With the approval of the Blue Accelerator project by the Flemish government, the starting shot was given to the development of a maritime test platform in the Belgian part of the North Sea, 500 meters outside the port of Ostend. This new innovation and development platform will serve as a 'living lab' to perform tests in the context of the expansion of Blue Energy projects (offshore wind energy...

The latest VLIZ animation film shows how our coastal zone and the North Sea must have looked like in a far and very distant past, which animals lived there and to what extent these landscapes were used by humans. The short film also indicates the marine research that is being carried out to unravel the story behind these submerged prehistoric landscapes and buried fossils. Also how this knowledge...

The Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship agency gave the green light to a new spearhead cluster on "blue economy". This Blue Cluster must focus on partnerships between knowledge institutions, government institutions and companies, and develop innovative projects that appeal to the economic potential of our North Sea. VLIZ played its role as a contact point for the marine research landscape and...

On Monday 23 April the long-awaited exhibition “1914-18 - The Battle of the North Sea” opens its doors to the public. This expo commemorates the U-boat peril from World War Iand the British response to it – the raids on Zeebrugge and Ostend. Housed in the Provincial Palace in the historic heart of Bruges (Belgium) the exhibition brings the gripping story of the U-boat threat on the North Sea. On...

LifeWatch Belgium, as a part of the European LifeWatch infrastructure, can be considered as a virtual laboratory for biodiversity research. With the support of Flanders to LifeWatch, VLIZ has a.o. developed a Marine Observatory. It aims to collect scientific data with innovative technology in an automated manner, and to make these data freely available to all potential users. On the one hand...

The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) has been investing for more than 10 years in an open source system for making maritime borders available and names underwater locations worldwide: MarineRegions.org. The download of shapefiles (polygons or polylines) and checklists of maritime and underwater locations is free for academic and educational users*. In the latest version of Marine Regions (v10)...

Each year VLIZ recruits several students working for us in the months of July, August or September. Interested student employees may send a CV, letter of motivation and preference for period and activity or division before 16 April 2018.

Every year the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) honors the work of meritorious marine researchers. In this way we aim to encourage them to continue to provide high-quality scientific contributions in the future and to promote marine scientific research in Flanders and the North Sea.The winners of the North Sea Award and the Thesis Awards edition 2017 have just been announced. They will receive...

From 15 to 17 November 2017, the very first EMODnet Open Sea Lab hackathon took place in the Startup Village in Antwerp. The event was organized by EMODnet, together with the R&D and innovation hub IMEC and VLIZ. Seven international teams participated in this bootcamp and competition. They were challenged to discover the potential of the open data offered by EMODnet. All of them developed...

Since 2017, VLIZ has been mandated to initiate and perform research, at the service of, in collaboration with or complementary to the Flemish and international Marine Research Groups. In order to organise the marine research, VLIZ established a new Research division, which now presents its research framework. Through this research framework, VLIZ aims to strengthen the Flemish marine research...

The Flemish government invests 3 million euros into a Marine Robotics Centre, exploited by VLIZ from 2018 onwards. The intention of this Marine Robotics Centre is to grant Flemish scientists and their (inter)national partners, as well as other Flemish actors in the marine robotics scene, access to the latest technologies in the marine research field. To accomplish this goal, VLIZ will acquire two...

Every year the compendium secretariat of VLIZ reports a policy informing brief on the current state of marine research in Flanders and Belgium. This in the framework of the Compendium for Coast and Sea. The inventory touches upon the marine research capacity and the scientific output, but also looks at international partnerships, the geographical focus of the study areas and the use of research...

The VLIZ Marine Science Day has become an established event for all marine and coastal scientists in Flanders and its neighbouring regions. Would you like to present your marine research or activities on 21 March 2018 at the MEC Staf Versluys center in Bredene? Send us an abstract before 14 January and indicate if you want to participate in the competition of oral and poster presentations, or...

Each year, the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) organizes its marine scientific prizes. Discover here what prizes you qualify for. New this year is the VLIZ Bachelor Thesis Award.

Last week, the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and the Benioff Ocean Initiative (BOI) signed an agreement to join forces and collaborate in marine research. With this international cooperation, both institutes agree to exchange their expertise in order to tackle marine issues in the future.

The 2018 edition of the culinary contest Olivier Roellinger is officially launched now. The competition is open to young and future chefs who want to contribute to the conservation of marine resources and the protection of the seas and ocean. Deadline for submission is due 14 January. The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) is partner and hopes to welcome a lot of applications from Belgium and The...

From Monday 30 October 2017 to Friday 17 November 2017, ‘Sea Change’ organizes a three-part seminar series. Topics and issues related to our ocean and seas, as well as their future societal importance, will be discussed. We invite all people with an interest in marine science education to participate.

How can we get rid of the plastic soup? One hundred and forty students tried to answer this question during the OVAM Ecodesign Challenge 2017, a 2-day event at which students brainstormed on a creative solution for a challenge posed by OVAM.