AI Hub Central Netherlands

Judges who use computers to make their decisions. Doctors who utilise data to make diagnoses. And robots that put cargo in the right place on big transfer sites. In our current society, artificial intelligence plays a bigger and bigger role. So it is not surprising that academics of Utrecht University also deploy and research artificial intelligence. Knowledge that we love to share. That is why UU is a part of the AI Hub Central Netherlands.

The hub wants to give a boost to the digital innovations in the region and create a platform where enterprises, governments and knowledge institutions can meet and inspire each other in the field of artificial intelligence. With the AI Hub Central Netherlands, we compile as much knowledge on artificial intelligence as possible. With that, we enhance corporations AND the region, and continue to build the regional AI strategy based on human-centred artificial intelligence. Of course, public values and the ethical side of artificial intelligence take central stage in this. The hub not only focuses on the companies that are ahead of the curve and on institutions working on pioneering innovations, but also on those companies and institutions that are orienting themselves in this field. 

By working on artificial intelligence in collaboration with knowledge parties, governments and the corporate world, we can really innovate.

One of the points of gravity of the hub is close collaboration between the Utrecht-based knowledge institutions, and public and private organisations in the field of AI-knowledge development and innovation. The hub focuses on the acceleration of innovation involving AI and ‘datafication’. Collaborating with organisations outside the university is not new. “As a department, we invest, along with the faculty and the university, in creating so-called AI Field Labs," explains Johan Jeuring, Department Head of Information and Computing Sciences. In these AI Field Labs, academics collaborate with other knowledge institutions, companies and governments on innovation in and with artificial intelligence. "We already have the Police Lab and the AI & Mobility Lab, and we investigate the possibilities for five more labs." For instance, there are thoughts along the lines of a lab in the field of media & culture in collaboration with the HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht and the Media Park in Hilversum, and a lab in the field of sustainability. "With this, we continue our fundamental research on AI in collaboration with external partners.”

Wilco Hazeleger, Dean of the Faculty of Geosciences, adds to this: "By working on this in collaboration with knowledge parties, governments and the corporate world, we can really innovate. There is much innovative force in the region of the Central Netherlands. From our faculty, we start by applying AI to energy and sustainability. We have fundamental knowledge and develop new methods, while our partners know what is needed for the application."

Digitisation and AI technologies provide new opportunities to face these challenges, such as the accessibility of the Netherlands.

There is also special attention for supporting and shaping strong application fields of AI in the region, such as media, culture, healthcare, mobility, energy, construction, fintech and other (digital) services. “The region of the Central Netherlands has a unique connecting hub position in the Netherlands,” says Mehdi Dastani, Professor of Intelligent Systems. Mobility, transport and logistics is one of the most important sectors in the Netherlands with a big socio-economic impact. “The size of the urban environments, the transportation of persons and goods, and the demand for accessibility in the Netherlands that comes with it have grown steadily throughout the years. Digitisation and AI technologies provide new opportunities to face these challenges. Some examples are AI technologies for personalised online services, shared mobilities and (semi-)autonomous vehicles.”

Professor Roel Vermeulen is a core member of the theme of health and healthcare within the hub. “With the AI Hub, we want to help to accelerate data-driven innovations and interventions in the field of pre-emptive health," Vermeulen says. "By cleverly using health data, healthcare data and factors that influence health - such as where you live and work, what you eat and drink, how often you exercise, and other choices you make in your daily life - we can develop better and more accurate pre-emptive health measures. By doing so, we want to give children a healthy start, keep people healthy longer, and support people who have illnesses.”

A final spearhead is making the potential of AI for the region visible and making meaningful connections with partners outside the region and in Europe.