Campus Groningen is not only a place where innovations are created, but also where all kinds of love blossom: romantic love, family love, love for the profession, and the power of collaboration. Just before Valentine's Day, we share three stories straight from the heart of the campus.
Ruby & Marcel - Love via an Outlook ticket
Sometimes love starts in the most unexpected place: with an IT ticket. Ruby (who works at Triade on the Healthy Ageing Campus) was struggling with a persistent Outlook problem that ended up with Marcel (UMCG) after months of wandering around. After countless phone calls, the mystery was solved and Ruby, as promised, showed up at his department with a box of ice cream. That's when the spark really ignited. They have now been together for 9.5 years.
Saskia & Ton – partners in life, innovation, and the fight against implant infections
Saskia and Ton run TVH Life Science Partners together, where they guide early-stage biotech and medtech startups toward sustainable growth. They are also the founders of Sabiad, which has been based at the Healthy Ageing Campus since 2026. Sabiad develops groundbreaking technology to detect implant infections more quickly—crucial for hip and knee prostheses where every day counts. Their joint mission is as personal as it is professional: to accelerate innovation that can help patients worldwide faster, safer, and better. Love for each other and for impact, united in one company.
Erik & André Heeres – brotherly love in the materials transition
Erik (University of Groningen) and André (Hanze University of Applied Sciences) work together as brothers on the materials transition: away from fossil raw materials, towards renewable materials and better reuse. Their hybrid research group combines fundamental chemistry with applied research and trains students who will soon be making a difference in a circular economy. Their strength lies in their complementarity: Erik with his analytical eye, André with his creative thinking: a duo that reinforces each other at exactly the right moment.
The Campus Trail at Campus Groningen is once again generating a lot of enthusiasm. So far, 500 participants have already registered for the seventh edition of the running event, which will take place on Friday, September 11.
It all started fourteen years ago with an idea in a laboratory on the Zernike Campus in Groningen. The financing has now been secured, and BioBTX can build a factory in Delfzijl.
UMCG is continuing the development of the new Central Laboratory for Diagnostics and Research (CLDR). Over the coming period, the preliminary design will be further developed into a final design, bringing the realization of the new laboratory building another step closer.