AI Meet-Up: Talks & Drinks | Edition #12

Join us for talks and drinks, and connect with the artificial intelligence community of the AI Innovation Center at the final Meet-up of 2025.

Many SMEs want to “do something with AI” but get stuck in vague ambitions, messy data, and pilots without measurable outcomes. In this talk, Lars van der Werf (co-founder Univia) will show how to start pragmatically: a lightweight AI strategy that guides decision-making, how to account for the real cost of poor data, and when to build versus buy. We’ll walk through concrete cases: workflow automation, quality control, and digital twins as an intuitive visual layer. We’ll discuss tools that accelerate progress without falling into the custom-development trap. No LLM hype, just practical frameworks, pitfalls to avoid, and templates you can use to deliver tangible value within 90 days. Perfect for students, engineers, and SMEs looking for an accessible and effective way to begin with AI.

Program AI Meet-Up

Date: 11 December 2025

Location: AI Innovation Center, High Tech Campus Eindhoven (HTC 5)

Program:

15:30 - 16:00 Walk-in

16:00 - 16:15 Welcome and update AI Innovation Center by Steven Feenstra (HTCE)

16:15 - 17:00 Talk and Q&A by Lars van der Werf (Univia)

17:00 - 17:15 Open mic

17:15 - 18:30 Drinks and networking

Our speaker

Lars van der Werf is a data scientist and co-founder of Univia in Eindhoven, where he helps SMEs and municipalities apply AI in a practical, workable way. With a background in Data Science & Entrepreneurship, he focuses on simple architectures, clean processes, and selecting the right level of automation for each situation. His work ranges from workflow automation and quality control to building lightweight digital twins that make operational data easier to understand.