Community Builder @HOWEST 🚀 Life-long learner🚀 45 years of L&SD experience in higher education 🚀 Generalist in IT, (Gen)AI, cybersecurity, Web3,, ... 🎯 Trendwatcher 🚀 Tech Knowledge&News-aholic 🚀 Born to Learn

I recently realized that I have been in higher education for over 46 years. That is a long time and a lot of experience to share.

I studied civil engineering at the University of Ghent (Belgium), worked there as a research assistant for 8 years. Seeing the need for professional and pragmatic education in companies, I founded my own company IT Works in 1992, empowering businesses and professionals to accelerate their digital transformation journeys. I ran this company for 30+ years but Covid was not particularly a friend of my hands-on face-to-face business model.

Since 2023, I have returned to the academic world at Howest University of Applied Sciences because there is a huge potential there in education, research and networking. 

My expertise and interests include cutting-edge technologies like (Generative) Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Data Engineering, Blockchain, Robotic Process Automation, HyperAutomation, Web3, Immersive Technologies, Quantum Computing, ... but my strength lies in bringing people together around emerging technologies. 

I was born to learn, and have always been on a mission to inspire, educate, and connect forward-thinking individuals and organisations. Through my extensive network of industry experts, clients, and partners, I have organised over 1500 high-impact, vendor-agnostic events - both virtual and in-person - that served as knowledge hubs and learning networks

In addition to event curation, I provide tailored strategic advice, coaching, and mentorship programs aimed at amplifying the impact and reach of startups, speakers, and consultants in the IT space. 

Yes, I am a boomer who recently joined Howest University of Applied Sciences (howest.be), where many teachers and researchers are half my age. That keeps me young and up-to-date with current tech. 

This was definitely not an end-of-career switch, and also not for the money (bye bye high salary, decades of seniority, company car, meal vouchers, bonuses), but a well thought-out move to have more impact on what is really needed in the workplace. 

At Howest, I can influence decisions on emerging technology education that is really needed in the field, and stimulate the dialogue between high-tech educational institutes and the labour market.

My unofficial title "Community Builder" highlights the need and the desire to build communities of interest (learning and living networks) that communicate about these technologies.

Contact me if you are interested in my journey!

🚨 Update: Masterclass Industrial/ICS/OT Security 🚀

De editie 2026 van deze masterclass werd vernieuwd, en bestaat nu uit 5 modules van in totaal 8 dagen boordevol kennis, inzichten en advies over het beveiligen van OT-systemen, industriële netwerken en ICS-protocollen.

Wat mag je verwachten? 

✅ Een unieke diepgaande, 8-daagse training
✅ Goede brede basis over industriele controlesystemen en automatisering, incl. overzicht van PLCs, HMIs, architectuur, programming, elektrotechniek, ...
✅ In-depth overzicht van ICS protocollen zoals Modbus, Profinet, S7comm, Ethercat, ...
✅ Opsporen en versterken van kwetsbaarheden in ICS/OT omgevingen
✅ Alles over het beveiligen van dergelijke systemen
✅ Eendaagse over wetgeving en standaarden, van IEC 62443 tot NIS2/CRA/CER en RED
✅ Veel demo's en praktijkvoorbeelden van OT/IoT/PLC hacks
✅ Hands-on leren, speciaal voor cybersecurity-experts in de maakindustrie
✅ Topsprekers zoals Johannes Cottyn en Thibaut Demasure van FlandersMake@UGent - ISyE, Tijl Deneut van e-BO Enterprises, Hendrik Derre, en Stijn Boussemaere van Spinae, allemaal experten in hun domein

Praktisch: 

💶 € 700 per dag (korting mogelijk bij volledige reeks). 
📉 Tot 45% subsidie via KMO-portefeuille. 
📍 Alle details via: howest.be/ISM

Er zijn nog plaatsen vrij. Wacht niet te lang met inschrijven!

👉 Registreer direct: https://lnkd.in/eWb4Zvea

Vragen? Stuur me gerust een bericht of mail naar Cyber3Lab@howest.be

#IndustrialSecurity #OTSecurity #CyberSecurity #weareHowest

Patrick Van Renterghem

Building Communities and Thought Leaders in Emerging Tech | Researcher at Howest Cyber3Lab | DM me

Industrial Security Masterclass: 8 dagen vanaf 12 februari

Levenslang leren is geen hype maar een noodzaak. Niet alleen voor mensen, ook voor AI.

In haar recente column legt Laurence Van Elegem haarfijn uit waarom continual learning een gamechanger is voor AI - en zelfs een bedreiging kan vormen voor klassieke machtsposities zoals #Nvidia.

AI-systemen die blijven bijleren, hebben minder data en rekenkracht nodig. Slimmer, niet groter. 

Zeker fysieke AI en wereldmodellen in robots of zelfrijdende wagens zullen continual learning gebruiken. 

Ook voor studenten én professionals is continual learning belangrijk:
technologie staat nooit stil - jouw kennis dus ook niet. 

Wat je vandaag leert, is morgen al aangevuld of achterhaald
Wie blijft leren, blijft relevant. Wie stopt, wordt ingehaald...

Levenslang leren is geen extraatje meer naast je job of studie. Het is de job, het is de studie!

Hoe pak jij continual learning aan in je opleiding of carrière? Deel je aanpak in de comments, of tag iemand voor wie dit hét verschil kan maken. 👇

Laurence's linkedin post over haar column: https://lnkd.in/eRrsNvg4

Haar column in De Tijd: https://lnkd.in/ewchVBg5

#LifeLongLearning #ContinualLearning

De Matrix - Nvidia ziet de bui hangen

My colleague Cesar De Greve was very friendly to the robots at #CES2026, just in case they take over the world. 🤖 

Physical AI was a major topic in Vegas. Follow Cesar to know more about this, or about immersive technology in general.

Creative Technologist & Researcher at Howest

Making friends with the robots at CES 2026, just in case. 🤝

Beyond the dancing, fighting, and cleaning bots, "Physical AI" was truly the theme of the show. Seeing AI step out of the screen and into the physical world was wild. We also saw incredible advancements in digital health (wearables that know you better than you know yourself) and AR glasses are finally taking of. 

One trend at CES that strongly aligns with the X-Cite research project is the shift toward human-centric, connected environments. AI is moving out of the cloud and into the physical world through robots, wearables, sensors and smart city infrastructure, making technology more context-aware and interactive. This focus on Physical AI, real-time data and immersive interfaces closely matches X-Cite’s ambition to explore how emerging technologies can meaningfully support cities, education and society in a European context.

In the summer we will bring a little bit of CES to Brugge with the opening of our Howest Digital Health Lab. Digital health is clearly moving toward preventive, data-driven and user-friendly solutions, such as the Withings Body Scan smart scale, which measures cardiovascular, metabolic and body composition data from a single daily interaction. Combined with advances in wearables, smart sensors, these technologies strongly align with our lab’s focus on turning everyday health data into meaningful, accessible and human-centered digital health applications.

I'm currently writing a deeper dive into what this means for immersive tech, physical AI and our new digital health lab. Keep an eye out for that in the coming days on our website. Looking forward to translating these takeaways into our HOWEST University of Applied Sciences projects!

HOWEST University of Applied Sciences Howest Cyber3Lab Howest Toegepaste Informatica #CES

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