Leuven and Eindhoven connect on the first digital 'economic mission' by Leuven MindGate and VOKA

Due to the new corona measures, the event took place digitally, and that was surely the right choice. This way, more than 100 companies from Leuven and Eindhoven were able to meet each other, learn from each other and exchange knowledge. The central (but not exclusive) theme of this mission was 'health & engineering'. Both Leuven (now named European Capital of Innovation 2020) and cities in the Netherlands are committed to this theme.

The program was conceived in such a way that participants could get to know each other better, gain inspiration, and make interesting business contacts. There were round-table sessions on four themes: 'Imaging & Diagnostics', 'Flexible Electronics', '3D Printing' and 'Big Data in Health'. In addition, the Dutch participants were able to get to know the Belgian 3D specialist Materialise better, and the Belgian companies were able to enjoy a virtual tour and presentation by Demcon.

The participants included many large companies from both countries, such as Brainport Development, Caeleste, Comate, imec, Philips, Rabobank, Terumo, TNO, Antleron and NTS. Therefore, we may call the first online 'network mission' of VOKA and Leuven MindGate a success!