Micha Slegt Customs administration of the Netherlands

Micha Slegt completed his bachelor in Organic Chemistry in 1996. At DSM Research and later at AKZONOBEL he contributed to research in the field of polymer chemistry and the production of pharmaceutical compounds. He completed his PhD study in organic photochemistry at Leiden University in 2006. In 2005 Micha joined the laboratory of the Customs administration of the Netherlands. First as the responsible chemist for the analysis of polymer, paper, ink and paint. Later, in 2009, he turned to the study of detection and selection technology for Customs applications. In this capacity he has contributed to the European research projects CRIM-TRACK, ACXIS, CORE, C-BORD and COSMIC, and is contributing to the Horizon projects PEN-CP, MULTISCAN 3D and PARSEC. Representing his administration, Micha has been a member of the EU Customs Detection Technology Project Group of the European Commission/ DG TAXUD from 2011 to 2021, contributing to many European reference documents on the use of detection technology. From 2011 onwards, he is tasked with statistical and data-analytical projects focused at Customs performance. Since 2013 the build-up of computer vision for Customs purposes is another one of his main tasks. In 2013 he was awarded a World Customs Organization Certificate of Merit for his innovative work. In 2023 Micha works with Belgian Customs as part of a (Dutch) strategic leadership course.