Context

 

Flanders Make is the strategic research center for the manufacturing industry, launched in October 2014; its primary focus is on production technology and smart assembling.

 

It is projected that by 2018, more than 300 researchers will work full-time at Flanders Make’s two establishments, in Lommel and Leuven. Additionally, they collaborate intensively with the research labs at the 5 Flemish Universities;

 

University of Leuven

 

• Centre for industrial management/traffic and infrastructure

• Electrical energy & computer architectures

• Production engineering, Machine design, and Automation

 

University of Ghent

 

• Energy Efficient Drive Trains (EEDT)

• Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)

 

University of Antwerp

 

• Ansymo is a research group at the University of Antwerp investigating foundations, techniques, methods, and tools for the design, analysis, and maintenance of software-intensive systems.

 

University of Brussels

 

• Brussels Photonics

• MOBI, the Mobility, Logistics and Automotive Technology Research Centr

• Robotics and MultiBody Mechanics Research Group

 

University of Hasselt

 

• The Institute for Materials Research (IMO) is a research center of Hasselt University with a vast knowledge in the field of materials science

 

There are other strategic research centers in Belgium, but they focus on other areas such as biotech (VIB) or nano-electronics and nanotech (IMEC) and ICT (iMinds).

 

Flanders Make collaborates with major companies and SMEs. Together they focus on product and process innovation based on the challenges and needs of the industry. The current research focus is on four technological domains:

 

• power electronics & energy storage

• mechatronics & design methods

• production processes

• people-driven system development.

 

This will, as a first step, yield product and process innovations in 3 fields of application:

 

• Vehicle

• Machine

• Factories

 

All three of these can have an exciting impact on the Belgian business ecosystem as manufacturing and process improvements are wanted in the large automotive/machine industry present.
 

There also is the role for Flanders Make to educate the public and to add to the knowledge creating capabilities in Flanders. This enables the interaction with other knowledge focused institutions, funding institutions, and even policymakers.

 

Additionally, as a member of the European Union, there are opportunities to expand beyond the Belgian realm and venture into cooperation with other research institutions across the union.

 

Used Notions:

 

• Open Innovation

• Crowdsourcing

• Internet Of Things

• Innovation Districts

• Innovation Ecosystem

• Innovation Communities

• Knowledge Brokerage