About us

Research group IC4

The IC4 research group was established in 2018 from a collaboration between two Flemish research groups active in the field of industrial control, communication and cyber security. The Security & Privacy research team of the West Flanders University of Applied Sciences (Howest) and the XIAK expertise center of the University of Ghent (campus Kortrijk).


Security & Privacy Research group (Howest)

The Security & Privacy research group of the Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen originated from the training program “Computer & Cyber Crime Professional” which was the first of its kind within Flanders. The research group therefore has extensive experience with research, services and the organization of training courses within the cyber security domain.

Center of expertise XIAK (UGent)

XiaK is the West-Flemish expertise center for industrial automation in Kortrijk. Since its foundation in 2013, XiaK has supported Flemish industry with extensive knowledge and expertise in various automation topics, such as tracking & tracing, industrial communication, industrial software systems, etc.

The IC4 Team

Researcher

Tijl Atoui

IC4 Project Lead

Kurt Callewaert

Research Manager

Johannes Cottyn

Researcher

Tijl Deneut

Researcher

Tinus Umans

Researcher

Hendrik Derre

Our partners

These companies act as our sounding board. Each company contributes and guides our research through own experience and expertise. The first valorization of research results will also be prioritized for this group of companies.