Theme: AI, semiconductors, smart logistics & data-driven innovation

DAY 1 – Leuven & Hasselt (24 March)

Theme: Deep Tech & AI-applications & Digital Industry

Morning – Leuven

📍 imec HQ

• Guided tour cleanrooms & labs (semiconductors, photonics, AI-chips)
• “Investing in Deep Tech in Flanders”

World top in microchips, AI-hardware & deep tech

imec is one of the world's leading research centers for nanoelectronics, semiconductors and AI chips. During this visit, participants will discover how imec collaborates with numerous top international companies and European deep-tech scale-ups to develop faster, more energy-efficient and smarter microchips. Demos show the latest innovations in quantum technology, photonics chips, sensors and AI hardware — the building blocks of tomorrow's digital economy.

📍 Flanders Make – Leuven Site

Smart industry and AI-driven manufacturing

Flanders Make is the research centre for industrial innovation, uniting the expertise of more than 1,000 researchers at our applied research division and the five Flemish universities.

We connect companies with leading scientists and peers facing similar challenges, thereby enabling faster, more efficient innovation. We guide organisations in seamlessly integrating advanced technologies to strengthen a resilient economy, fuel sustainable growth, and anchor Flanders as a true European innovation hub.

At the Leuven site, participants discover how AI, robotics, digital twins, sensor technology and predictive maintenance are applied to real industrial processes.

Participants gain insight into:

• how AI and advanced data analytics optimize quality control,
• and how capturing knowledge in digital design tools can bridge the gap between design & production.

This visit shows how Flanders combines scientific excellence with direct industrial valorisation, enabling companies to scale digital manufacturing technologies from lab to production floor.

Afternoon – Hasselt

📍 Corda Campus

• AI & Data: Campus hosts several AI scale-ups & data service companies
• Software & Platform Economy: Strong cluster of SaaS and cloud companies
• Smart Work & Digital Innovation: Innovation Campus → Living Lab
• Talent & Skills: Close collaboration with UHasselt & PXL University of Applied Sciences

Digital start-ups, entrepreneurship & software innovation

Corda Campus is the beating heart of Limburg's digital economy, with more than 250 technology companies and start-ups. Participants will get an energetic insight into the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Hasselt, with pitches, demos and meetings with companies active in:

• AI & computer vision
• Software development & cloud platforms
• Cybersecurity
• Gaming & digital creation
• Automation & UX

Corda shows how Flanders allows innovative software companies to grow and position them internationally.

DAY 2 – Kortrijk & Ghent (25 March)

Theme: AI & Digital Transformation across Industries

Morning – Kortrijk

📍 Flanders Game Hub/Flanders Make

Flanders Game Hub

Gaming, immersive tech & digital creation as a growth engine

Flanders Game Hub is the Flemish innovation and acceleration programme that supports game developers, creative studios and digital technology companies to grow internationally. The ecosystem unites players from gaming, XR (extended reality), e-sports, digital storytelling and real-time 3D technology, creating a unique intersection between creativity and technology.

Participants discover:

• how Flemish game studios work with high-end game engines (Unreal, Unity) that are also used for health simulations, digital twins, film production and AI interfaces;
• how the hub supports entrepreneurship and talent through coaching, product development, business mentoring and international matchmaking;
• and how gaming technology is becoming a catalyst for industry, logistics, healthcare, entertainment and education.

Flanders Game Hub shows Flanders as a creative and digital hotspot where entertainment technology is growing into a broad innovation engine for numerous sectors.

Afternoon – Ghent

📍 Tech Lane Ghent Science Park – iGent Tower / IDLab / The Nucleus

• Intro UGent TechTransfer & imec IDLab: AI in telecom, IoT en data engineering
• AI & Data Deep Dive by IDLab (imec-UGent)
• Visit to The Nucleus:
• CESPE – AI en digital twinning in pharma manufacturing
• VIB – data-driven biotech innovation (TBC)

AI, data engineering & smart network technology

IDLab is one of Europe's most influential research groups at the intersection of AI, data science, and digital telecommunications networks. Visitors will see how researchers and entrepreneurs develop innovative solutions around:

• AI-algoritmen en data-infrastructuren
• Wireless communication, 5G/6G & IoT
• Cybersecurity & edge computing
• Digital applications for industry, healthcare and cities.

The iGent Tower houses living labs in which new technologies are tested in realistic environments.