Rob van Haren Professor of Product Innovation and Knowledge Transfer in Agribusiness

On 1 January 2008, Dr Rob van Haren was appointed Professor of Product Innovation and Knowledge Transfer in Agribusiness at the Faculty of Economics and Business. The chair was created in response to the central role of Agribusiness in the transition to a green economy and the position of the north of the Netherlands in this process.

Product innovation and knowledge transfer are two key activities in the renewal of products and production chains in companies. There is a great deal of knowledge about renewal within and outside Agribusiness, also with regard to durability. When preparing the transition to a green economy, this knowledge should be made available to the sector and be tailored to their needs. In addition, there is currently a global process underway to speed up the introduction of product innovations (both within companies and in production chains) with regard to new products and processes. The aim of the chair, with Agribusiness as its most important domain, is to study corporate innovation and organization processes and to conduct research on the basis of concrete corporate examples. The research will concentrate on product and process innovations and the transfer of knowledge in chains in this sector. Given the strong SME character of the agrarian environment, product and process innovation in individual companies in the rural areas will also be examined.

Curriculum Vitae

 Dr Rob van Haren (Nijmegen, 1961) studied Biology at Wageningen Agricultural University and gained his PhD in 1995 at the VU University Amsterdam with a thesis on the ‘Application of Dynamic Energy Budgets to xenobiotic kinetics in Mytilus edulis and population dynamics of Globodera pallida’. Until 2001, he worked for Plant Research International in Wageningen as programme leader and senior researcher in Agro-Ecology. Between 2001 and the end of 2007 he worked for AVEBE as research coordinator for ‘duurzame keteninnovatie AGROBIOKON’ [sustainable chain innovation AGROBIOKON]. Within the framework of the National Initiative for Sustainable Development (NIDO), Van Haren worked together with the University of Groningen from 2003-2006. Rob van Haren is also project director of KiemKracht, where he is responsible on behalf of the arable sector for the design of the innovation agenda 2030 for the arable sector in the Netherlands and the realization of two pioneering innovations. Kiemkracht is an alliance between the InnovatieNetwerk and the Hoofdproductschap Akkerbouw [Main Arable Product Board].

More information:

 Prof. Rob van Haren, e-mail: R.J.F.van.Haren@rug.nl