Headquartered in Brussels, EIT Digital is a knowledge and innovation organization for entrepreneurial education, digital innovation and scale-up acceleration as part of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT). It aims to stimulate economic growth and improve overall quality of life across Europe, fueled by deep tech innovation and education.
Embedding itself in Flanders’ innovation-driven ecosystem, EIT Digital will tackle various initiatives in the fields of education, research and entrepreneurship to help build a strong digital Europe. To this end, the new office in Antwerp will serve as the center for the EIT Digital Academy, providing master’s, doctoral and professional programs and even a summer school. Leveraging its network of leading European technical universities, EIT Digital trains technical talents to be the entrepreneurial innovators and industry leaders of tomorrow.
From its new location, EIT Digital will also strengthen connections with European markets and corporate organizations. To help European tech scale-ups reach new markets and attract investors, their EIT Digital Accelerator program offers tailor-made growth support.
For The Beacon, the arrival of EIT Digital offers great opportunities. As a business and innovation hub located in Antwerp (Flanders), The Beacon connects tech companies with knowledge institutions, skilled innovation actors and citizens to collaborate on smart solutions for sustainable living. By applying innovative Internet of Things (IoT) approaches and artificial intelligence (AI), it aims to develop a district of smart technologies.
EIT Digital fits perfectly into The Beacon’s community. “This is the first milestone in our strategy to connect our local digital community to European and global networks and markets. We expect to see interesting collaborative initiatives and international expansion result from the digital transformation of the city and our port. The link with EIT Digital is crucial in making that possible,” comments Wim De Waele, executive chairman at The Beacon.
According to Claude Marinower, Antwerp alderman for economics and innovation, EIT Digital is more than welcome in the city. “Antwerp wants to become the European reference point for IoT and AI. The city set up a policy program for digital business seven years ago. Since then, we’ve invested in locations like The Beacon to stimulate the growth of Flanders’ digital ecosystem. The establishment of EIT Digital in Antwerp is a boost to our ambition to become a leading innovation hub. We’re very excited.”
