WELBIO asbl becomes the WEL Research Institute

The Walloon Government, on the proposal of the Minister of the Economy Willy Borsus, has decided to increase its support to strategic research within the framework of the Walloon Recovery Plan in two phases:

• The first, announced in 2021, increased WELBIO's funding (€15 million/year) with a revised funding strategy, based on funding research teams rather than one-off projects, to support researchers over the long term.
• The second, announced today, aims at replicating the model by funding a second strategic axis (€9.75 million/year) in the area of disruptive technologies for an impact in sustainable transition.

It is in this context that the Government decided to restructure and rename the non-profit organisation WELBIO into the non-profit organisation WEL Research Institute, which now comprises two departments:

		WELBIO (Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and Biotechnology), which continues to support strategic basic research of excellence in the life sciences with a view to translating discoveries into industrial applications in the health sector.  See the 37 ongoing WELBIO programmes.
		WEL-T (Walloon Excellence in Technology) which supports strategic research of excellence in engineering, chemistry and physics with a view to developing breakthrough innovations for industrial applications aimed at sustainable transition.  The first WEL-T programmes will be selected in a call currently under preparation.