Oracle Academy organized its first event for educators in Belgium and Luxembourg at the Oracle office in Vilvoorde, Belgium, on January 30, 2025. Educators gathered at this engaging event to receive updates on free Oracle Academy teaching and learning courses, learning modules, and workshops.

The goal was to help educators gain insights into technologies including AI, and see firsthand how it’s applied in industries. They also learned how to access Oracle Academy free curriculum, workshops, and other teaching and learning resources.

A team of Oracle representatives enriched the educators with strong industry-relevant content. Jan Ronsse, Oracle Country Leader, BeLux,kicked off the event with an informative introduction on Oracle’s ‘Trends & Momentum’.

Subsequently, inspiring keynotes and break-out sessions included:

  • Building the Era of Agentic AI. Great companies aren’t waiting for the future—they’re engineering it. Presented by Bart de Backer, Distinguished Account Cloud Engineer, Oracle Database Platform
  • Accelerate Sport with Analytics. Oracle supports data-driven sports including Oracle Red Bull Racing and Sail GP. Presented by Wouter van der Brugghen, Partner Sales Account Manager.
  • Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), Distributed Cloud. “Everything we offer is available everywhere.” Presented by Joost Appelmans, Principal Account Cloud Engineer, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
  • Java Next: The Next Era of Innovation. Java turned 30 this year, and this session covered how we can play a part in its next exciting chapter. Presented by David Delabassee, Senior Director, Developer Relations
  • Oracle Database: Just Storing my Data? Not quite, with Oracle APEX. Presented by Christophe de Backer, Data Developer
  • AI for Data Revolution. How AI is fundamentally reshaping data management and application development. Presented by Tom Bailliu, Master Principal Account Cloud Engineer, Oracle Database Platform

Educators who attended the program had positive feedback. “What stood out to me at the Oracle Academy event was the balance between technical foundations and a clear vision for the future. It reinforced my idea that continuous learning is essential in a fast-evolving tech landscape, and definitely was a reminder that technology is most powerful when learning, innovation, and real-world impact come together,” said Bob Mulumba, Formateur, Centre IFAPME de Charleroi.

Kevin Marcoun, computer science teacher, ZAVO, stated that “the event significantly simplifies our preparations. It was the last missing piece that allowed us to get started in a practical way. It was inspiring and challenging for teachers, with practical tools that can be directly applied in the classroom.”

“This was a very interesting day at Oracle,” said Jan Willem, lecturer, Hogeschool Gent. “We were immersed in the philanthropic nature of Oracle Academy and got a glimpse of everything that is possible with both the educational material and the cloud services. The educational take on how to get students accustomed with the distinction between classes and objects was just brilliant. I can’t wait to dive into all the material provided.”

“This was an exceptionally enriching event at Oracle Academy, featuring a warm and professional reception, a broad range of strong, content-driven workshops on diverse topics, and speakers who clearly shared their knowledge and experience with great enthusiasm,” said Heidi Tans, lecturer, Switch2IT–Computer Science, PXL University of Applied Sciences.

A big thank you to William McRae, Oracle Academy Principal Instructor, EMEA, for bringing the technical foundation to the event, Rik Bleeker, Oracle Academy Program Manager, Benelux & DACH, and Yvan Rooseleer, director of BiASC, for organizing and hosting the event.

Oracle’s (free) global philanthropic educational program is open to educators to help advance student technology education, skills, innovation, and inclusion. Learn more and join at Oracle Academy.