A new AI Innovation Center at the High Tech Campus wants to drive the application of Artificial Intelligence technologies by companies and organizations in the Brainport Eindhoven region. To achieve this, the campus has secured support from Philips, ASML, NXP, and Signify. The center will get a physical presence of 1100 m2.
Jan-Willem Neggers, Managing Director of High Tech Campus Eindhoven, says it’s common sense that Artificial Intelligence is a game-changer for both industry and society. “We feel the urgency to create an environment where we help companies and organizations to apply this technology in their businesses, innovations, and processes. The extent to which companies are able to apply this technology will define their impact in the future.”
This signal also surfaced during a research project of HTCE. “We’ve listened carefully to what our residents, their employees, and other key stakeholders say about topics like emerging technologies. The need for an initiative like ours was crystal clear.”
Urgency
Paul van Son, Innovation Manager of HTCE and initiator of the AI Innovation Center, says the center wants to generate the biggest impact in the long run. “We all feel the urgency to put this region on the map in the field of AI at the same level as where we are already in high tech systems. We need to attract and develop talent in this field to achieve our goals.”
With the AI Innovation Center, High Tech Campus wants to develop a breeding ground for new business propositions and innovations with data and AI in its core. Van Son: “It all starts with awareness – what is the potential impact of this technology on my business and how can I benefit from it? That’s what we are going to address during regular open sessions: best-practice sharing and use cases for inspiration. But also the more technical topics for data scientist and AI engineers and topics like ethics, legal issues and the human factor will be part of the events program.”
These events are just the start, says Van Son. “In the end, it’s about driving new applications and projects. So in the next phase, we will host design workshops with specialized partners to help organizations to define their own use cases. This must lead to the adoption of DS and AI in products, services, and processes. These projects can be executed in the AI Innovation Center.”
By offering a co-working environment for the project execution and a soft landing spot for AI startups, an incubator for AI applications and projects can be created. AI startups can access the campus ecosystem via the AI Center and get help with setting up their company.
AI for Good
In the programming of the Center, there will be special attention for projects and events that contribute to social and environmental goals: AI for Good. Paul van Son: “We want to become the most sustainable campus in the world by 2025 and we invest in impact-driven venture building programs like HighTechXL and LUMO Labs. We really have an opportunity as a region to differentiate ourselves.”
The AI Innovation Center will be an open platform for all parties that want to contribute to its goals. “Everybody is welcome to come up with new ideas and initiatives, of course that’s not limited to companies on HTCE.”
Related Posts
