Research and innovation: major assets for the industrial sector

This article is taken from the "Issues" section of Omalius magazine #39 (December 2025).

What about collaborations with businesses? Far from the image of researchers isolated in their "ivory tower," UNamur teams work hand in hand with numerous collaborators and entrepreneurs. While research projects rely on cutting-edge infrastructure, high-performance equipment, and scientific expertise, their real strength lies in the collaborations that drive them. With the industrial sector, these collaborations take many forms and are made possible by a wide variety of funding programs. See below - Funding tools: catalysts for collaboration and impact.

Focus on a few projects that illustrate the close link between universities and businesses and how university research fuels innovation in the industrial sector. 

The journey from scientific discovery to concrete innovation can sometimes be long, but it is also an exciting adventure. This transition takes the form of patent applications, licensing agreements, or the creation of spin-offs, companies that emerge directly from academic research. They enable research results to be transformed into high value-added products, services, or processes, contributing to job creation and regional economic development.

Take the example of ICS - Innovative Coatings Solutions S.A., a spin-off founded by Professor Stéphane Lucas in 2017 following several research projects carried out at the Department of Physics at UNamur, Namur Institute of Structured Matter (NISM). Now based outside the university at the Créalys park (Gembloux), with eight full-time employees, ICS (led by Emile Haye, a former researcher in the Department of Physics) stands out for its development of tailor-made solutions for all types of surfaces. The work of the researchers, supported by various funding programs (F.R.S.-FNRS, First spin-off then Win²Wal from SPW, FEDER, M-ERANET, Horizon, Competitiveness Clusters, etc.), has enabled them to complete all the stages of the famous TRL* scale, from the laboratory to the finished product.

TRL scale: see below - From fundamental to applied: a path of innovation and an ecosystem dedicated to impact.

This link between research and the business world is also embodied in programs that directly involve companies and doctoral students. The Win4Doc scheme, supported by the Walloon Public Service (SPW), enables Walloon companies to recruit a researcher to conduct a thesis in collaboration with a university department. Since its creation in 2018, 23 projects have been awarded to UNamur in fields as varied as health, digital technology, public management, and sustainable development.

Among them is the U-BPM project "Towards a user-oriented business process management methodology to support digital transformation," led by Professor Anthony Simonofski, a member of the MIND-IT Center at the NaDI (Namur Digital Institute), which aims to improve organizational processes through a user-oriented approach. To achieve this, the project employs an innovative methodology using generative AI to enable users themselves to share their business expertise within organizations. Researcher Malik Schinckus, a member of the Management of INformation and DIgital Transformation (MIND-IT) Center at the NaDI Institute, is working closely with DAIMO, a process consulting firm co-founded by UNamur alumni (Martin Minet and Laurent Dehon).

At UNamur, researchers actively participate in the transition towards a more sustainable, inclusive, and innovative society by putting their skills at the service of public policy, education, and local businesses. The Wallonia Recovery Plan (PRW) sets out the Walloon Government's broad guidelines on employment, the economy, the environment, and climate. Within this framework, UNamur is committed on several fronts: its researchers are designing new technological solutions, supporting the training of talent, and participating in the region's ecological and digital transition.

Since their creation in 2006, competitiveness clusters have brought together companies, accredited research centers, and universities around ambitious collaborative projects. UNamur is heavily involved in these clusters.

A notable example is the HEPATANT project, a WAGRALIM cluster project led by ORTIS Laboratories, a company that has been a pioneer in the field of plant health (plant-based dietary supplements) for 60 years. In this project, Professor Thierry Arnould (Faculty of Sciences, URBC-Institut NARILIS), in collaboration with teams from UCLouvain led by Professor Isabelle Leclercq and the University Farms of Louvain (FERM), is testing natural nutritional ingredients capable of combating hepatic steatosis. The goal is to develop a natural solution capable of preventing this liver disorder and stopping, or at least slowing down, its progression to advanced or even irreversible stages.

Wallonie-Bruxelles International (WBI), notably through its Excellence program, also enables doctoral and postdoctoral students to be sent to the best universities and, conversely, postdoctoral students to be welcomed in Belgium via a mobility grant in order to encourage the development of research in Wallonia and internationally in the areas covered by the competitiveness clusters.  

The major challenges of the 21st century—climate change, health, governance, digital transition—know no borders. That is why university research is now being conducted on a European and global scale. At UNamur, this international outlook is reflected in an active presence in numerous collaborative programs, which promote the sharing of expertise and the co-construction of global solutions.

Innovation is also enriched by diversity. Thanks to the BEWARE Fellowships 2 program, co-financed by the European Commission (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, COFUND - contract 847587) and the SPW, international researchers are joining Walloon research teams. For example, ILabBot, a project led by Professor Elio Tuci, a member of the Namur Institute for Complex Systems (naXys), robotics cluster, is working on the design of an autonomous mobile robot for the pharmaceutical industry, in partnership with the company Cilyx sa, a project with high potential for health and industrial safety.

The team led by Professor Jean-Marc Van Gyseghem, a member of the Namur Digital Institute (NaDI-CRIDS) research institute, is participating in the European project "Testing and Experimentation Facility for Health AI and Robotics (TEF-Health)". The aim is to create a network of sustainable collaborations between industry, academic research, and healthcare stakeholders in order to accelerate the transfer of technological innovations into practice.

As Professor Petra Ritter, Director of the Brain Simulation Section at the Berlin Institute of Health and project coordinator, points out: "Long-term partnerships within innovation networks are essential for transforming scientific discoveries into concrete solutions. By working together, we avoid duplication and maximize the impact of investments." 

This project illustrates how interdisciplinary research, law, and technology can combine to improve quality of life. These international collaborations also perfectly reflect UNamur's ability to attract talent and partners from around the world to co-create the solutions of tomorrow.

This small sample of activities shows that Namur's research extends far beyond the walls of the University. Whether in the fields of materials, digital transition, AI, energy, public health, or industrial safety, UNamur researchers contribute to open and engaged science, rooted in the world and focused on the needs of citizens.

From fundamental to applied research, UNamur demonstrates every day that research is a driver of transformation. Thanks to the commitment of its researchers, the support of its partners from all walks of life, funders, industrial partners, and a solid ecosystem of valorization, UNamur is actively involved in shaping a society that is open to the world, more innovative, more responsible, and more sustainable.

Before an idea becomes a concrete product, service, or solution, it goes through many stages. Little by little, researchers develop their work into tangible applications, testing them against the reality of the field. 

To measure this transition from concept to practice, a scale called the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is used, ranging from level 1 (basic research) to level 9 (concrete application and market launch). This progression perfectly illustrates how research fuels innovation, step by step, often in close collaboration with institutional, economic, industrial, or civic partners.

While research produces knowledge, transforming it into useful innovations requires structured support. At UNamur, researchers are never alone: they can count on the expertise of the Research Administration (ADRE), which plays an essential facilitating role. Its scientific advisors support researchers at every stage, ensuring that their discoveries are exploited in the best possible way: creation of spin-offs, filing of patents, signing of licenses or industrial partnerships. 

Since 2008, the ADREs of the FWB universities have been brought together within the LiEU (Liaison Entreprises–Universités) network. Thanks to the joint support of the European Social Fund (ESF), then the ERDF, and the Walloon Region, this network has made it possible to professionalize the promotion of research through collective work via the MIRVAL, MIRVAL+, and MIRVALIS programs. Its ambition is to increase the economic and social impact of university research, in line with the S3 - Smart Specialization Strategy.