Diana, to start at the beginning: what kind of work do you do exactly?
I work as a strategic advisor at Thebe. Our care organization provides district nursing, specialist care, home assistance and day care in 19 municipalities in West and Central Brabant. We also offer care in 25 residential care centers in the region. I advise the board and management in areas such as innovation. I look at what's happening in society, what's coming up and discuss with colleagues how we as an organization can anticipate to this. Because a lot is going to change in healthcare in the next 30 years. We have to deal with it now. The nice thing about my job is that every day is different. One week I'm talking to employees to hear their vision. The next moment I'm busy preparing our intranet for innovations.

Why did you decide to pack up and move into the MindLabs building so soon? 
We will be adding a healthcare innovation lab to the mix. In our partnership with MindLabs, the central question is how we can keep healthcare accessible in the future. We are also tackling this partnership with the ecosystem together with two other care organizations in Brabant: De Wever and Mijzo, cooperating in Watsjnoe. The lab in the new building must become a workplace where we can experiment, test the technology and inspire each other.

Have you worked with other MindLabs partners in the past? Or have you pinned your hopes on the new building?
Yes, actually since 2020. Back then, it was through the Startup Kitchen of MindLabs. There, together with De Wever, we tried to develop and implement (technological) projects that could help advance healthcare. Due to corona, things went slightly differently than expected and we were unable to make the connection with start-ups as easily as we had hoped. But Thebe and De Wever, and eventually also Mijzo, continued to meet every quarter to discuss innovation and exchange experiences. And in 2021, we jointly organized a unique online event. This conference for employees, volunteers and clients was such a success that we immediately thought of creating a physical care innovation lab. And it turned out there was still room for it in the new building!

What is pre-eminently something that Thebe is going to add to the mix?
Healthcare is a sector that is eager for innovative developments. Many MindLabs partners are also already working on the question: how do we focus on healthcare? Because our collective represents 3 different healthcare organizations, we can actively seek cooperation within MindLabs.

How does it feel when you walk past the construction site now? 
We only went to see it once. This was still in the early stages and our space was still full of building materials. So we did not get a really good picture yet. But that it is going to be beautiful is certain.

Where are you going to sit? What will your view be? 
You will find the care innovation lab on the second floor of the new building. The space is L-shaped, so that if necessary we can easily split it into two parts. There will be no workstations or offices. It will be one large room that can be used for various purposes. A physical conference, for example. Or a small-scale inspiration session.

Have you met your new neighbors? Or have you yet to have your first cup of coffee? 
We share the floor with DPG Media. We have yet to drink that first cup of coffee. We already have a lot of contact with other knowledge partners of MindLabs, who are located elsewhere in the building. For example Fontys, because of their ICT courses, and ROC Tilburg.

What plans do you hope to realize from your new home? 
Actively seeking out collaborations with the other MindLabs partners. A concrete example? Suppose a startup within the ecosystem can develop a new technology to make scheduling in home care more efficient. Once they have an idea and prototype, it can be tested directly within Watsnjoe's organizations.

How will the new building help you with that, do you expect? 
We're literally neighbors. So shaping collaborations will be much easier. Incidentally, the new building will also help us to collaborate within the healthcare organizations themselves. Because for many care workers, innovation is something abstract; a far cry from their own experience. By inviting these employees to the MindLabs building and discussing innovations and technologies, we can also achieve a lot internally. 

Are the first boxes already packed? 
No, there's no need. Because we are creating an extra place with the care innovation lab, everything in the new building will be new. At the moment we are brainstorming with a number of employees about the interior. Great ideas are coming up. Wheelchairs for meetings, for example. And a robot at the door. Whether this will actually happen has not yet been decided.

It's time to wrap up. What's in store for you today? A little daydreaming about your upcoming workplace in the new building? Or are you too busy for that?
That won't be today. I can start daydreaming about our new place again in two weeks' time. Because then we'll continue to work on the design of our care innovation lab. Then I can go back to daydreaming about our new place.