Take a peek at the activities and offering of our digital innovation community.
Headquartered in Leuven (Belgium) and with research sites across Belgium, in the Netherlands, Taiwan and the USA, an rep offices in China and Japan, imec leverages its state-of-the-art R&D infrastructure and its team of about 4,000 expert scientists, to drive open innovation across the globe. They unite world-industry leaders, Flanders-based and international companies, start-ups, and academia and knowledge centers, for R&D in nano-electronics and digital technologies, including advanced semiconductor scaling, silicon photonics, smart health, smart energy, smart mobility and smart cities solutions, artificial intelligence, beyond-5G and sensing technologies and more.
Next to its R&D offering, imec also leverages its expertise and large international industry network to support smaller organizations that have limited in-house R&D resources as well as larger companies with their innovation process from initial idea to fully functioning product, from the design of a product or chip, to prototyping, testing and optimizing, and manufacturing.
Finally, imec supports tech start-ups and scale-ups with a tailored offering. The imec.istart program is a business acceleration program that provides tech entrepreneurs with specialized coaching, facilities and overall support to help them grow their businesses, while the imec.scale-ups program focuses on larger innovative tech scale-ups looking to conquer the European market.
Commissioned by the Flemish government, Lantis is building connections that make the city and region flourish. Lantis is responsible for the realisation of the Oosterweel connection, which will increase prosperity and improve the quality of life. Lantis is contributing to this by promoting mobility, including the construction of numerous bicycle connections and multimodal junctions on the city outskirts of Antwerp.
Lantis strives for operational excellence in order to carry out projects as efficiently as possible and deliver quality. Thanks to intensive cooperation with the surrounding area, the organisation works transparently and with a focus on results. Innovation and transformation ensure future-oriented projects with a lasting impact on the dynamics of the region. This is the Lantis way of successfully realising large projects in an urban environment.
Lantis stands for Liveable Antwerp through Innovation and Cooperation and is a public limited company. The day-to-day management is in the hands of the management committee led by managing director Luc Hellemans. David Van Herreweghe chairs the board of directors.
As Europe’s second-largest port and largest integrated chemical cluster, the Port of Antwerp Bruges is a major lifeline for the Belgian economy: annually around 238 million tonnes of international maritime freight are handled. The Port of Antwerp Bruges accounts, directly and indirectly, for a total of around 143.000 jobs and more than €20 billion added value.
Innovation and digitisation enable our mission to be ‘a home port for a sustainable future’ as we aim to flexibly respond to a rapidly evolving maritime market. By supporting The Beacon, we want to ensure that our port platform finds relevant points of contact and vice versa. Furthermore, we want to facilitate the exchange effect created through the ecosystem being built around The Beacon.
The city of Antwerp welcomes businesses, researchers, citizens and city officials to experiment with smart technologies that aim to make urban life more enjoyable and sustainable. Antwerp is a living lab where solutions are tested and co-created with its inhabitants. The city is home to highly innovative businesses and with 171 nationalities that live in Antwerp, it is above all a very diverse, and international city. The Ecosystem in Antwerp is developing rapidly, over the past years the amount of start-ups and scaleups in Antwerp doubled.
Innovative companies are the driving force behind the Antwerp knowledge economy. Their growth is crucial for our future. The City of Antwerp therefore strongly believes in the power of digital networking and is developing an ecosystem for digital innovation in which large and small businesses, startups, scaleups, researchers and capital providers with an interest in the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence can meet each other. Thanks to the cross-pollination that occurs in The Beacon, innovative products are developed that are relevant to Antwerp’s ‘smart city’ ambitions and to our financial stakeholders: industry and logistics.
The University of Antwerp is a research university where pioneering, innovative research is conducted at an international level. Research and education are closely linked, with 20,000 students and 6000 staff spread across our nine faculties. As a driving force in the Antwerp innovation ecosystem, innovation is a constant focus.
The Beacon is the university’s pioneering pre-incubation structure for the domain of Metropolitanism, Smart City, Mobility & Logistics. It houses the IDLab research group and the Design Sciences Hub.
The IDLab research group of the University of Antwerp and imec performs fundamental and applied research on Wireless technologies, Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things. IDLab, headed by prof. Steven Latré, targets the most daunting challenges industry is facing to deliver digital transformation, connecting everything and extracting high value from data. Bringing researchers and industrial partners together at the same location facilitates knowledge transfer and enables the cross-fertilization and co-creation insights on smart cities, IoT and AI towards the industrial partners in The Beacon.
The Design Sciences Hub of the Faculty of Design Sciences is an interdisciplinary innovation and valorization lab. They offer design solutions for urban challenges and wicked problems in the triangle of urban planning, built environment, and urban health.
Customers do more than just buy a product, they yearn for solutions that effectively address their specific needs. So how can you anticipate these buying motives to position your business for success? Join Verhaert ‘s Innovation Day in Kruibeke on November 21st for interactive demos, in-depth talks, and customizable toolsets. In 5 thematic tracks, you’ll get inspired by the latest innovation breakthroughs and firsthand experience how to master outcome-based solutions.
Embracing outcome-based innovation
Historically, companies pursued innovation by enhancing product qualities, improving affordability, or adding features. This way they wanted to create more added value or become more competitive. Today, a rising group of innovation leaders is shifting focus to elevating customer outcomes and experiences, by integrating the product as an asset into new business model innovations. That’s where outcome-based innovation takes center stage, where the spotlight shifts from the product to its service potential or enabling business model.
By aiming for superior customer outcomes, outcome-based innovation yields greater added value than any other type of innovation. But how does this translate into practice? It involves integrating new technologies, adopting circular economy, or embracing product-as-a-service (PaaS) innovation. The aim is to nurture products that surpass their traditional roles, amplifying their impact on the world during use.
5 thematic tracks, 10 interactive demos and in-depth talks
During Verhaert’s Innovation Day, you’ll discover the magic of outcome-based innovation, empowering the voice of your customers, harnessed through cutting-edge technologies. Choose the innovation topics that best fit your needs from 5 thematic tracks covering in-depth insights, exclusive demos, and customizable toolsets.
• TRACK 1: Fueling the future of robotics & AI
AI has created a tremendous boost in the field of robotic innovation. Thanks to advanced algorithms and machine learning, robots can not only navigate and interact with their surroundings but also understand them.
• TRACK 2: Rethinking the use case for value creation
Redefining your use case is the ultimate tool in beating your competitors. Get inspired on how including stakeholders can help you create new business and value opportunities through market and user insights.
• TRACK 3: Riding the product-as-a-service wave
In a world where new products and companies pop up every day, how can you strengthen customer retention? With a products-as-a-service business model, you deliver a complete solution instead of just a physical product.
• TRACK 4: Sustainability driving innovation
Every day, the call for environmental responsibility grows louder. Sustainable innovation secures long-term success while boosting your reputation. Learn how to create end-to-end holistic solutions for a better world.
• TRACK 5: Cultivating entrepreneurial champions
Curious about the latest tools for innovators to use Generative AI in your ideation or validation process? Interested in the most popular product and project management tools? Get a glimpse of the e-courses from Verhaert Academy!
Discover how to master outcome-based innovation during Verhaert’s Innovation Day on November 21st! Visit the event website for the full program and sign up by choosing the 2 tracks of your interest. 👉 https://innovationday.verhaert.com/
Wit-Gele Kruis West Flanders is committed to delivering high-quality care to patients in their own environment. To optimize the logistics of medical equipment for nurses, they’re launching a handy all-in-the-box car organizer. An idea originally conceived by a home care nurse and further developed with professional partners including Verhaert Masters in Innovation, a European service provider in innovation. Thanks to its innovative approach, Verhaert succeeded in identifying important, unprecedented facets related to the various stakeholders. This included going deeper into essential steps in the design process and taking into account current requirements for circularity.
Cooperation as a driving force for innovation, inside and outside the organization
Wit-Gele Kruis West Flanders believes it’s important that innovation stays close to the day-to-day lives of its nurses and helps to relieve them. The idea of a nurse to develop a new organizer that is orderly, practical, and hygienic was picked up by the organization. Through an intensive process, the idea was further developed in collaboration with a master's student in product development, MakerHealth Howest and Verhaert, among others.
The secret of successful innovation: a holistic approach
Creating products that meet the users’ needs, desires, and requirements, is valued highly at Verhaert. An extensive analysis of the needs of home nurses is therefore an important part of the development process. Structured workshops were organized with stakeholders from various domains to identify in detail both user needs and logistical and financial considerations during the design phase.
After an iterative validation phase of several prototypes, Verhaert proceeded to product engineering, optimizing the final production design. By considering technical, production-related, and user aspects, Verhaert ensured technical feasibility (viable) as well as successful fulfillment of users’ needs and desires (desirable). The organizer provides functional and ergonomically access to any type of care product and can be integrated with the nursing bag, making it the most practical and complete solution on the market.
A circular life cycle
The demand for environmental awareness is increasing day by day. Sustainability and ecology are important drivers in the product development process. The all-in-the-box offers an efficient storage solution design with a circular business model in mind. The product is fully geared toward circularity, with opportunities for refurbishment and 100% recycling. The organizer is made of mono-material, making recycling at end-of-life simple and feasible. Polypropylene with a closed cell structure, also offers durability and robustness with significantly less weight. In addition, flatpack delivery on a euro pallet minimizes fuel consumption and reduces CO2 emissions. Production is also set up with attention to the inclusion of social employment.
Innovative healthcare logistics gains a new dimension
The all-in-the-box solution optimizes the logistics process and reduces costs by limiting expired materials. Nurses are pleased too, as this solution allows them to focus more on patient care. This innovation extends to the broader healthcare sector, where, upon positive validation, the product can be made available to other (home) care organizations.
“The real added value of this development was born from our co-creative workshops. Each stakeholder, whether it was the care provider, logistics department, or financial services, provided unique contributions from their expertise. Thanks to this iterative approach with the integration of concept and prototype validation, we were able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together smoothly,” says Gerd Van Cauteren, Coordinator DesignLab at Verhaert Masters in Innovation.
17 januari 2024 - Het huidige economische landschap stelt ondernemers op de proef. Denk maar aan de digitale transitie, wijzigende regelgeving, economische onzekerheid en stijgende lasten op arbeid. Start-ups, scale-ups en kmo’s vinden niet altijd de middelen, tijd of expertise om deze uitdagingen het hoofd te bieden. Dat merkte ook full service partner Unikoo: hoewel zij al een hele verscheidenheid aan expertise in administratie, HR, marketing en development ter beschikking stellen, klonk ook de vraag naar meer strategische ondersteuning het afgelopen jaar luider dan ooit. Een vraag waar Unikoo nu antwoord op biedt met de lancering van hun CFO en CTO-as-a-Service model.
Ondernemers hebben het niet makkelijk, zo blijkt ook opnieuw uit de meest recente KMO-barometer van Unizo. Bedrijven worstelen om geschikte arbeidskrachten te vinden en maken zich zorgen om hun rendabiliteit. Het aantal faillissementen steeg bovendien fors het afgelopen jaar. Ondernemers moeten op zoek naar de juiste mensen om hen door dit nieuwe economische landschap te helpen navigeren, maar in vele gevallen ontbreken de middelen om dit soort leidende C-level profielen aan te werven. Met haar CFO en CTO-as-a-Service modellen wil Unikoo deze ondernemers de hand reiken.
“CFO-as-a-Service (CFOaaS) en CTO-as-a-Service (CTOaaS), een model dat de laatste jaren steeds meer populariteit won, vormt een logische uitbreiding op onze bestaande dienstverlening. Onze klanten, vaak bedrijven in volle groei, kunnen nu bij Unikoo terecht voor zowel operationele ondersteuning als advies bij het oplossen van complexe beleidsvraagstukken, het maken van strategische keuzes of het plannen van klankbordsessies. We zochten én vonden twee kleppers van profielen die onze klanten kunnen verder helpen met uitdagingen op het hoogste niveau van de beleidsvoering”, aldus Kenn Wouters, zaakvoerder van Unikoo.
Nick Van Meerbeeck, voormalig Head of Controlling bij Port of Antwerp, zal de uitrol van CFOaaS op zich nemen. “Het voordeel van zulke samenwerking is dat klanten heel gericht advies kunnen inwinnen over een specifieke topic of voor uitdagingen waar ze op dat moment mee zitten. Ad hoc, dus zonder de aanzienlijke kost van een fulltime CFO op de payroll, maar wel op hoog niveau. Een CFO denkt mee met het management, stemt de financiële strategie af op de beleidsvisie, zorgt dat het bedrijf de juiste strategische prioriteiten stelt en neemt onzekerheid weg. Heel wat bedrijven zijn hiermee geholpen, zelfs met ‘maar’ een parttime ondersteuning van enkele dagen per maand.”
Voor ondersteuning op vlak van technologie kunnen bedrijven beroep doen op Cynric Huys als CTO on demand. “Veel bedrijven weten dat ze meer moeten inzetten op digitalisatie, maar vaak weten ze niet hoe ze hier effectief mee aan de slag kunnen gaan. Wij willen klanten op een flexibele en kost-efficiënte manier begeleiden in hun digitale uitdagingen. Niet enkel met advies, maar ook met hands-on operationele implementatie. Onze geïntegreerde aanpak breekt de zogenoemde silo‘s binnen organisaties en is gericht op bedrijven die willen inzetten op technologie, maar de middelen missen of niet weten hoe ze dit moeten aanpakken. Het CTO-as-a-Service model biedt voor hen een pragmatische oplossing aan een toegankelijk tarief.”
Startups, scale-ups en kmo’s kunnen beroep doen op de CTO en CFO als eindverantwoordelijke in het uitrollen van een impactvol project. Ze kunnen optreden als volwaardig deel van het managementteam, als partner die de belangen van de organisatie behartigt. Ook voor investeerders kan de inzet van een fractional CFO of CTO meer zekerheid brengen in het opvolgen van (nieuwe) business ventures.
Ook voor bedrijven die al een CFO of CTO in dienst hebben, kan de extra ondersteuning een sterke meerwaarde bieden. Als sparringpartner bijvoorbeeld, of wanneer de werkdruk voor de huidige verantwoordelijke tijdelijk te zwaar wordt door bijkomende projecten zoals een aankomende kapitaalronde of een digitalisatietraject. Extra C-level ondersteuning biedt ademruimte aan het management, iets wat in deze tijden zeker niet onbelangrijk is.
SAIDD is back! Save the date and pre-register now for the second edition of this inspiring demo day
Join us at COOCK Smart Port 2025 for an exciting in-person event on November 16, 2023, where we dive into data-driven port operations.
