TNO Fast Track, HighTechXL and TU/e are organizing the third CTO Unconference for deeptech:
- CTOs or CSOs
- Technical founders
- Senior technical leaders
Why atttend?
Let’s face it: driving technological innovation is tough. The pressure to solve day-to-day challenges, move to the next TRL, and refine your technology roadmap can be overwhelming.
This session is designed for CTOs like you, providing a trusted space to:
✅ Share your challenges and get input from experienced peers
✅ Learn from different approaches and gain practical takeaways
✅ Expand your network with like-minded tech leaders
What is an Unconference?
The purpose of an Unconference is peer-to-peer learning. This is done in mulitple rounds and multiple groups (e.g. 3 round and 3 groups leads to 9 conversation opportunies). The expertise, challenges and questions of the participants determine the program of the Unconference. What makes this gathering so valuable is that it revolves around topics that you find important! You bring in the topics that you want. Whether that's what you need help with or a valuable lesson you can share. It's a step back from your day to day hustle and zooming in on more strategic topics. These can vary widely but they could involve:
🧱 the building blocks for success during your company’s growth
🔬 how to set up an asset-light development approach
🎓 moving from science/academia to a business environment
💡designing for manufacturability
💸exchanging practical advice about raising investment
📝 your patent strategy
🧲the do’s and don’ts for attracting and keeping talent
🛒 whether your product is ready to sell
🥷 how to kickstart an agile hardware process
🗳️specific personal choices you have made in entrepreneurship
and any best practices or failures from which everyone can learn.
A selection of prepared topics
With a few of the signed up participants we prepared their topics. Find them here below:
Firefly Sensing CTO Don van Elst has built a miniaturized optical sensor that could make inline refractometry 10× cheaper. Now at TRL 4, they face the leap to industrial use: build ruggedization expertise in-house or rely on a partner who might lock them in. Don wants to learn where a deep-tech team should draw the smart boundary. It's really about being rigorous with flexible boundaries.
Panja, a tech‑driven CTO, is stuck firefighting, hiring, and still coding. His challenge is moving from doing it all himself to building leaders and systems that let the company scale. Long‑term success means delegating, focusing on vision, and staying credible.
Bridging Intrapreneurship and Entrepreneurship: Lessons from the Fiber Optics Frontiers. Deep-tech intrapreneurs often encounter innovations whose transformative impact reaches far beyond their companies’ immediate interests. Using a case from the frontiers of fiber optics–a technology poised to spark a second telecom revolution–we explore how technical innovators can bridge the gap between intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship, how to take deep-tech ideas beyond organizational boundaries, and discuss the ecosystem needed to unlock the full impact of these deep-tech ideas.
Sign up
Want to join? Then register now for the 3rd CTO Unconference on Thursday, November 6 in Eindhoven. Note: to ensure maximum value for attendees, the event will be curated.
