On 22 October 2026, sustAIn.brussels, the European Digital Innovation Hub that supports Brussels organisations adopting AI and emerging technologies, will host "Connecting Brussels SMEs to European AI Infrastructure" with Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). The evening takes place at the FARI AI Experience Center in BeCentral and is aimed at SMEs and public sector organisations that are exploring, deploying or scaling AI. It brings together the teams behind the AI Factories, the Belgium AI Antenna, regulatory sandboxes for AI, and all four sectorial Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs).
Thomas De Meester of imec, the Belgian research centre that coordinates CitCom.ai, will represent the smart cities and communities TEF. The event is part of the European AI Innovation Month, a series of events coordinated by the European Commission in partnership with the upcoming Irish Presidency of the Council to showcase AI innovation and adoption across Europe.
Why this matters for innovators
Europe has invested heavily in shared AI infrastructure, yet many smaller organisations do not know it exists, whether they qualify, or how to pay for access. The organisers have built the evening around exactly these questions. A panel of infrastructure representatives will discuss eligibility, company maturity, funding routes and practical barriers, and concrete use cases will show how organisations have already worked through them. Putting these initiatives in one room also reflects the path an AI product typically follows: computing power to train and develop it, a realistic environment to test and validate it, and regulatory guidance to bring it to market with confidence. That last step has become more pressing since under Digital Omnibus on AI the AI Act required every Member State to have at least one operational AI regulatory sandbox in place by August 2027. For SMEs, the value lies in seeing how these services connect, rather than approaching each one in isolation. Linking TEFs with European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), AI Factories and regulatory sandboxes is central to CoordinaTEF's work, and local events such as this one are where those links become useful to businesses.
CitCom.ai's role
CitCom.ai tests and validates AI and robotics solutions for cities and communities in real-world conditions before they are deployed where people live and move. Its services cover physical and virtual testing facilities, legal and ethical support, data support and citizen engagement. The facility is organised in three supernodes, and Brussels companies have the Central Supernode MOVE close at hand: it focuses on mobility and logistics challenges in cities and communities across Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France, with sites including Brussels and Mechelen.
At the event, Thomas De Meester will explain what CitCom.ai offers, who can use it and how to get started. Innovators whose solutions lie outside urban applications can still find a suitable testing route: CitCom.ai is one of four sectorial TEFs, alongside TEF-Health (healthcare), agrifoodTEF (agri-food) and AI-MATTERS (manufacturing), and CoordinaTEF helps innovators work out which facility, or combination of facilities, best fits their needs.
