Interreg Art-IE

With Art-IE, Artificial Intelligence Inspiration and Innovation, we are focusing on digital innovation and collaboration with SMEs, two significant innovation hurdles in the Border Region. We are concentrating on Artificial Intelligence, the core of many innovative digital developments, and our focus areas are the following 3 themes: Federated Machine Learning, Robotics & AI, and Applied AI.

Although both Flanders and the Netherlands have already invested in digitalisation in recent years, there are still substantial steps to be taken, especially for the many SMEs in our regions. With this project, we aim to reach SMEs that want to take this next step or are interested in what AI could mean for their business.

Under the coordination of TUA West, project partners Avans, Breda Robotics, Fontys, Howest, OCWest, Odisee, and VIVES are developing an accessible offering around AI, with different degrees of involvement.

As a stepping stone to collaboration with universities of applied sciences, we aim to inspire SMEs in the field of innovative digital technologies and give them low-threshold access to our universities of applied sciences and their expertise and infrastructure in innovative digital technologies in general, and AI in particular. We do this by organising open lab days, Art-IE talks, themed days, and events.

During the project, we will establish 3 cross-border AI labs: a Federated Machine Learning Lab, an AI Robotics Lab, and an Applied AI Lab. In these labs, researchers from the universities of applied sciences will work on the innovation questions of SMEs. Collaborations will be set up in the form of innovation projects. We will focus each time on AI in different facets with applications in various domains such as Industry 4.0, Logistics, Food or Healthcare.