Post by VITO

imec and VITO hosted this year’s EARTO Secretariat Annual Conference in Brussels, bringing Europe’s Research and Technology Organisations, policymakers and industry leaders together to explore how we can move from research to industrial power by scaling Europe’s critical technologies. The opening session was hosted by Jesús Valero, President of EARTO, with welcome speeches by Inge Neven, CEO of VITO, and Luc Van den hove, Chairman of the Board of Directors at imec. High-level keynote contributions from Eléonore Simonet (Minister of the Middle class, Self-employed and SMEs of Belgium), Simon Gheysen (Chief of Staff of Cabinet of Matthias Diependaele), Bruno Tobback (Member of the European Parliament), Henna Virkkunen (Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, European Commission) and Bernard Magenhann (Director General, DG Joint Research Centre, European Commission) set the scene for an important discussion on Europe’s competitiveness, technological sovereignty and industrial transformation. This year’s conference focuses on how Europe can accelerate technology scale-up, strengthen its industrial base and turn cutting-edge research into real-world industrial impact. As RTOs, we play a crucial role in bridging the gap between innovation and deployment, helping Europe reinforce its technological leadership where it matters most. #EARTO #EARTO2026