Tech Connect 2026: Talks & Showcase

Tech Connect 2026

It's that time again. The teams of Sustainable Energy Management, Internet of Things, Digital Design/Web Development & Design, Multimedia & Creative Technology as well as Creative Technologies & AI are organizing Tech Connect 2026, Talks & Showcase on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 in Kortrijk, the event where alumni and professionals are brought together for an exciting evening of student projects, short tech talks and networking.

Program

Get inspired by cutting-edge technological solutions.

16u30 - 19u00: Meet students realizing innovative projects i.c.w. work field partners
16u30 - 19u00: Discover how you can make use of our research labs (Energy Transition, AI, ...)
17u00 - 19u30: Follow some Short Tech Talks (in Dutch) on topics including AI, Energy Transition, Next Web Development, Smart Home, ... (advance registration is required)
16u30 - 20u00: Enjoy a drink at the bar or on our summer terras.

And above all: enjoy a happy reunion with a lot of alumni, work field partners and former lecturers!

Participating Courses

Associate Degree Internet of Things: Smart Devices installer/technician.
Associate Degree Digitale Vormgeving - Web Development & Design: The web development and designer for your team.
Bachelor Multimedia & Creatieve Technologie: The developers of smart XR and Web interfaces.
Bachelor Creative Technologies & AI: The only true 3-year AI bachelor in Flanders.
Advanced Bachelor Sustainable Energy Management: The young potential who can support businesses or organizations in a sustainable manner on their path to energy transition, carbon neutrality and reducing carbon footprint through the use of technology.

Research groups

AI Lab: In today's data-driven world, AI is constantly changing. At AI Lab, we bridge the gap between academia and the private sector. By implementing the latest cutting-edge research in AI into your problem.
Energy Lab: The energy lab has extensive expertise on renewable energy sources, EV, energy storage (electric & thermal), energy management systems, data capture & big data analytics, sensors and design of smart controls to find answers to today's energy transition challenges.
Hitlab: The HIT Lab focuses on human interaction with technology. The lab measures behavioral and physiological responses and develops adaptive applications. It is equipped with advanced measurement tools such as eye-tracking and EEG equipment, as well as user-friendly systems for real-life settings. In addition, the lab has access to the latest VR and AR systems.

1. Meet students realizing innovative projects i.c.w. work field partners

Students have realized many innovative projects over the past year, mostly in collaboration with the field. Come and discover the many beautiful realizations of our students.
You can view the student projects continuously from 4.30pm to 7pm.

Web Development and Design Students

WDD students have been doing internships in companies for the past few weeks. They present their work using a portfolio. Engage in conversation with the students about their accomplishments.

Students Energy Management

These students are helping make the energy transition a reality. How can you smartly control your charging station? What technical solution did they work out during energy audits of companies?

Final works IoT students

The students in the graduate internet of things also realize a project for their company during their internship. You can see the results during this event. The students will be happy to explain more about their project.

Project One - 1MCT & 1CTAI

Project One is the first integration module of students from 1MCT and 1CTAI. Students work on their first project independently with coaching from the instructors. They choose their own topic to work on. Project management, maker lab, smart devices, ... Discover the surprising results during this event.

Industry Project - 2MCT & 2CTAI

The Industry Project, a 4-5 week course, is the capstone of the second year of MCT & CTAI. The knowledge gained from the previous modules is put into practice during these project weeks in an external business case.
The projects are in the context of web development, AI & machine learning, XR Development and IoT.

Getting inspiration? Making connections with students? Looking for new colleagues? Vacation jobs on offer?

Then be sure to stop by on Wednesday, June 24 during Tech Connect!

Registreer je nu gratis voor Tech Connect!

2. Short Tech Talks

Between 5pm and 7.30pm, our instructors will give you a nice offering of several short Tech Talks on contemporary technologies covered in our courses. Each session lasts 20 minutes and we offer 2 sessions. Every half hour you can attend another session. Please note, the number of places per session is limited, so register early! This session is free of charge. All sessions are in Dutch.

Sessie A: Technology Route Map from a single FPV-drone towards a Human Directed Autonomous Swarm

Voor de toepassing van drones in ‘Search and Rescue Missions’ is de FPV-benadering een grote belemmering. Vanuit Howest wordt er onderzoek opgestart naar ‘Human Directed Autonomous Drone Swarms’. Met zwermen bedoelen we zowel heterogene zwermen (gespecialiseerde ‘Swarm Members’ zijn aanwezig) als ‘Multi-Mode-Swarms’ (air, land, water, submerged) die vanuit een collectief intelligent gedrag in staat zijn om bepaalde taken autonoom (‘Human Directed’ weliswaar) uit te voeren in complexe en veranderende omgevingen zoals een ‘Search & Rescue Swarm’ die na een aardbeving autonoom een half-ingestort gebouw doorzoek naar overlevenden.

Door: Bart Leenknegt
Timing: 17u00 en 18u20

Sessie B: The Agentic Web: Why Nuxt is the Ideal Ecosystem for AI-Native Apps

In een tijdperk waarin AI-agents meer code schrijven dan mensen, is het meest waardevolle dat een framework kan bieden niet langer alleen de features, maar juist de voorspelbaarheid. Nuxt’s 'Convention over Configuration' is per toeval getransformeerd tot zijn grootste superkracht. Door een strikte, semantische blauwdruk van je applicatie te bieden, stelt het Nuxt-ecosysteem AI in staat om onze codebases te navigeren, bouwen en refactoren met een precisie die moeilijk te evenaren is.
Ook als je Nuxt niet gebruikt kan je vast iets bijleren over modern web development!

Door: Martijn Loth
Timing: 17u00 en 18u20

Sessie C: Hoe laat je LLMs werken op je eigen data?

LLMs bieden veel mogelijkheden, maar welke aanpak werkt wanneer je eigen data centraal staat? Deze sessie geeft een gestructureerd overzicht van de drie belangrijkste strategieën, waarbij we concreet ingaan op prompting, retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) en finetuning, inclusief hun typische sterktes en toepassingsgebieden.

Door: Gilles Depypere
Timing: 17u00 en 18u20

Sessie D: Na het stopcontact batterij, een batterij op wielen

V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) transformeert elektrische wagens van verbruikers naar mobiele energiebuffers. De techniek is geen toekomstmuziek meer: via bidirectioneel laden kunnen organisaties en particulieren hun energiefactuur verlagen door slim te laden bij lage prijzen, pieken te kappen en later bij te dragen aan netstabiliteit. Praktijkcases met lokale besturen tonen concreet hoe laadpleinen en V2G-ready infrastructuur worden gecombineerd met eigen zonnestroom. De grootste uitdaging ligt niet in de techniek maar in harmonisatie en hier gaan we dieper op tijdens deze sessie.

Door: Paula Acuna
Timing: 17u00 en 18u20

Sessie E: Native web transitions

Met de nieuwe View Transition API krijgen we de mogelijkheid om op een relatief eenvoudige manier vloeiende overgangen tussen verschillende onderdelen of pagina's van een web applicatie te maken. En dat zonder complexe javascript of externe libraries. We tonen je hoe dit werkt want AI Agents zijn hier echt nog niet goed in!

Door: Simon Coudeville
Timing: 17u40 en 19u00

Sessie F: Is je thuisnetwerk IOT-ready?

Slimme thermostaten, IP-camera's, slimme luidsprekers: IoT-apparaten zijn niet meer weg te denken uit ons thuis- en bedrijfsnetwerk. Maar wat als net dat handig apparaatje de zwakste schakel in je beveiliging blijkt? In deze sessie ontdek je waarom netwerksegmentatie geen luxe maar een must is zodra IoT zijn intrede doet. We bekijken welke hardware je nodig hebt, welke netwerkvereisten komen kijken, en wat de concrete voor- en nadelen zijn van een gesegmenteerd netwerk zodat je na deze 20 minuten meteen aan de slag kan.

Door: Frederiek Berthier
Timing: 17u40 en 19u00

Sessie G: Digital Twins in de Maakindustrie

Ontdek hoe digital twins de maakindustrie helpen processen te simuleren, testen en optimaliseren nog vóór er fysiek iets verandert. We tonen hoe je met XR-technologie die virtuele modellen tot leven brengt voor ontwerp, training en ergonomie. In deze lezing verken je wanneer en waarom het zinvol is om de brug te slaan tussen simulatiesoftware en immersieve ervaringen. Aan de hand van bedrijfscases en praktische tools uit het TETRA-project VEOOX in samenwerking met UGent krijg je een helder beeld van de praktische meerwaarde en zetten we je op weg om de eerste stappen te zetten.

Door: Charlotte Larmuseau
Timing: 17u40 en 19u00

Sessie H: AI Agents: Praktische use-cases van AI Lab

Benieuwd wat AI agents in de praktijk kunnen betekenen voor bedrijven? Tijdens deze Tech Talk demonstreren twee onderzoekers van het Howest AI Lab enkele zeer uiteenlopende use-cases waaraan ze het afgelopen academiejaar hebben gewerkt.

Door: Thomas Huyghebaert en Jens Eeckhout
Timing: 17u40 en 19u00

Interested in any of these Tech Talks?

Sparked by one of our themes? Inspired by the experience of our teachers? Pining for a lesson from a particular instructor? Or just learn something about these cutting edge themes?

Don't wait too long because the number of places is limited!

3. Meet the research groups with demos

Also our researchers have realized many innovative projects over the past year, in collaboration with the field. Come and discover the many beautiful realizations of our research groups.
You can view the demos continuously from 4.30 pm to 7pm.

Energy measurement

Howest's energy team has developed a compact measuring case that can be quickly deployed to monitor electricity consumption. As soon as the measuring terminals are attached and the power supply is connected, the case automatically starts collecting consumption data.

This measurement case is suitable for applications where quick and targeted insight into electricity consumption is required, such as for temporary installations, energy studies or monitoring the consumption of individual machines or departments.

With just a few settings in our application, a Grafana dashboard is automatically created, allowing you to monitor and analyze energy consumption in real time.

send a message for more info

Immersive Room

The 3D visualization and simulation environment in Unity (developed together with Cegeka): In the traffic tool, vehicles such as cars and trucks are generated based on traffic intensities for each time period. They move through the road network while accounting for intersections, traffic lights, and right‑of‑way rules. The tool makes it possible to compare different traffic scenarios and infrastructural interventions, such as traffic‑calming measures or changes in traffic circulation.

Thanks to multiple camera perspectives, the tool offers an accessible way to visualize traffic dynamics, bottlenecks, and the potential impact of mobility measures for cities, policymakers, and other involved stakeholders.

Registration

Secure your seat in one of the Short Tech Talks. During registration, select the different Short Tech Talks you want to attend!

If you only come to see the student projects, we also ask that you register in advance.

The student projects and Short Tech Talks are completely free to follow along.

Practical / Location

Date and time: Wednesday, 24/06 from 4.30 p.m. (joining later is also possible), we will close the bar at 8 p.m.
Location: Campus Kortrijk Weide - Building A (Sint-Martens-Latemlaan 2B, 8500 Kortrijk).
Parking: Parking 4 in the Graaf Karel de Goedelaan is available.
Cashless: on the event you can only pay for drinks with payconiq. We cannot accept cash.