Bioclear Earth: Where international biologists thrive in the North

There’s a growing pool of highly educated biologists looking for meaningful work in the Northern Netherlands and Bioclear Earth, a consultancy specialising in soil, water, and climate innovation, is eager to connect with them.

Two team members from Bioclear Earth sat down with Make it in the North to talk about hiring international talent, what they love about working in Groningen, and why the company is a great fit for people with a passion for applied biology.

“Groningen is the youngest city in the Netherlands in terms of its population. The university has a really strong biology department. So I think this is really good for us,” says Eline Keuning, consultant in biotechnology and innovation at Bioclear Earth.

“Maybe because we’re in the North, we’re also sometimes a bit more eager to do new things to kind of prove ourselves. This makes the atmosphere here really good for a company like ours,” she adds.

Director Sytze Keuning, who studied in Groningen, founded the company in 1988. The company now carries out over 80% of its work across the Netherlands, and also receives project requests from countries including China, Chile, and Denmark.

Although some Dutch residents may see Groningen as remote, Sytze believes that internationals often have a different perspective:

“Up to now, we have never encountered problems that people wouldn’t move to Groningen,” he says. “For foreign visitors, it doesn’t matter for them if they have to go to Rotterdam, Maastricht, or Groningen from Schiphol airport—it’s all reachable by train in a few hours.”

Eline explains that the company uses microbes to clean up contaminated soils and groundwater. With growing expertise in microbiology, the team studies polluted sites and designs biological solutions to restore them. Recently, the company has also begun exploring how biology can be used for sustainable production, not just cleanup.

According to Eline, Bioclear Earth has long been open to hiring internationals. However, in the past, most assignments were in Dutch, which limited access for non-Dutch speakers.

“But now the field is kind of changing,” she says. “Projects are becoming more international, so people are actively looking to collaborate more. And I think this sort of translates into the composition of our team, since we are also becoming more international.”

Today, English is widely used in the workplace, and the company even sponsors candidates from outside the EU.

To help non-native speakers feel part of the team, Eline shares Dutch expressions and the company encourages team members to learn the language. Occasionally, the whole office switches to Dutch for part of the day to help learners practice.

“We are noticing that people can pick up the language rather quickly. In about 6 months to a year, they start talking Dutch if you give them the opportunity to do so,” says Sytze.

“To come work here you’re on top of the game of molecular biology, bioinformatics, but you don’t want to play in a research setting, like at the university, but more in the real world,” says Eline.

The company looks for people who enjoy applying science to practical challenges, who can communicate across disciplines, and who are naturally curious. The office environment is fast-paced and collaborative.

The good news for international jobseekers is they don’t wait for a job posting in order to apply. Bioclear Earth welcomes open applications, especially from people who are genuinely excited about their mission.

“If you’re really excited to work here, I would write an open application. We take them really seriously. I think actually quite a few of our colleagues came to work here based on an open application and not because we had a vacancy. So it’s not just something we say. This really happens,” says Eline.

Her advice? Tell your personal story and explain why you want to work there.

“I think those letters always resonate the most with me, like if you put something of yourself in the letter.”

Director Sytze Keuning looks closely at what an applicant can bring to the team—and in some cases, has created entirely new roles for exceptional candidates.

Interview by Daindra W. Utami and Julia Dumchenko