my innovation center.brussels (mic.brussels) is a non-profit organisation resulting from a public-private partnership between the Brussels-Capital Region and Microsoft. Its objective is to socio-economically develop the IT sector in the Brussels region.
Innovate, develop the digital sector, share knowledge and foster contacts between the region’s IT players: these are the main aims of mic.brussels!
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Our ambition is to support small and medium-sized businesses as well as growing start-ups, to help these companies, people and organisations to understand what technology is, to anticipate it and to train people in these tools, in particular with regard to artificial intelligence," sums up Cécile Jabaudon, Operational Director at mic.brussels.
One of the flagship projects is the prototyping programme, which consists of linking students in the IT sector with organisations or companies in order to develop an innovation. “In
this context, mic.brussels has been able to support the start-up OUAT! in developing its solution for creating digital twins," explains Cécile Jabaudon. “A
digital twin is a digital copy of an environment which allows you to arrange the space and replicate the processes through simulations. Thanks to virtual reality, this means that future users of this environment can be immersed in a “real” situation and adjust to the different elements that make up that environment. This technology could be used in the case of Smart Cities to improve spatial planning or road capacity."
mic.brussels also offers a large range of training sessions for any target audience. “
Introductory sessions on artificial intelligence for business profiles have recently been implemented. Two training sessions for job seekers, in collaboration with Bruxelles Formation and DigitalCity, have also been in place since the summer," explains the Director. In addition, from 16 to 28 October, staff members of public bodies in Brussels can discover Microsoft 365 tools that facilitate teamwork through six 45-minute webinars. An opportunity for over 60 collaborators to develop their IT knowledge quickly and effectively.
A few figures
In 2019-2020, MIC’s actions have resulted in:
- the development of 12 prototypes
- the support of 332 people, organisations and businesses
- the organisation of 237 training sessions
- the training of 3,231 people
- the creation of 30 jobs
