What we build, think and run into

Dation Groep hosts the third edition of De Toekomst van de Rijopleiding

Driver training is in motion. AI, digitalisation and shifting expectations from clients and learners are opening up new possibilities for driving schools. The question is no longer whether to do something with that, but how to get a real return out of it.

That is what this afternoon is about. We show how technology and new ways of learning help run a driving school more intelligently, and connect theory and practice more closely — with concrete examples of what that means and where you can start today.

The afternoon and the registration form are in Dutch, as the event is aimed at the Dutch driver-training sector.

• 🗓️Thursday 24 September 2026
• 🕧12:30 – 18:30
• 📍BOVAGhuis, Bunnik, the Netherlands

Register (in Dutch) ↗ Dation Groep →

Dation Groep acquires Uitgeverij Smit / Rijschoolservice

In September 2025 Dation Groep acquired Uitgeverij Smit, for almost forty years a supplier of theory material for driver training in the Netherlands. Founder Elt Smit built the company and was looking for a place where it could carry on.

“Having built Uitgeverij Smit with a great deal of pleasure over so many years, I wanted to leave the company in good hands.”— Elt Smit, founder of Uitgeverij Smit

Why this acquisition: in driver training, theory and practice have always been two separate worlds. The learner studies at home behind a screen and then sits in the car, with neither side knowing anything about the other. The driving school sees no coherence, so the learner does not feel any either.

“Learners want an overview, structure and a grip on their own learning.”— Hans Schaap, CEO of Dation Groep

With this acquisition theory and practice fell inside a single learning path for the first time. Nothing changed about the freedom driving schools have: they still choose their own theory provider, and Smit continues to supply other platforms and partners. Products, brand and team stayed in place after the acquisition.

The report in RijschoolPro (in Dutch) ↗ Dation Groep →

Sensoterra sits in the ROM Utrecht Region portfolio

ROM Utrecht Region invests in Sensoterra through its participation fund, where the company sits under Earth Ventures — the branch for businesses working on the physical environment. Sensoterra joins Curious Inc in 2025, which puts this investor alongside us as well.

Since then two investors sit alongside us in the same company, each coming from a different angle: Future Food Fund from food and agritech, ROM Utrecht Region from the living environment. It means two parties who know the market independently reached the same conclusion about soil moisture sensors.

And the connection runs both ways. ROM Utrecht Region is also the organisation behind Earth Valley in Amersfoort, the innovation ecosystem where we hold office. The same party that sits alongside us in Sensoterra sits alongside us there too.

Sensoterra at ROM Utrecht Region ↗ Sensoterra →

Curious Inc takes over the operations of ConnectedGreen

In December 2021 Curious Inc took over the operations of ConnectedGreen, known in the Dutch green sector for soil sensors and the software that goes with them. Founder René Voogt handed brand, software and people over to the group.

The reasoning behind it was one we recognised: green space and grey infrastructure should not each end up with their own sensors, applications and workflow support. What is needed is a single environment where the management of public space comes together — one place for municipalities and landscaping firms instead of a collection of separate systems.

That brought the intelligence layer in house: software that turns sensor data into forecasts and recommendations. Sensoterra — the sensor itself, deployed in more than forty countries — followed in 2025. Since then the measurement and the reading of the measurement sit under one roof.

The report in Stad + Groen (in Dutch) ↗ Sensoterra →