Arts meet science at new Starts Academy in Brussels

The new Starts Academy, a programme for secondary students in Brussels, officially launches this week. Starts stands for Science, Technology and Arts.

Spearheaded by the Erasmus University College and the Gluon platform for arts, science and technology, Starts is made up of a series of workshops led by local artists and tech professionals. Brussels pupils will learn to develop and construct their own prototypes of all kinds of digital and tech devices.

The project will combine the arts and the sciences, and all of the resulting prototypes will be part of an exhibition at Bozar in June. There are three modules split up by theme: Digital Arts, which includes virtual and augmented reality; Product Development, including 3D printing, laser cutting and prototyping; and Third Platforms, exploring artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.

Starts in Brussels is part of a larger initiative supported by the European Commission. It officially launches on Wednesday, with demo sessions of virtual, augmented and mixed reality at the college in Anderlecht.