ERIC MICHIELS

EXECUTIVE ARCHITECT, IBM BELGIUM

Proximus Jan De Beule

“WE ARE EVOLVING TOWARDS A SOCIETY IN WHICH PERMANENT LEARNING AND WORKING EQUALLY MATTER. IN THIS CONTEXT, UNIVERSITIES CAN, RATHER MUST, PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE! WELL, WITH ITS BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CRITICAL THINKING, FREE RESEARCH, INNOVATION, FLEXIBLE STUDY PROGRAMS, A HUMANE VISION ON DIVERSITY AND EUROPEAN ANCHORING, THE VUB IS IDEALLY PLACED TO BUILD THE CRUCIAL BRIDGE BETWEEN ACADEMIA AND SOCIETY.”

Eric Michiels studied Mathematics and Informatics computer science at KU Leuven and has held several positions in the information technology sector. He has designed and implemented architectures in various industries and built up in-depth expertise in analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing. He joined IBM in 1999 and since 2007 has been Executive Architect at IBM Belgium.

Eric is known to the VUB department in his capacity as IBM Quantum Ambassador. He has given several guest lectures on Quantum Computing for general audiences, looking at specific mathematical aspects and applications in Data Science. A similar series of lectures, including a hands-on practice session for students, started this academic year (2022-2023).