Projects per year
Organization profile
Introduction / mission
We research innovation and socio-technical transitions towards a more sustainable society.
Highlighted phrase
Inventions are great, but an invention is not yet an innovation, and not all innovations have a positive impact on society.
Organisational profile
Technological innovations offer many opportunities to address key societal challenges in areas like sustainable energy, mobility, Europeanization and Globalization. However, change is not only about the mere availability of such innovative technologies (like renewable energy technologies or cleaner cars), but rather requires a transformation of existing socio-technical systems: a transition. This includes changes in firm strategies, consumer behavior, social practices, institutions and regulations, etc. Different aspects of such transition processes cannot be studied in isolation, but require a broader, systems-oriented perspective. In our view, society shapes technological progress, but technological progress also shapes our society. Technologies intertwine with radical transformations in work, travel, communication, and private life.
The Technology, Innovation & Society (TIS) group at TU/e is unique in combining questions on innovation and long-term transitions, and aspire to be a leading group in this field worldwide. We have a strong embedding in relevant social science and humanities disciplines such as innovation studies, economics of innovation, Science- and Technology Studies (STS) TS, sustainability transition studies, and history of technology. We study sustainable innovation and transitions in systemic, transdisciplinary, and transnational perspective.
Societal relevance is at the heart of almost all we do at the TIS group. Many of our studies involve governments, companies, NGOs, and users. This helps us to enable smooth transitions and leverage the benefits of innovations, but interaction with these parties has also resulted in new research methodologies and approaches as well as significant contributions to theory development and refinement. With our work, we aim to contribute to a more sustainable society.
The research focus of TIS covers both short term processes (innovations) and long term, pervasive processes (transitions), and addresses multiple aspects of the innovation journey – invention, innovation, diffusion, appropriation, governance, policy intervention, and societal implications locally and globally. Moreover, we believe that innovation/transition questions should be studied in a close linkage with technology. Being part of a technical university, TIS fully uses the opportunities that arise from this unique positioning and has collaboration with other departments at its core.
Our work is along three main axes:
- The systemic axis: from individual elements to the system level;
- The temporal axis: from short term experiments to long term transitions;
- The geographic axis: local, regional, national, European, global and the entanglements between these scales.
We have a special focus on the application domains of sustainable energy, sustainable mobility, and (green) ICT.
Our group works with many collaborative partners, including:
- Dialogic Innovatie & Interactie
- Dutch Statistics (CBS)
- Foundation for the History of Technology SHT (our in-house research partner)
- PON (automotive, bicycles, industry)
- Rathenau Institute
- Rijkswaterstaat (Department of Waterways and Public Works, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management)
- Solar Energy Application Centre (SEAC)
We also operate in many academic networks, including:
- Eurotech Universities
- Sustainability Transitions Research Network (STRN)
- Tensions of Europe: Research network on history, technology, and Europe. (international network based in Eindhoven)
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Network
Recent external collaboration on country level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots.
Profiles

Floor Alkemade
- Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences, Technology, Innovation & Society - Full Professor
Person: HGL : Professor

Patrick Bek, MA
- Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences, Technology, Innovation & Society - Doctoral Candidate
Person: Prom. : doctoral candidate (PhD)

Rudi N.A. Bekkers
- Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences, Technology, Innovation & Society - Full Professor
Person: HGL : Professor
Projects 2012 2022
JRC_ESS: Project for essentiality checks of Standard Essential Patents
Smulders, P. F. M., Smolders, A. B. (., Bekkers, R. N. A., Schulpen, R., Tur, E. M., Raiteri, E., Vereggen - Tielemans, T., Vereggen - Tielemans, T. & Benckhuijsen - Mertens, P.
1/03/19 → 22/04/20
Project: Research direct
Scaling up Co-creation: Avenues and Limits for Integrating Society in Science and Innovation
Bombaerts, G., Bombaerts, G., van der Avoird, M., Vereggen - Tielemans, T., Vereggen - Tielemans, T., Tsui, S., Astola, M., Laes, E. J. W., Wieczorek, A. J., Spahn, A., Benckhuijsen - Mertens, P., Reymen, I. M. M. J. & Royakkers, L. M. M.
Technische Universität München
1/05/18 → 31/07/21
Project: Research direct
evRoaming4EU
Bekkers, R. N. A., Bekkers, R. N. A., Eijkemans, C., Jansen, R., Jansen, R., van der Kam, M., Vereggen - Tielemans, T., Vereggen - Tielemans, T. & Hegh, L.
1/04/18 → 31/03/20
Project: Research direct
Research Output 1978 2020
Challenging Europe: technology, environment and the quest for resource security
Heymann, M., Kotchetkova, E., Högselius, P., Sparenberg, O., Martin, J., Åberg, A. & Veraart, F., 2020, (Submitted) In : Technology and Culture. 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Agent-based modelling of charging behaviour of electric vehicle drivers
van der Kam, M., Peters, A., van Sark, W. G. J. H. M. & Alkemade, F., 31 Oct 2019, In : Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation. 22, 4, 27 p., 7.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
All the great things you can do with trademark data: taking stock and looking ahead
Castaldi, C., 2019, In : Strategic Organization.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Datasets
Disclosed Standard Essential Patents (dSEP) Database
Bekkers, R. N. A. (Creator), Catalini, C. (Creator), Martinelli, A. (Creator), Simcoe, T. (Creator), Righi, C. (Creator), Published by the creators of the dataset, Feb 2016
Dataset
Agricultural machinery industry survey Pakistan (Punjab), 1994
Romijn, H. A. (Creator), Tilburg University, 2010
http://data.4tu.nl/repository/uuid:69b8ec40-cf09-4473-b89b-291588e29ebe
Dataset
Prizes
2014 Freeman Award for The book series Making Europe. Technology and Transformations, 1850-2000
Johan Schot (Recipient), 17 Sep 2014
Prize: Other › Career, activity or publication related prizes (lifetime, best paper, poster etc.) › Scientific
2nd Price Young Investigator's Award Competition
Sue-Yen Tjong Tjin Tai (Recipient), 26 May 2012
Prize: Other › Career, activity or publication related prizes (lifetime, best paper, poster etc.) › Scientific
Alternative presentation WTMC list of publications
Tanja Manders (Recipient) & Mignon L. Wuestman (Recipient), 24 Nov 2017
Prize: Other › Scientific
Activities 1986 2019
cVPP creating impact
Anna J. Wieczorek (Invited speaker)Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk › Scientific
The TU/e in Somalia & Somaliland: a tale of SDG7 challenges
Henny A. Romijn (Speaker)Activity: Talk or presentation types › Keynote talk › Professional
Community-based Virtual Power Plant: How citizens and communities are increasingly becoming part of the energy transition
Anna J. Wieczorek (Invited speaker)Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk › Professional
Press / Media
Ethics professor Meijers receives ribbon and honorary medal upon departure
Jan M. Smits & Anthonie W.M. Meijers
8/11/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
ECsens from University of Twente wins 4TU Impact Challenge
8/11/19
2 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
-Eindhoven University of Technology: PSV and TU/e to collaborate on talent and innovation
6/11/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
Student theses
Adresseermachines: ontwikkeling en gebruik van adresseermachines in de administratie
Author: Klaassen, J. I., 1994Supervisor: Lintsen, H. (Supervisor 1)
Student thesis: Master
Aggregators and flexibility in the Dutch electricity system
Author: Juffermans, J., 21 Dec 2018Supervisor: Verbong, G. (Supervisor 1), Wieczorek, A. (Supervisor 2) & Nguyen, H. (Supervisor 2)
Student thesis: Master
A multi-level analysis of sustainable urban mobility transition in Hangzhou, China: the development of bike sharing and car sharing
Author: Li, C., 30 Nov 2017Supervisor: Verbong, G. (Supervisor 1) & Schipper, F. (Supervisor 2)
Student thesis: Master