UrbanAIR team in the 5th User eXchange
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
The fifth Destination Earth (DestinE) User eXchange took place on 9 – 10 June 2026 in Brussels and online, and the UrbanAIR representatives were there to share the advnacements of their work and our project, learn more about the latest updates on the key elements of DestinE – the Digital Twins, Digital Twin Engine, AI models and solutions, Data Lake, DestinE platform and its services – and exchange experiences how they are used in practice.
The event programme focuses on real-world applications, user needs, and hands-on experiences, fostering dialogue between technology providers and users across sectors. Through interactive sessions, demonstrations and discussions, participants can exchange feedback, identify challenges, and highlight opportunities to improve usability, accessibility and impact of DestinE services.
Our partner, Nikolaj Takata Mücke participated in the interactive poster and demos session in the courtyard and foyer of the Maison de la Poste, Tour & Taxis. The session highlighted technical developments, applied use cases, and innovative solutions within the DestinE ecosystem. Nikolaj presented the three user journeys of the UrbanAIR Digital Twin and gathered feedback to ensure that the UrbanAIR Digital Twin components respond to real-world needs.
Dedicated demo stations from each of the three DestinE entrusted entities, ECMWF, ESA, and EUMETSAT took place in parallel at the same space, and offered the participants the opportunity to engage directly with experts.
All posters of the session are available here.
The programme was packed with a wide range of presentations, panel discussions and workshops by experts. UrbanAIR partners, including Dirk Lauwaet and Nele Veldeman, from VITO, and Natalie Theeuwes, from KNMI, participated in the presentations and discussions, where they presenting their work contributing to DestinE development.
On June 9, Dirk, participated in the session "DestinE for weather extremes and climate adaptation: demonstrations and discussion" which presented the Climate and Extremes Digital Twins from both producer and user perspectives. His presentation "Insights on past and future heat events from DestinE" was part of the producers highlighting recent advances in simulation production, quality assurance, and the evolution of Digital Twin capabilities. In particular, they will demonstrate how storylines and what-if simulations can support preparedness and resilience to climate and extreme events across scales, from local to global.
Users shared their experience with DestinE, describing how Digital Twin technologies have created new opportunities for their application while also outlining key challenges encountered. The session concluded with a panel discussion on combining these capabilities and addressing uncertainty quantification to support informed decision-making, highlighting success stories and future perspectives.
The full presentations of this session are available here.
During the second day afternoon, Nele Veldeman, took part in the session titled "How can urban Areas benefit from DestinE". The session explored how DestinE can support urban decision-making and public services, from day-to-day management to long-term planning. The presentations showcased examples of how digital twins and AI applications can be used to assess heat exposure, air quality and combined urban risks, and to inform adaptation and sustainability strategies. In this context, Nele presented the Urban heat pilot service, developed by VITO, showcasing how Destination Earth can support cities and stakeholders in understanding and addressing urban heat challenges. VITO presented the service also with a poster and at their booth.
The discussion engaged representatives from research institutes, local authorities or service providers to identify opportunities for collaboration and co-development of urban applications, surfacing concrete user requirements, trust/quality expectations, and integration needs. Our partner, Natalie Theeuwes, from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute - KNMI, was one of the panelists.
The full presentations of this session are available here.
The User eXchange is the central user engagement event of the DestinE initiative, led by the European Commission (DG CNECT), and brings together the growing community of users and partners involved in the initiative. It was hosted by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and co-organised with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), in collaboration with the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (RMI). We look forward to continuing this journey together with the DestinE community.
The full programme of the event and all the presentations are available here: https://destination-earth.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/How-Urban-areas-can-benefit-from-DestinE_compressed.pdf
Information on all sessions content is available here: https://destine.ecmwf.int/5th-destination-earth-user-exchange-1/#programme-UX
