Fostering interaction is important for new ideas! That is why Howest invests in incubators on its campuses. Students, researchers and external start-ups work there under one roof to develop their projects. Our incubators are organised thematically. This ensures plenty of specialist knowledge in one central location. Combined with the proximity of other start-ups, this guarantees a fresh dynamic, open minds and fruitful interactions. It is also possible for Howest students working on their own enterprise to get a free workspace in an incubator. Howest incubators The Vibe in Bruges SIC / Health in Brugge DAE Studios in Kortrijk The Vibe in Bruges The Vibe at campus Rijselstraat Brugge is an incubator focusing on companies working around IT, cybersecurity and blockchain. The research unit of the Applied Computer Science programme is located in the middle of The Vibe. This ensures a smooth flow from innovative knowledge to start-ups in IT-focused industries. It's not just IT pros that call the shots there though. This Howest campus is home to a number of tech-strong programmes, like Business Management, Nursing, Biomedical Laboratory Technology, ... Students from different programmes are welcome in The Vibe with their start-ups. Howest students working on their own enterprise or project can access a workshop there free of charge. It is also possible to reserve one of the meeting rooms for a consultation with a customer or supplier, for example. Book your workplace or meeting room via onthaal [at] howest.be (onthaal[at]howest[dot]be). SIC / Health in Bruges In Bruges, we have a number of training courses with expertise in (preventive) health, welfare, exercise and sport, ... As a result, there is an increasing number of young start-ups focusing on the health sector. To support them, we're creating an incubator where health (services) is the theme. DAE Studios in Kortrijk DAE Studios is a Howest spin-off, initiated by the Digital Arts & Entertainment programme, that focuses on supporting ambitious game developers who want to write their own story. The goal is to create a collaborative community of start-ups, researchers and academics that will attract international triple-A game studios and software developers. Creating this ecosystem will involve two concrete programmes: Two games a month INCUBATOR: The art of fast game prototyping - a skillset crucial for game development - to efficiently validate game concepts. This technique allows a concept for a game or application to be visualised into a working prototype in a short period of time. Based on this prototype, the commercial feasibility can be validated. Too often, game development start-ups make the mistake of clinging to overly large projects that take up time and resources. Lacking experience with the full production cycle, this results in applications with high price tags that cannot generate revenue. On top of that, there are challenges that every budding studio has to approach tactically: the lack of a community and sounding board that knows about the studio's existence, finding a good team and efficient form of collaboration, writing an appropriate business model, the search for financial resources for further MVP development, ... DAE Studios responds to these challenges by guiding those looking to start their own game development studio in acquiring these crucial game development insights within its 2 games a month incubator. Students who complete this 24-week programme will have a strong foundation for further developing their business within the game industry. DAE Studios can facilitate the start up from this point onwards. ACCELERATOR Entrepreneurs in the game technology sector with a good business idea in the field are supported to build their start-up through DAE Studios' accelerator programme. During this start-up phase, entrepreneurs are offered, among other things, a business coaching programme and can call on the network's extensive knowledge, expertise and presentation platforms. Under the wings of DAE Studios, the start-ups bring in initial income by working on work-for-hire assignments within the co-creation space Hangar K in Kortrijk. On top of that, the start-ups are guided in writing financial support applications and learn how to pitch their business. Through this approach, DAE Studios aims to counter the regional brain drain and boost the local economy. Graduates of the DAE Studios accelerator programme are prepared for the commercial market and can apply to other accelerators such as Start it @KBC and/or Imec.istart with their prototypes.