A unique location for smart services
With most people speaking English and 75 percent speaking a third language, it is no coincidence that a lot of companies set up their customer service centers in Limburg. This created “Customer Service Valley” in Maastricht, with nearly 10,000 people employed. As this expanded into Heerlen there came the need for more data-driven smart services. The Brightlands Smart Services Campus in Heerlen was born out of this need.
Brightlands Smart Services Campus
The Brightlands Smart Services Campus is part of the Brightlands concept, an open innovation community in Limburg that brings together innovative entrepreneurs, researchers, and students in a specific sector. In Heerlen they are especially focused on tomorrow’s smart services. In data science, AI and smart digital services are researched with the aim of improving the quality of life of people in Limburg and eventually the world. The Urban Data Center of the Central Bureau of Statistics of the Netherlands is also located at the campus
AI hub in Heerlen
The campus is also one of seven AI hubs in the Netherlands, which is part of the Dutch AI Coalition. They look at many different sectors and focus specifically on human-centered AI as well as data sharing techniques, ranging from blockchain to MPC. There is also a focus on the ethical, legal, and societal aspects of AI within the ELSA Lab located on the campus; an important part of the ELSA Lab research revolves around personal finance and poverty.
Business Intelligence and Smart Services Institute (BISS)
The BISS Institute is another part of the Smart Services Campus, which partners with Rabobank, APG, and PGGM. Their focus lies on cocreation in the fields of business intelligence, data visualization, and smart services in a multidisciplinary way. They combine consumer behavior, psychology, AI, and data visualization in projects to achieve this. This provides them with new insights and eventually with working solutions to societal problems or new business models.
Upcoming events
20 & 21 April | Barcelona
EU-start-up Summit
19 & 20 April | Montreal
WSAI Amricas
30 November - 1 December | Helsinki
Slush