University of Twente and Thales strengthen collaboration

The University of Twente and Thales Group have entered a new form of cooperation. Geert Dewulf, Chief Development Officer of the UT, and Lukas Roffel (CTO Thales Nederland) have signed this multi-year collaboration agreement, which focuses on AI and cybersecurity, among other things.

The UT and Thales have been working closely together for years. This involves temporary (international) research projects and structural long-term collaboration.

A good example of this is T-Xchange, a collaborative project in the field of game-based learning for professionals. The UT and Thales invested for ten years in a strong, technological position in the field of serious gaming.

It is now time for the next step. Thales' demand has changed and the UT is responding to this, in line with the new UT strategy: Shaping2030. “Thales was looking for a form that could easily accommodate other subjects covering multiple disciplines,” says Geert Dewulf. "This concerns strategic topics that offer added value to the collaboration."

AI AND CYBER SECURITY
Examples include Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity. “The relevance of these topics has only grown stronger due to the Corona crisis,” says Dewulf. “We are going to join forces more. We do this by working together more on national and international AI agendas.”

Another important part of the collaboration is the "Brain Computer Interfaces Fieldlab", which was developed between Thales and the UT BMS Lab.

MORE SPECIFIC PROJECTS
Dewulf: “The current contract now regulates generic matters relating to governance and how we deal with intellectual property. This renewed agreement provides options to define specific programs and projects aimed at shared knowledge and technological developments. As a result, projects can be carried out faster and in a targeted manner and we can jointly develop research proposals that qualify for national and international funding. Thales is an important partner for all UT faculties. ”

The UT is also looking at other branches of the Thales Group. For example, Thales Research & Technology Palaiseau (France) recently paid a visit to the MESA + research institute.