Highlights 2017/2018

ARB

– In 2018, Didier Viviers was appointed permanent secretary of the ARB and started to strengthen the relations between the ARB and several international and European scientific networks, especially by creating a department of International Relations.
– ARB has become a member of Euro-CASE in 2018, alongside the Belgian sister academy KVAB. Luc Chefneux, member and vice-director of the Class Technology & Society, has been appointed as the ARB member of the Board of Euro-CASE.
– The work of the ARB has focused on several societal issues: the future of the European Union, industrialisation, education, energy, corporate social responsibility. The ARB also launched the “Rencontres internationales”, a series of conference focused on how each region, each culture, each relevant State articulates local concerns and global issues.

KVAB

– In 2017 the KVAB Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts has entered into a new agreement with the Flemish Government for the period 2018-2022. It receives funds to develop internal activities of the Academy, international profile and cooperation and interaction with society.
– KVAB has four classes of which the Class of Technical Sciences KTW is since mid 2018 a member of Euro-CASE alongside the Belgian sister academy ARB. Joos Vandewalle, president of KVAB for the years 2017 and 2018, has been appointed as a KVAB member of the Board of Euro-CASE. Brussels and the premises of the Palace of the Academies has offered enormous added value as a central meeting place in Europe.
– The main society related programmes of KTW have been a Thinkers’ programme on Food, and position papers on seven specific themes: mobility for tomorrow, Privacy in an age of the internet, social networks and Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, data science and healthcare, learning analytics, corporate digital responsibility. The societal debate on energy is stimulated by the Energy Reflection Group.