Meet our speakers – prof. dr. Erik Frijlink
Leading up to the Innovation Day on the 14th of June, we present you with a short introduction about all our keynote speakers, starting with prof. dr. Erik Frijlink.
About Erik Frijlink
Prof. Dr. Erik Frijlink has held the position of Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy at the University of Groningen for over twenty-five years. Prior to this, he served as the Head of Pharmaceutical Development at Solvay Pharmaceuticals. Frijlink’s research group is dedicated to improving the therapeutic efficacy of drugs through the use of advanced physical and chemical technologies to optimize drug administration and delivery. As a result of their work, his group has gained a notable global reputation in this area, with over half a million individuals worldwide having received treatment applying technologies developed by them.
How to measure success?
Leading up to the Innovation Day, we ask each of our speakers one pressing question about innovation in their field of work. For prof. dr. Frijlink, we were eager to know about the way he measures success in his professional life. Erik answered: “Success in your professional life is something that is not really different from success in your private life. It is about something (e.g. an experience or an experimental result) that makes you happy as a person. But yes, happiness is an emotion which is difficult to measure. The academic world has developed a whole series of parameters that quantify the success of scientists; citation scores, H-indexes, grant awards, invitations to lectures, etc. Indeed, those are parameters by which you, as a university, can measure the success of your researchers. But does that also make you happier as a researcher? I dare to doubt it.”
“As a pharmaceutical researcher, I experience much more satisfaction and happiness in the fact that I can perform challenging research in a pleasant environment, with enthusiastic colleagues and that I can develop technologies or products that actually improve therapy for patients. So when I look at professional success, for me it’s the new or improved drugs that my research has contributed to, and the extent to which those drugs have improved patients’ quality of life.”
Innovation Day 2023
On the 14th of June, prof. dr. Frijlink will receive the Innovation Day 2023 award from the Board of Directors of the University of Groningen and Corina Prent. Erik will be honored for his amazing contributions to the university ecosystem as an academic innovator. Join us on the 14th of June! Apply here.