City of innovation

From knowledge to new economy. That is where Ghent wants to shine, and will. The city has an enormous, fast-growing potential in research facilities, which can lead to new practices and technology.

City of knowledge 

Gent is a ‘city of knowledge'. First and foremostly, because Ghent is the largest student city in Flanders. In the last few years, the university has seen an incredible growth in the number of doctorates, publications and patents. Additionally, the university has patents in important technological domains such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and telecommunication. The patents from companies and knowledge centers such as Innogenetics and VIB further strengthen its position. These patents mean a great deal as far as the economy is concerned.

World-class research

Ghent currently has 13 world-class research centers. The centers do research in various different areas such as life sciences and ecological fuel. Innovations from a company such as Yakult have an influence on our daily lives. Other companies develop new materials. The plastic developed by the firm Vyncolit is used in various areas such as space travel, electronics and medical apparatus.

Ardoyen Science Park

The Ardoyen Science Park is part of the Technology Park Zwijnaarde, in which the Ardoyen Campus (30ha) is also located. Approximately 1,500 people are employed at the Ardoyen Science Park (22 ha), accommodating some forty research-oriented companies.

Both the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology - FIB (Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie - VIB) and the Ghent University have incubators in the science park. An incubator creates the circumstances in which spin-offs and starting companies can develop into a sound and well-functioning enterprise. The incubators are almost fully occupied. Therefore, the University decided to construct a transit building equipped with 11.000 m² floor surfaces in the science park, hosting companies which have outgrown the incubator.

The Ardoyen Science Park still boasts 1.7 ha readily available business accommodation for research-oriented companies and sufficient expansion opportunities for the existing companies. Because of the presence of biotech companies, the Ardoyen Science Park plays an important role in the development of the Flemish biotech-cluster. That cluster is a collection of companies and research institutions in the field of biotechnology in the Flemish region.

Platforms

In collaboration with the university of Ghent, the City of Ghent sets up collaborative relations and knowledge platforms in order to stimulate the dynamics. Some scientific research parks are currently under development, meaning there will also be more room in the future. The project Rijvissche is providing 10 ha for knowledge-intensive companies in 2010. The scientific research park in Zwijnaarde will cover 14 ha in 2014. In Sint-Pieters-Aaigem, 33,000 m² of office space will be developed as a scientific research park.