UMONS INNOVATION NETWORK

The UMONS Innovation Network was created by UMONS and brings together partners associated with the university to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.

Over the years, and in order to respond to the challenges of society and the needs of its partners and the socio-economic world, UMONS has established very close ties with a group of partners recognised for their excellence in their fields: accredited research centers, socio-economic partners, spin-offs, its alumni network, companies, local and regional institutions (inter-municipal, etc.).

All these associations constitute the UMONS Innovation Network.

Objectives

The expected short-term benefits are the visibility of this value chain for all our partners in research and innovation, whether they are universities, research centers or socio-economic organisations, and the guaranteed smooth and uninterrupted continuum of research through one of our structures.

The idea of this network is to promote interactions between partners and encourage researchers from different structures to collaborate on large-scale projects (Horizon Europe, ERDF, Interreg, etc.).

UMONS Innovation Centers

UMONS has recently launched the UMONS Innovation Center label to highlight the close partnership it has with various types of research center.

Our 5 innovation Centres :

	Materia Nova is an accredited research center founded by UMONS with the purpose of developing innovative, high-performance, sustainable solutions through research and development in multifunctional materials and surfaces and materials and processes in the fields of energy, the environment, mechanics and metallurgy, transport and health. Since the creation of Materia Nova in 2000, the research center and UMONS have often closely work together. This collaboration is a considerable asset because it combines expertise in fundamental and applied research to accelerate technology transfer to the industrial world.
	An accredited research centre and a major player in the digital transformation of Wallonia, Multitel responds to the innovation demands of companies with a pool of more than 80 researchers specialising in applied photonics, artificial intelligence, IoT and embedded systems, networks and telecommunications, and aspects of digital security. Using emerging technologies, Multitel develops innovative solutions that meet the needs of the Walloon and European socio-economic sectors: Avionics/Aeronautics, Transport, Medical, Defence, Logistics, Smart Cities and Industry 4.0.
	Click: The result of a joint initiative between UMONS, IDEA and numerous entrepreneurial partners. CLICK is a place, a team and a community dedicated to stimulating creativity and innovation, particularly in the digital and creative industries. It is also a structure that brings together a Fablab, a Hub, a Living Lab and Click N’Start (an incubator for student/researcher entrepreneurs). The methodology used by Click to support projects is based on the active and co-creative involvement of all stakeholders, particularly the end user, throughout the innovation process: this approach significantly increases a project’s chances of success.
	The main aim of the C3E2D (for “Centre d’Excellence en Efficacité, Energétique et Développement Durable” / “Center of Excellence in Efficiency, Energy and Sustainable Development”) is to create research infrastructures that will be built into the Zenobe Gramme center in Charleroi. Benefiting research project leaders (universities, research centers), the idea is to create an ecosystem that promotes innovation in energy efficiency and sustainable development, by bringing together a series of high-profile stakeholders carrying out complementary activities. This will be a resource for research teams and companies, enabling them to conduct integrated research projects with an economic focus and carry out general studies. As such, the C3E2D will allow researchers, students and industrialists to be physically brought together and enable the creation of common infrastructures in order to acquire or design state-of-the-art equipment.
	The Belgian Ceramic Research Centre brings together the skills of two accredited Walloon research centres: the Belgian Ceramic Industry Research Centre (CRIBC) and the Interuniversity Institute for Silicates, Soils and Materials (INISMa). Together, they offer an exhaustive technological range in the field of non-metallic inorganic materials: refractories, glasses, technical ceramics, ceramic-metal composites, etc. The BCRC’s mission is twofold: to strengthen the competitiveness of industry through technological innovation and to support companies in the energy transition and sustainable development. The BCRC’s close links with the UMONS promote synergies between fundamental and applied research for the benefit of industry. Our research partnerships are organised at regional, national and international levels.

The combination of our Innovation Centers’ teams with our University’s research teams enables us to work on any innovation project, regardless of the technology’s level of maturity.

The UMONS Innovation Network is for :

Partners (universities, research centers, companies) looking for a partner to set up a research project
Researchers from UMONS and its partners who wish to promote the results of their research
Future students who have already thought of becoming entrepreneurs
Students who have finished their studies and who want to create a start-up, but they need financial and practical help
Innovative project leaders
New companies that would like to expand
Investors who want to get in touch with the university environment to create and develop their company, particularly through university research.

UMONS Innovation Centers

Our 5 innovation Centres :

The UMONS Innovation Network is for :

UMONS and its network in Europe