Erik Mannens is an independent AI expert (bridging the Knowledge gap from Research to Industry), Keynote Speaker & author of the book "Sustainable AI" (see: sustainable-ai.be), and both Professor @ UAntwerp (Sustainable AI) and @ Ghent University (Semantic Intelligence).

The last 20 years I have successfully managed +160 "interdisciplinary" projects (amounting +50M euro of Funding for my teams) and managed teams of 50 to 125 researchers. I received my PhD degree in Computer Science Engineering (2011) at UGent, my Master’s degree in Computer Science (1995) at K.U. Leuven & my Master’s degree in Electro-Mechanical Engineering (1992) at KAHO Ghent.

Being 50+, from now on I tend to only take on new projects who will have a positive & lasting impact on Society and "Spaceship Earth" as a whole! #SustainableDevelopmentGoals ... As such, I took on the Operational Lead of SOLID Lab Flanders for a year in 2022 and headed UAntwerp's IDLab for two years where I guided them into the Sustainable AI realm. Me and my team won the OpenMinds 2023 Diversity Award for our inclusion workshops & the OpenMinds 2024 Sustainability Award for our Climate Fresk workshops.