Guided Flanders Tech Tours 2026

Venue: Central Station, Antwerp

Bus number: 1

8,30 - 9,00: Transfer by bus

Venue: Port of Antwerp/Bruges, Zaha Hadidplein 1, 2030 Antwerp

9,00: Welcome by Elke VERBEELEN, Corporate Communication Advisor & Roel BOSSCHAERTS, NextGen Demo Manager, Port of Antwerp/Bruges

9,10: Presentations (hall "Marc Van Peel):

• 9,10 Speaker 1: Nadine MARISSEN, Hospitality organizer
  Theme: Introduction to Port of Antwerp Bruges
• 9,20 Speaker 2: Roel BOSSCHAERTS, NextGen Demo Manager
  Theme: NextGen District: bringing circular innovation to commercial reality in Port of Antwerp-Bruges
• 9,45 Speaker 3: Ann DIERCKX, Director Innovation & Circular Economy, essenscia
  Theme: Driving the climate transition. The strenght of chemical innovation in Flanders    

10,10: Q&A, networking & Coffee/tea

10,30: Transfer by bus    

Venue: Bluechem, Olieweg 95, 2020 Antwerp

11,05: Welcome by Liesbet BOOGAERTS, General Manager    

11,10: Presentation by Liesbet BOOGAERTS (Room: Boardroom)
Theme: Introduction to BlueChem, the hotspot for sustainable chemistry in Europe   

11,30: Guided Tour   

12,00: Network lunch offered by VLAIO

13,15-14,30 Transfer by bus

Venue: Thor Park, André Dumontlaan 67, 3600 Genk

14,35: Welcome by Bert GYSEN, COO EnergyVIlle    

14,40: Presentations (Room: X)

• Speaker 1: Bert GYSEN
  Theme: Introduction EnergyVille
• Speaker 2: Filip VERCAUTEREN, General Manager Thorpark NV
  Theme: Ecosystem Thor Park
• Speaker 3: Patrice FLEURQUIN, General Manager Open Thor Living Lab
  Theme: Thor Park & Test infrastructure Open Thor Living Lab
• Speaker 4: Ariane DECRAMER, Internationalisation Pioneer
  Theme: Introduction Flux50    

15,50: Guided Tours

16,30: Transfer by bus    

Venue: Central Station, Antwerp

Bus number: 1

7,30 - 9,30: Transfer by bus    

Venue: BlueBridge (Ostend Science Park), Wetenschapspark 1, 8400 Oostende

9,30: Refresh & coffee/tea

9,40: Official Welcome & Introduction to Blue Valley Oostende - Alderwomen Judith OOMS, City of Ostend

9,45: Interactive sessions in the blue energy training hub, The Reef with:
(Room: Bluebridge)

• Speaker 1: Geert DANGREAU, CEO Bluebridge & Director Knowledge Economy and Internationalisation, POM West-Flanders. Theme: Welcome to Bluebridge
• Speaker 2: Rebecca VERHAEGHE, Project Manager Blue Energy, POM West-Flanders
  Theme: Offshore Wind: the general picture from the Belgian part of the North Sea
• Speaker 3: Sven NACHTERGAELE, Cluster Manager Drones, POM West Flanders
  Theme: Marine Drones & Robotica: the general picture: training & industry use cases
• Speaker 4: Jan MEES, CEO, VLIZ
  Theme: Marine robotica en data – Applied research for climate solutions
• Speaker 5: Karen VANDERSTRAETEN, Program Manager Circular Water Technologies, VITO
  Theme: Smart water solutions for climate sensitive environments, from inland waters to ports
• Speaker 6: Ann OVERMEIRE, COO, The Blue Cluster
  Theme: Innovation Pathways & Industry Collaboration

11,10: Guided tour - Walk to Flanders Maritime Laboratory with Coastal & Ocean Basin and Towing Tank for Manoeuvres in Shallow Water at Ostend Science Park

12,10: Group picture

12,15: Networking lunch offered by VLAIO & Speeddating

13,15: Transfer by bus    

Venue: Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, Rodenhuizekaai 1, 9042 Gent

14,15: Refresh & coffee/tea

14,25: Welcome by Wim SOETAERT, CEO

14,30: Presentations (Showroom)

• Speaker 1: Wim SOETAERT
  Theme: Introduction of Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant
• Speaker 2: Stef DENAYER, Stakeholder Relations Manager
  heme: The ProteInn Club and Pitch Perfect and Boost the European Bioeconomy
• Q&A

15,30: Guided tour

16,15: Network reception offered by BBEU

17,30: Transfer by bus    

Central Station Antwerp

Venue: Central Station, Antwerp

Bus number 3

8,00: Transfer by bus        

Venue: The Nucleus - Tech Lane Ghent Science Park, University of Ghent, Suzanne Tassierstraat 11, 9052 Gent

9.30: Refresh & coffee/tea

9.45: Welcome by Kristof BEUREN, General Manager Tech Transfer Office, Ghent University

9.55: Presentations (Room: Volt-Ampère)

• Speaker 1: Tessa JOHNSON, Business Development Biovia
  Introduction to Biovia
• Speaker 2: Erwin SABLON, Head of Business Development, VIB
  Theme: Introduction to VIB
• Speaker 3: Yannick WERNIERS, Operations Plant Assoc Director Legend Biotech
  Theme: CAR-T Therapy
• Speaker 4: Christoph PORTIER, director CESPE
  Theme: CESPE

11.00: Coffee brea

11.15: Speaker 5: Philippe LEROUX, ID-Lab Ugent/imec
Theme: AI in Pharma

11,35: Guided Tour (clean rooms, labo, ..)

12,20: Network lunch offered by Ugent (Room X)

13,30: Transfer by bus        

Venue: Vaccinopolis, Drie Eikenstraat 663, 2650 Antwerp

14,45: efresh & coffee/tea    

14,55: Welcome by Professor Bart VAN MEERBERGEN, Head of Operations    

15,00: Presentations (Room: X)

• Speaker 1: Fran VAN HEUVERSWYN, Project Manager, Immunity for Health
  Theme: Immunity for Health: The Flemish vaccine ecosystem
• Speaker 1: Owain WILSON, senior business development, P95    
  Theme: The role and capabilities of P95 to support clinical trials    

15,40: Guided Tour     

16,00: Transfer by bus

Venue: ViTalent, Isala Gebouw, Galileilaan 11, 2845 Niel

16,20: Welcome by Veerle VAN DER LINDEN, General Manager

16,25: Guided Tour

Closing remarks by Luk LEMMENS, Chairman POM Antwerp

16,45: Drinks offered by ViTalent & POM Antwerp

17,30: Transfer by bus        

Venue: Central Station, Antwerp

Bus number: 3

8,00: Transfer by bus        

Venue: Reval, UHasselt, Wetenschapspark 7, 3590 Diepenbeek

9,30: Refresh & coffee/tea

9,40: Welcome by Roeland BUCKINX – Health Campus manager (Room X)

9,45: Presentation Movelab – Yvette KERKUM – Business developer Reval

10,15: Transfer to Bioville (walk or bus)   

Venue: Bioville, Building Abis, Agoralaan, 3590 Diepenbeek

10,30: Guided Tour Bioville  - Laura VISCONTI – Business developer Bioville

11,10: HealthTech Panel discussion moderated by Roeland BUCKINX
Theme: From Innovation to Impact: Scaling HealthTech in Limburg

Panel members:

• Archer – Mieke TEMPELS – Clinical operations manager               
• ZOL – Arne JAANSSEN – Innovatie en Future Health Manager
• MHU – Julie VRANKEN – Projectcoördinator Mobile Health Unit
• VLAIO – Mieke MARTENS - bedrijfsadviseur
• DSI – Tina SMETS – BD Data science institute

12,00: Networking lunch offered by HealthCampus

13,00: Transfer by bus        

Venue: imec tower, remisebosweg 1, 3001 Heverlee

14,15: Welcome by Tom HEIRBAUT, Head Communication

14,20: Presentation by Peter PEUMANS, Senior Vice President, CTO Health

14,50: Transfer by bus        

Venue: Leuven Health Technology Centre (L‑HTC), Kapucijnenvoer 7, 3000 Leuven

15,10: Welcome by Dr. Maria Teresa FRANCOMANO - Innovation Manager

15,20: Presentations (RAS Lab, 4th floor)

• Speaker 1 & 2: Maarten SCHOOVAERTS (Senior PhD student) & Wim EERAERTS (Entrepreneur in Residence)
  Theme: Eye surgery
• Speaker 3 & 4: Dr. Mirza AWAIS AHMAD & Dr. Beatriz BARATA (Postdoctoral Researchers)
  Theme: Robotic and Intelligent Catheterization Systems for Endovascular Procedures
• Speaker 5 & 6: Kaat VAN ASSCHE & AYOOB DAVOODI (Senior PhD students)
  Theme: Ultrasound-guided spine surgery
• Speaker 7: Ewald URY (PhD student)
  Theme: Extended reality (XR) for surgical applications

16,45: Transfer by bus

17,00: Network reception offered by Imec & L-HTC
Venue: Prinsenzaal (Room 01.01) – Arenberg Castle (KU Leuven), Kasteelpark Arenberg 1, 3001 Heverlee

17,30: Transfer by bus        

Central Station Antwerp

Venue: Central Station Antwerp    

Bus number: 2

7,30: Transfer by bus    

Venue: Flanders Make, Gaston Geenslaan 8, 3001 Heverlee

9.30: Welcome with coffee by Marc ENGELS

9,32: Presentation by Marc ENGELS, Chief Devision Officer, Application Research Division (Experience Room)
Theme: Machines of the Future

9,45: Guided Tour

10,45: Transfer by bus

Venue: imec tower, remisebosweg 1, 3001 Heverlee

10,55: Welcome by Tom HEIRBAUT, Head of Communication

11,00: Presentations by Axel NACKAERTS & Bartek KOZICKI + guided Tours in Cleanroom (3 groups)

12,30: Network lunch offered by imec

13,15: Transfer by bus    

Venue: Corda Campus, University of Hasselt, Kempische Steenweg 293/16, 3500 Hasselt

14,25: Refresh & coffee/tea

14,30: Welcome by Raf DEGENS, CEO Corda Campus

14,32: Presentation by Raf DEGENS
Theme: CORDA Campus and Arena: Belgium’s biggest and most appealing Technology Campus – beyond reality… 

16,45: Transfer by bus

Venue: Central Station Antwerp    

Bus number: 2

7,45: Transfer by bus    

Venue: Flega/Hangar K, Nelson Mandelaplein 2, 8500 Kortrijk

9,45: Welcome by Orphee VANHOVE, Community Manager Hangar K

9,50: Presentations

• Speaker 1: Natascha ROMMENS, general manager FLEGA
• Speaker 2: Michel HOUWEN, general manager Flanders Game Hub
  Theme:  Games and Gametech in Flanders: keeping up with  fast-evolving consumer trends and tech markets

Guided tour

10,30: Walk (or transfer by bus)

Venue: Flanders Make, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 16, 8500 Kortrijk

10,35: Welcome by Grisja LOBBESTAEL

10,40: Presentation by Grisja LOBBESTAEL, CEO & Hans DESCAMPS, CCO
Theme: Manufacturing of the Future

11,40: Labtour Flanders Make & Infinity Lab KULeuven (digital twins)

12,15: Network lunch offered by Flanders Make

13,30: Transfer by bus    

Venue: The Nucleus, Tech Lane Science Park, University of Ghent, Suzanne Tassierstraat 11, 9052 Gent

14.30: Welcome by Kristof BEUREN, General Manager Tech Transfer Office Ghent University

14.40: Presentations (Room: Volt-Ampère)

• Speakers 1 & 2: Wim DE WISPELAERE & Philippe LEROUX, Ghent University ID-Lab/imec
  Theme: Deep Dive in AI

15.45: Coffee break

• Speaker 3: Prof. Ashish KUMAR - Ghent University Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
  Theme: AI and digital twinning in pharma manufacturing
• Speaker 4: Erik VERSCHUEREN, Head of AI Studio
  Theme: Data driven biotech innovation at VIB

17,00: Network reception offered by Ugent

18.00: Transfer by bus    

Central Station Antwerp