IPEM is a centre of excellence on research in systematic musicology, within the Department of Art, Music and Theatre Sciences of Ghent University. IPEM provides a scientific basis for the cultural and creative sector, more specifically music, performance and multimedia arts, and does pioneering research work on the relationship between music, body movement and new technologies. Growing out of an avant-garde production centre for electro-acoustic music (1963-1987), IPEM has since 1987 been focusing on research on music information retrieval, embodied music cognition, and expressive interaction with music.

Meanwhile, a team of more than 20 professors and researchers work in the centre. Based on an elaborate network of international collaboration, the institute is currently an attractive place for visiting researchers from all over the world. In 2017, IPEM moved into the Art and Science Interaction Lab (ASIL-Krook), providing cutting-edge technologies within the domain of immersive media, artificial intelligence, and bodily-based digital interfaces. ASIL positions itself specifically as an art and science incubator in which new creative-artistic practices can be explored and developed, for both scientific purposes and innovation within the cultural-creative sector.​