Roy Broersma (CEI): Guiding Aestuarium from idea to venture

Finding direction

Once the structure was in place, CEI worked with them on validating and narrowing their concept. “They explored many potential applications for their bacterial technology,” says Broersma. “That exploration is part of the process. But eventually they circled back to what mattered most: water scarcity and sustainable desalination. That’s where their science can truly make global impact.”

A growing venture

Although Aestuarium’s science is advanced, Broersma emphasizes that CEI’s role is not to solve their technical questions.
“Our strength is entrepreneurship,” he explains. “We support team dynamics, strategy, validation, investor readiness and we connect students to the right experts in the Brightlands ecosystem but also across the university and the wider regional and international network. We help them move faster, with fewer blind spots.”

Now based at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Aestuarium continues to advance its technology. Broersma remains in their advisory circle. “They have grown tremendously,” he says. “But what stands out most is their resilience. Even when experiments didn’t deliver what they hoped for, they found new ways forward. That determination is what makes a real startup.”

A message to future founders

For Broersma, Aestuarium represents exactly the kind of entrepreneurial spirit the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation wants to unlock within Maastricht University. He stresses that students often underestimate how early they can begin exploring entrepreneurship. “You don’t need to wait until you graduate to start building something,” he explains. “Curiosity is usually the spark. If you are willing to experiment, to test your ideas, and to learn from setbacks, that’s already the foundation.”

What CEI provides, he says, is the environment that helps those early sparks become something real. “The skills, the structure, the coaching, the network, those are things we can build with you. You don’t have to come in with a perfect business plan. You just need the willingness to try.” He points out that many of the most promising teams did not begin with business expertise at all, but with passion and a problem they wanted to solve. CEI’s role is to guide them through validation, team development, and the realities of building a venture, whether that means rethinking a concept, finding the right co-founders, or simply learning to take the next step with confidence.

“That’s why Aestuarium stands out,” Broersma adds. “They kept showing up. They kept asking questions. They kept pushing even when things did not go as planned. That mindset is what makes entrepreneurs. And it’s something many more students have in them than they realize.”