of applied sciences, and potentially also with vocational education (MBO). There’s a societal demand for this as well.”
Sanne: "This also broadens Medical Delta’s target groups. We're no longer here primarily for scientists alone, and not only for the ‘cure’ side of healthcare, but also for ‘care’ and prevention — for healthcare professionals, patients, and citizens. Ultimately, everything we do is aimed at addressing the health challenges faced by the residents of Zuid-Holland. And from there, the rest of the Netherlands and beyond.”
Frank Willem: "This development is clearly visible. We've expanded from cure to cure, care, and prevention. At the same time, that’s also a challenge — we all agree prevention is important, but as a society we’re still not investing much in it. The question is also: how far should Medical Delta go? Where does it end? I think the key question is: is it about health, and is there technology or innovation involved? Then it fits within Medical Delta.”
Should Medical Delta also seek collaboration with other organizations and partnerships?
Sanne: "Absolutely. For example, if you organize events together, visitors can access the relevant information and the right network all in one place. You could attend an event every day if you wanted to — but by doing it together, it becomes more appealing for attendees.”
Frank Willem: "We have an important role to play in that. Just like we organized our last annual conference together with partners such as the Zuid-Holland Impact Alliance (ZHIA), the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities, and the Province of Zuid-Holland. That’s definitely worth repeating."
What should Medical Delta be doing more of — and what especially less?
Sanne: "Collaborating more with vocational education (MBO) makes perfect sense — that’s something we need to focus on in the coming years."
Frank Willem: "In terms of funding for things like implementation and scaling of innovations, we also hold a strong position, with all the expertise available at institutions such as Erasmus University. There’s real potential there."
To make well-informed and focused choices, it's important to look at what our region excels in.
Sanne: "Geographically, our region is close to the ministries — we can do more with that as well. To make sharp, strategic content choices, it’s important to look at what our region excels in. The fact that we have so many knowledge and healthcare institutions, a strong horticulture and greenhouse sector, a multicultural population, and many innovative companies — these are opportunities. Our region is really quite different from, for example, Brainport Eindhoven. These unique aspects set us apart, and we should capitalize on them.”
Finally, what would you like to pass on to Sanne, Frank Willem?
Frank Willem: "As a person, I’ve gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and inspiration — especially from people in completely different fields than where I come from as a physician. It constantly makes you think: ‘Wow, there’s so much more to gain from the broader picture that can benefit treatments.’
You’ll be joining an inspiring team that’s always outward-looking. Some wonderful initiatives have been launched from within the partnership, including the new programming. I can only be positive. It’s with great pleasure that I hand it over.”
As a Medical Delta Professor of Practice (Lector) and Scientific Leader of several research programs and living labs within Medical Delta, Sanne de Vries is already well-acquainted with the organization. She brings extensive experience as a lector and associate professor at The Hague University of Applied Sciences and the LUMC Health Campus The Hague, and has also held leadership roles — including as Director of the Centre of Expertise Health Innovation at The Hague University of Applied Sciences.
Frank Willem Jansen passes the chairman’s gavel after nearly five years. Jansen has been active in the Medical Delta collaboration since its inception in 2006. Both before and during his chairmanship, he played a key role in the development and continued evolution of the research programs and the partnership as a whole — including as one of the very first Medical Delta professors.
Photo's: Guido Benschop
