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Hah! I studied at an excellent Dutch university that's an EU funding darling and had plenty of connections. But because I had "just" a bachelor's degree from a

Hah! I studied at an excellent Dutch university that's an EU funding darling and had plenty of connections. But because I had "just" a bachelor's degree from a top university, plus substantial relevant experience, nobody would take me seriously. Even with a master's, you will find most people think you are unserious in most "hard" fields. You often need a PhD. And then God help you if you choose to leave the existing ossified structures of academia and industry. And then you still run up against the issues of risk tolerance (which is zero) and long timelines. Look, the stated goal of this program is to compete with American venture capital, right? Then look at the founders who got American venture capital money. Look at how many don't even have a bachelor's! Count the number that participated in traditional structures of academia and grant-receiving corporations. Virtually none of those people would have ever gotten a dime of this money, let alone an offer to collaborate from a university.

hoppp 1y ago
A lot of founders are uni dropouts in America because the money flows easily and you dont have to study in university to have skills. Its quite a stupid idea that only the most educated people can get these grants because people who excel at academia might not make it in the world of business.
mcv 1y ago
Why such a crippling policy? Like you said, many successful entrepreneurs are university dropouts. For research grants, sure, go to PhDs. But if you want a tech industry, you need to cast a much wider net than that. Although there's also NLNet that hands out open source subsidies from the EU. That might be more accessible, although I also get the impression that the money is a lot less. I don't have any experience with it, though.
carom 1y ago
The American DoD is a bit like this. It is much easier to get R&D contracts if you have PhD next to your name.

hoppp 1y ago

A lot of founders are uni dropouts in America because the money flows easily and you dont have to study in university to have skills. Its quite a stupid idea that only the most educated people can get these grants because people who excel at academia might not make it in the world of business.

mcv 1y ago

Why such a crippling policy? Like you said, many successful entrepreneurs are university dropouts. For research grants, sure, go to PhDs. But if you want a tech industry, you need to cast a much wider net than that. Although there's also NLNet that hands out open source subsidies from the EU. That might be more accessible, although I also get the impression that the money is a lot less. I don't have any experience with it, though.

carom 1y ago

The American DoD is a bit like this. It is much easier to get R&D contracts if you have PhD next to your name.