Cornelis (Niels) Eldering

Country	The Netherlands
Languages	Dutch (Native), German (Native), English (Fluent)
Profession	Head of the Space Solutions Section at ESA
Organisation	European Space Agency (ESA)

Background

Cornelis Eldering (Niels) is Head of the Space Solutions Section within the Innovation and Ventures Office at the European Space Agency. Together with his team, he is responsible for ESA's Space Solutions Network, which comprises of ESA’s Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs), the ESA Technology Transfer broker network and the ESA Business Applications ambassador platform.

Niels was instrumental in the definition and set-up of ESA's business incubation strategy back in 2002 and together with his team he continues to advance Technology Transfer and Business Incubation in Europe. The primary aim of the ESA Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs) is to provide support to entrepreneurs who wish to exploit space-based solutions into non-space markets. ESA currently has 20 Business Incubation Centers across its member states and 60 locations where ESA incubation services are offered. This incubation approach has been adopted for similar technology transfer activities by CERN, Fraunhofer and Airbus Defence and Space. Niels has chaired over 100 evaluation boards for start-up company selection and evaluated over 1.800 business cases, including ideas filed for the European Satellite Navigation Competition.

Niels holds a Master of Science in Business Administration from the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), where he in 2003 completed his research on setting up a strategy for the first ESA Business Incubation Centre. Passionately engaged in the challenging process from exploration to exploitation of space technology, he regularly provides keynote presentations on conferences as well as guest lectures such as to the CEMS Master in International Management. In 2015 he received the RSM Distinguished Alumni Award for Senior Leader due to his efforts in creating benefits for society by engaging business and education with space technology. Besides his career at ESA, Niels is currently also a Part-Time PhD student at the RSM department for Technology and Operations Management.

Niels is living in the Netherlands with his family and working at ESTEC, the European Space Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk.

ESA Innovation & Ventures Office

The main mission of ESA's Innovation and Ventures Office (formerly known as Technology Transfer and Business Incubation Office) is to strengthen the competitiveness of European Industry and to demonstrate the additional benefits of the European Space Programme by transferring space technologies and applying satellite infrastructure to non-space products and services. The Innovation and Ventures Office is responsible for defining the overall approach and strategy to meet this mission, including the incubation and funding of start up companies.