Pain is almost inevitable in combat sports and Ghent University alumnus Ashkan Joshghani (33) knows this all too well. A sports injury resulted in an innovation that extends far beyond the mat. It is known as Exoligamentz.
The academic year has begun, and thousands of Ghent University students are returning to their lecture halls, labs, and campuses. For some, it will be their very first time, for others, a new phase in an intense journey.
The Ghent University Alumnus of the Year award is still a recent tradition at Ghent University, but one that is here to stay. Because Ghent University wouldn't be Ghent University without our alumni, we honour one former student who has made special achievements each year. So which alumni received the award in the past?
In March 2021, Kathy received life-changing news: a tumour on her appendix marked the beginning of a long and difficult battle against peritoneal cancer. Yet she decided to do more than fight just for herself. She channels her strength into helping others by raising donations for the Ghent University Peritoneal Cancer Fund.
Friends and relatives of Juno De Hauwere recently gathered at the starting line of the Ghent marathon. They weren’t just looking to achieve a sporting milestone, but above all they were there to honour Juno’s memory and raise funds for leukaemia research.
Acclaimed author, essayist and poet Stefan Hertmans has strong ties to Ghent University as an alumnus, and later as a doctoral student and guest lecturer. To this day, academic research has played a key role in his work, and the foundations for this were laid at Ghent University. "My philosophical education has been essential in my thinking. The university has given me the ability to see a form of truth in doubt."
Ghent University is awarding an honorary doctorate to Christiana Figueres for her tireless commitment to climate action and her unique ability to unite people and nations around a common goal. She has turned her stubborn optimism into a lifestyle.
In 2012 Margo Vansynghel obtained a master’s degree in art history from Ghent University. Today she works as an ‘Arts Economy Reporter’ for The Seattle Times. What are her thoughts on the outcome of the US presidential elections?
Zhong divides his time between London and New York as he runs the unicorn Deliverect, a start-up valued at over $1 billion. What are his thoughts on the outcome of the US presidential elections?
Last year Serhat Yildirim completed his studies in medicine at Ghent University and then moved to the US to study at Harvard, where he enrolled in a two-year master programme known as the Global Health Delivery Program. What are his thoughts on the outcome of the US presidential elections?
We know him primarily as the US correspondent for VRT NWS but Björn Soenens has built an impressive track record. His professional career began with a degree in English and French from the Provincial College for Translators and Interpreters (PHVT) in Ghent, which is now Applied Linguistics at Ghent University.
Many students get to know each other through their passion for music: in the student choir or orchestra. But as soon as you graduate, this musical journey stops. Or doesn't it?
