News

Both on a national and European level, promising steps have recently been taken that offer long-term opportunities for research and development in the Belgian North Sea. Read below for a brief overview:

The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) is currently building the 'VLIZ Marine Robotics Centre', which will greatly increase the possibilities for marine research and innovation. In this context, VLIZ offers two permanent positions for enthusiastic candidates who want to contribute to this unique project.

Following on from the North Sea Vision 2050 process, the Think Tank North Sea is now ready to go. In recent months, the steering committee – chaired by RBINS and VLIZ – has been working on a set of rules and regulations, and the process has been carefully laid out. From now on, interested parties are able to provide relevant themes that can be addressed by the think tank. All burning topics for the North Sea can be delivered via the following template.

De Speurgids Ondernemen en Innoveren is een jaarlijkse publicatie van het departement Economie, Wetenschap en Innovatie (EWI) van de Vlaamse overheid met als doel een inkijk te geven in de overheidskredieten voor het Vlaams economisch- en wetenschapsbeleid. Daaruit blijkt dat er in 2018 meer dan 2,858 miljard euro gereserveerd is voor economie, wetenschap en innovatie.

Spearhead Cluster

The Blue Cluster is the sixth Spearhead Cluster in Flanders, following Catalisti (chemistry), Flux50 (energy), VIL (logistics), Flanders Food (agro food) and SIM (new materials). The Blue Clusters has been launched on the 26^th of June in Ostend, in the presence of 250 representatives from the industry, universities an research institutes. Those Spearhead Clusters are far-reaching partnerships between companies, knowledge institutes and the government

Economic activities and investments

The Belgian Marine Strategy is our national strategy to protect the marine environment of the BPNS that fits within the framework of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Its main objective is to achieve and maintain a 'Good Environmental Status' of our marine waters and, where possible, to restore damage to the ecosystem. Until July 15, the possibility is given to express your thoughts and remarks on the draft reports for the Belgian Marine Strategy.

SeaConomy, an interdisciplinary consortium of representatives from all links in the seaweed chain, from breeding to consumption, presents its vision text towards the realization of the Flemish cultivation, processing and marketing of seaweed products.

The VLIZ Marine Science Day 2018 was a very successful edition with no less than 370 junior and senior marine scientists finding their way to MEC Staf Versluys, Bredene.

A well-filled programme including pitch presentations, poster sessions and a networking event 'Meet the Company' was preceded by an inspiring keynote by researcher Veerle Huvenne from the British National Oceanography Centre (NOC). She spoke, among other things, about how technological developments can help to achieve a better understanding of the marine environment.

The Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship agency (VLAIO) has given the go-ahead for the recognition of a sixth spearhead cluster, which aims to promote economic development and innovation in the Belgian part of the North Sea.