S2 E3 | How imec Scales Research with Data Platforms: Governance, Workbenches, and Adoption

How do you scale data management in one of the world’s most advanced semiconductor research organisations without slowing down innovation?

In this episode of The Data Playbook, Wim Vancuyck, Manager of ICT for Data & Research Enablement at imec, shares how his team is transforming how 5,000 researchers handle data. imec’s mission: turn raw tool data into insights and IP that power the next generation of chips.

The problem? Every experiment, cleanroom tool, and project generates terabytes of data. Researchers need freedom to innovate, but the organization also needs governance, efficiency, and reliability.

Wim and his team tackled this by building a governed research data platform, introducing purpose-based access control, and rolling out four self-service workbenches (Power BI, Data Engineering, Data Science & AI, and Application Development).

👉 Learn how imec scaled research data without killing flexibility:

• The story behind imec’s R&D3 platform and “research acceleration” strategy

• How purpose-based access control ties people, tech, and assets together

• Why standardization increases agility instead of limiting it

• How to transform shadow IT into a strategic advantage

• Using the diffusion of innovation model to drive adoption from early adopters outward

• What makes a great data platform: efficiency, scalability, and reliability

Wim also shares leadership lessons from shifting from technical architect to manager, how to convince stakeholders, inspire researchers, and make digital innovation an accelerator for science.

🎙️ Guest: Wim Vancuyck - Manager ICT, Data & Research Enablement, imec