Simon Delaere

How do organisations innovate and how do they capture value from those innovations? How does society regulate its ICT infrastructures in order to maximize public welfare, create flourishing markets and deal with unwanted side-effects? What are the politics and economics behind the roll-out of the state-of-the-art networks we use every day? I have always had a strong interest in these and other political, institutional and infrastructural aspects of communications and technology. I love to be in the middle of things, carrying out research but also talking to industry and governments, analyzing their actions critically but also helping to make strategies and policies better. Following my educational background, the media and telecommunications sectors were my first focus and remain my main area of expertise. However, as the internet now pervades every aspect of life, I am increasingly active in other domains as well, such as mobility and the creative industries.

I obtained Master degrees in Communication Sciences (VUB) and Communications Policy (Westminster), joining SMIT in 2004. There, I became project leader 2010. At SMIT I have been involved in many projects under ICON, IWT SBO, FP6, FP7, H2020 and FI-PPP schemes. Between 2013 and 2016, I was coordinator of SPECIFI, an EU project resulting in the setup of a European Creative Ring of Smart Cities and Regions. From 2017 onwards, I will be coordinating HRADIO, a fascinating European project that aims to bring together traditional and IP based radio broadcasting in a unified, hybrid platform. For a number of years, I have also chaired the Flemish Media Council. Finally, after the integration of iMinds into imec in 2016, I have become responsible for SMIT’s Policy & Market oriented services towards the new organisation, in close cooperation with SMIT’s domain responsibles for Media, Smart Cities and Health.