KU LEUVEN

Profile

KU Leuven is a core partner in EIT Food and is also taking the lead in setting up the Western Co-Location Centre (CLC West). The KIC’s mission lines up very well with the University’s mission, aiming at strengthening the knowledge-based socio-economic fabric within the Leuven region and beyond that in an EU context. Its activities cover the different corners of the knowledge triangle, i.e. Innovation, (entrepreneurial) education and business creation, and offer plenty of opportunities for collaboration in these areas via an integrated approach.

Competences & Capabilities

The Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Center (LFoRCe) groups the University’s expertise in the agro-food-nutrition area (> 550 researchers, > 50 professors) covering plant- and animal-based food systems, nutrition and health, consumer science and cross-cutting fields. The University fosters an entrepreneurial spirit in its R&D community and closely supported more than 110 startups (10 in the agro-food area) with more than 87 still being active (> 4100 employees). Combined with its BSc and MSc education programs of high international standards, the University will offer in the KIC win-win opportunities in terms of e.g. branding, attracting/educating top talent, leveraging (disruptiveness of) innovation by interdisciplinary partnerships and accelerating time-to-market of innovations via the KIC’s network, tools and resources.