Strengthening and European Anchoring of the KU Leuven-VIVES Collaboration in Machine Building and Mechatronics (M&M)

The province of West Flanders forms the core of Flanders’ Machine Building & Mechatronics (M&M) sector. Further digitalisation, robotisation and automation are essential to increase productivity, reduce costs, and address the shortage of technical talent. KU Leuven and VIVES aim to become the key reference point for companies in this field.

Building on the tangible achievements of the first mandate period — including the formulation of a joint roadmap for machine upgrading, IoT, and autonomous mechatronic systems, culminating in the creation of the joint Infinity Lab — this extension seeks to further deepen and expand the collaboration while strengthening its European anchoring.

The collaboration will be strengthened through the involvement of other KU Leuven PIs/research groups and industrial partners, with the Infinity lab serving as a joint demonstration and valorisation platform. In addition, a new research line on Safety Assurance will integrate safety and dependability in autonomous and data-driven systems. As such, the KU Leuven-VIVES collaboration will evolve into an internationally recognised ecosystem for valorisation, and innovation on safe autonomous systems.