Tech Events in Hasselt

FXT26 is all about connection, food(tech) innovation and sustainability, with the aim of supporting Belgium startups

FROM START TO SCALE – Accelerating the Next Generation of Food Innovators

How do great food ideas become successful businesses? What does it really take to move from startup to scale-up?

On 24 September 2026, FXT Connect brings together Belgium's food innovation ecosystem in Hasselt for its fifth edition.

Join food entrepreneurs, startups and scale-ups, investors, industry leaders and innovation experts for an inspiring journey from Start to Scale. Through founder stories, keynotes and thought-provoking conversations, we explore the real challenges behind building and scaling a food business: from validation and funding to B2B and B2C growth, internationalisation, impact and exit.

And because food innovation shouldn't just be talked about, it should be experienced, the evening continues at Bistro Effixtée. Our FXT Chef will turn a selection of innovative Belgian ingredients, food products and beverages into what we aim to make one of the most innovative menus of the year.

Come for the insights. Connect with the ecosystem. Taste the innovation.

📅 Thursday, 24 September 2026
📍 PXL, Hasselt, Belgium
🚀 FXT Connect 2026 – From Start to Scale

👉 Limited spots available – secure yours today!

After a nice summer holiday BeJUG is back and were going to Hasselt again this time!

A big thank you to we+ for hosting us once again.

We have two excellent speakers ready to share some knowledge:

• Artem will show us how to make cybersecurity fun by hosting your own security-themed hackathon, sharing lessons from running a CTF-style event at his own company.
• Makan will introduce Capability Mesh, a new architectural pattern for the agentic era, exploring how the service mesh ideas that tamed microservices chaos need to evolve for a world of AI agents.

Come join us for this next event!

Schedule
18:00: Doors open + Food and Drinks
18:45: Intro and BeJUG updates
18:50: Talk 1
19:35: Little break
19:45: Talk 2
20:30: Mingling + Drinks

Topics

Make Cybersecurity Fun: Host Your Own Security-Themed Hackathon

Developers often hear about cybersecurity in the abstract, but rarely get hands-on experience unless something breaks in production. To make security learning less dry and intimidating, we organized a jeopardy-style CTF hackathon at our software consultancy company. We created engaging puzzles and added some friendly competition — and it turned into one of the most effective (and fun) ways to get people thinking about security.

In this lightning talk I’ll share how we planned it, how we designed challenges that feel natural for backend developers, and what we learned along the way. You’ll leave with a practical blueprint for running your own security-themed hackathon that boosts awareness and gets developers genuinely excited about the topic.

About Artem
Artem Makarov is a Principal Engineer at Code Nomads, based in Utrecht. He's spent the past 12 years building Java systems across a range of industries.

Capability Mesh: Architecture for the Agentic Era
Ten years ago, microservices chaos led to "Service Mesh" solving the discoverability problem by replacing network endpoints with meaningful references, enabling scalability and observability. It worked brilliantly for connecting services. Today we're living through the same cycle with Generative AI and Agents, but the chaos is about integration, not networking.

The old problems discoverability, scalability, observability are back because orchestrators now pick agents by capability, not name. Plus we face new challenges: explainability of agent actions and the possibility of unintended actions due to the non-deterministic nature of large language models.

We need the same evolutionary leap from "Service Mesh" to "Capability Mesh" shifting from technical service contracts to semantic capability integration for autonomous AI.

About Makan
Makan Sepehrifar is a Senior Solutions Architect at Code Nomads, based in Amsterdam.

Additional notes:

• This meetup includes food. Please keep your RSVP status up to date so we do not waste any of our food.
• Some pictures might be made. If you feel uncomfortable about this, please mention this to the organizers (or anyone with a camera).

Schrijf je in voor een meetup met Cybersecurity Café Limburg en Elastic op 29 september. De talks zijn in het Nederlands.

Locatie:
Officenter Hasselt
Hendrik van Veldekesingel 150, 3500 Hasselt
Maps

Agenda:
18u00 Deuren open, eten en drankjes
19u00 Welkom
19u20 Talk 1: ​​Wat overblijft wanneer alle systemen uitvallen
20u00 Talk 2: AI voor malware reverse-engineering
20u40 Networking

Talks:
​​Wat overblijft wanneer alle systemen uitvallen
Wat een cyberaanval ons leerde over leiderschap, veerkracht en continuïteit van zorg

Op 13 januari 2026 werd AZ Monica getroffen door een cyberaanval die leidde tot een onmiddellijke shutdown van alle kritieke systemen.
In enkele minuten tijd evolueerde een hoogtechnologisch ziekenhuis naar een organisatie die opnieuw volledig op papier moest werken. Patiëntendossiers, medische beeldvorming, laboratoriumtoepassingen, planningstools en communicatiesystemen vielen weg, terwijl de zorg voor patiënten moest blijven doorgaan.

In deze C-Talk neemt Tom Feyt, zorgmanager directie patiëntenzorg van AZ Monica, het publiek mee in een praktijkverhaal over de impact van een cybercrisis op de dagelijkse zorgverlening.
Vanuit het perspectief van patiëntenzorg wordt toegelicht hoe zorgteams, artsen, leidinggevenden en ondersteunende diensten zich in realtime moesten herorganiseren om patiëntveiligheid en zorgcontinuïteit te garanderen.

De sessie gaat niet over firewalls, ransomware of technische oplossingen.
Ze gaat over mensen.
Over leiderschap wanneer volledige zekerheid ontbreekt.
Over het maken van moeilijke keuzes, het afbouwen van activiteiten, het inzetten van noodprocedures, het communiceren in crisistijd en het stapsgewijs herstellen van een organisatie terwijl de zorg blijft doorgaan.

Aan de hand van concrete voorbeelden worden de belangrijkste lessen gedeeld rond crisisorganisatie, commandostructuren, voorbereiding, recovery leadership en de verrassend grote digitale afhankelijkheid van moderne zorgprocessen.

De centrale vraag van deze sessie luidt: wat gebeurt er wanneer een ziekenhuis zijn technologie verliest, maar zijn verantwoordelijkheid tegenover patiënten behoudt?

De belangrijkste conclusie is tegelijk eenvoudig en confronterend: Zorg kan blijven draaien zonder IT, maar niet zonder mensen en leiderschap.

Spreker: Tom Feyt, zorg manager, AZ Monica

AI voor malware reverse-engineering
De vraag naar reverse-engineering neemt enorm toe. Elke week komen er meer verdachte samples binnen dan een team met de hand kan analyseren, en die groei zet door. In deze talk kijken we eerst naar de oorzaak van die toename. Vervolgens bespreken we de verschillende manieren waarop je zoiets kunt aanpakken, van handmatig werk tot geautomatiseerde oplossingen, en waar die tegenaan lopen. Daarna laten we zien hoe AI een rol kan spelen om samples sneller te analyseren, en wat dat in de praktijk wel en niet oplevert. We sluiten af met de lessen die we onderweg hebben geleerd, inclusief de aanpakken die niet werkten.

Spreker: Remco Sprooten, Principal Security Research Engineer, Elastic

Bios
Tom Feyt is zorgmanager binnen de Directie Patiëntenzorg van AZ Monica, een gepassioneerd pleitbezorger van toekomstbestendige zorg met meer dan drie decennia ervaring in de ziekenhuissector. Met een achtergrond in spoed- en intensieve zorg, een master in Verpleegkunde en Vroedkunde en een opleiding ziekenhuismanagement combineert hij klinische expertise met strategisch leiderschap. Hij is daarnaast actief als docent aan verschillende opleidingsinstituten en als spreker over zorgorganisatie, kwaliteit, patiëntveiligheid en interprofessionele samenwerking. Vanuit zijn ruime praktijkervaring slaagt hij erin om strategische beleidskeuzes te verbinden met de dagelijkse realiteit van patiëntenzorg en zorgteams. De ervaringen die hij opdeed tijdens het crisismanagement van een grootschalige cyberaanval op AZ Monica bieden hem een uniek perspectief op leiderschap, veerkracht en het waarborgen van zorgcontinuïteit in uitzonderlijke omstandigheden.

Remco Sprooten is een Principal Security Researcher bij Elastic Security Labs, gespecialiseerd in het reverse-engineeren en analyseren van malware, met name binnen het Linux-domein. Met een brede achtergrond als forensisch onderzoeker bij de Nederlandse politie brengt hij een unieke mix van opsporings- en cybersecurity-expertise met zich mee. Bij Elastic richt Remco zich recentelijk op het bouwen van AI- en LLM-gedreven oplossingen voor geautomatiseerde malware-analyse. Zijn werk is essentieel voor het begrijpen en bestrijden van opkomende cyberdreigingen, waarbij hij gebruikmaakt van zijn uitgebreide ervaring in digitaal forensisch onderzoek en dreigingsanalyse.

Join us for the next edition of the Data Mesh Belgium Meetup!

This time, we're welcoming the community to the ACA Group office in Hasselt for an evening of knowledge sharing, practical insights and networking with fellow data professionals.

Whether you're already implementing Data Mesh principles or you're exploring how data products, this meetup is the perfect opportunity to learn from real-world experiences and connect with others.

SCHEDULE

• 18h 00 - 18h 40: Food & Drinks
• 18h 40 - 18h 45: Welcome by Tom De Wolf
• 18h 45 - 19h 30: Beyond “Human in the Loop” by Corné Potgieter
• 19h 30 - 19h 45: Short break
• 19h 45 - 20h 30: From Federated Governance to Computational Governance by Gaëlle Seret & Axel Mercier
• 20h 30 - 21h 00: Networking

TALK ABSTRACTS
► Beyond “Human in the Loop”: Data Products and Data Contracts as AI Guardrails by Corné Potgieter
“Human in the loop” is often presented as the main guardrail for AI-powered data use cases. But as these systems scale, meaningful oversight becomes difficult and human review can quickly degrade into superficial approval.

Through practical examples and anecdotes involving data products and AI-driven decision-making, this talk explores why control cannot rely on a human simply approving the final output.
Instead, AI needs a strong data foundation: clearly bounded Data Products, explicit ownership, reliable context, and enforceable Data Contracts that define quality, meaning, constraints, and acceptable use.

AI can then structure the handoff to humans by highlighting uncertainty, explaining the relevant context, and clarifying the decision they actually own. Data Products and Data Contracts are therefore not only governance mechanisms; they are essential foundations for scalable, accountable AI.

► From Federated Governance to Computational Governance by Gaëlle Seret & Axel Mercier
Most organisations have embraced the idea of federated governance. They redesign their operating model, define domain ownership, create governance ceremonies and document policies. Yet governance often remains slow, siloed in practice and heavily reliant on manual processes.
It is because federation is an organisational principle but not an execution model.

Federated governance only delivers on its promise when governance becomes computational: when metadata collection becomes part of the team's daily operations, when policies and self-service guardrails are embedded into platform capabilities.
This shift is not only technical. It requires treating governance as a product rather than a control function. Governance must be designed for adoption, integrated into teams workflows and continuously improved based on user needs.

In this session, we'll show how product thinking, platform engineering and organisational design work together to transform governance from meetings, documentation and approvals into executable capabilities. Through concrete examples, we'll illustrate how computational governance makes federation operational, scalable and sustainable.

SPEAKER BIOS
► Corné Potgieter - Data Architect at Sparkle
I’m a data generalist and a bit of a purist at heart, but always guided by the principle that practicality is king. As a consultant and Data Architect, I specialize in template-driven data warehouse design and decentralized architectures such as Data Mesh, helping organizations strike the right balance between governance and agility.

Over the years, I’ve worked across the spectrum of data architecture, analytics, modeling, and BI engineering. My toolkit includes a wide range of modeling approaches, from Kimball to Data Vault, and I enjoy tailoring solutions to both organizational context and long-term sustainability.

► Gaëlle Seret - Author @ Clean Data Architecture
Gaëlle is a freelance consultant, author of Clean Data Architecture, and former Head of Data Product & Enabling at Decathlon. Among her latest customers : Leboncoin and Pernod Ricard. She is leading large-scale data and product transformations with a strong user-centric approach. Active in the French data community, she is passionate about product craftsmanship and strives to make data management accessible and meaningful.

► Axel Mercier - Head of Kering Data Platform & Services
Axel leads Kering’s Data, AI and BI Platform, spanning both operational and analytical use cases. Over the past decade he’s helped large organizations rethink who owns data and how it scales, championing Data as a Product, domain-driven ownership, and platform thinking. He’s built autonomous data domains and pushed modern product and engineering practices into teams that had never worked that way. His focus: making complex systems understandable enough that teams stop depending on a central data team to get things done.

Welcome to Building & Enabling Data Products with OpenMetadata & Databricks 👋🏼

What does it really mean to treat data as a product, and how do you turn that idea into a practical and scalable way of working?

In this DataTalk, we’ll share our view on what data products are, why they matter, and how they can help organisations create data that is more reusable, trusted, discoverable, and aligned with business needs.

We’ll explore how this approach can be implemented in Databricks, looking at relevant platform capabilities, architectural considerations, and best practices for building and managing data products.

We’ll also show how OpenMetadata can take your data product strategy to the next level by providing the governance and discovery layer needed across the organisation. This includes bringing together ownership, documentation, lineage, quality, and visibility.
A practical session for organisations looking to move beyond the data product concept and make it work in practice.

Schedule:
🍕 Food & drinks : 18:30 – 19:15
🎙 Part 1: 19:15 – 19:45
🚽 Break : 19:45 – 20:00
🎙 Part 2: 20:00 – 20:30
🍻 Drinks & networking : 20:30 – 23:00

Location:
📍 Location : Corda Campus Hasselt
🏢 Building : Corda 2
1️⃣ Floor : First Floor
↗️ Follow the arrows

Conditions:
For privacy reasons, we give notice that visual material may be created at this event - in the form of photo and/or film - which may be used afterwards through the DataTalks and DataSense media channels.