People

The role of alumni within any university is not to be underestimated. “Our contact with ex-students is immensely important for so many reasons: research, education, reputation, talent management and more besides…. ,” maintains Emeritus Professor Kristiaan Versluys, who is responsible for the Alumni Relations at Ghent University. With the launch of the ‘Ghent University Alumnus of the Year’ award, the university now has a new way to honour its alumni.

At only 32, cognitive psychologist Louisa Bogaerts has already made significant inroads within the international scientific community. She has conducted research in three different parts of the world and now brings her experience back to where her career began, Ghent University.

One is from Tunisia and is still getting used to the Belgians’ open mentality in the workplace. The other comes from Russia and can make no sense of all the unspoken rules. Both are researchers at Ghent University, and both have fallen in love with the city of Ghent. Safa Belghith and Ekaterina Longinova tell us about their experiences in Ghent.

Professors Jan Boone and Jan Bourgois are helping prepare Belgian rowers Tim Brys and Niels Van Zandweghe for the Olympic games in Tokyo. But what exactly are they doing, and what can we learn from research into elite sports? Also: why do the rowers wear Happy Sock-branded socks, and why is one allowed to eat sandwiches while the other isn’t?

Remarkably, work that started as an occasional side project has resulted this year in a change to European law. Thanks to Liesbeth Jacxsens and Mieke Uyttendaele, more food can now be donated to those in need.

What is feminism? Ask feminists of different generations and you will get a different answer. Equally, the way feminists are viewed has also evolved. A conversation about the importance of gender, inclusiveness and the future of feminism.

For a year already, corona has been affecting our lives and work. Many people at Ghent University are employing their expertise in research relating to the virus. Some more publicly, and others behind the scenes.

Two alumni look back on their education and the direction they followed. Even though they started on the same road, it ultimately led to other places. Tom and Marie-Astrid both studied medicine at Ghent University.

The corona crisis has forced Marleen Temmerman - gynaecologist, ex-politician, Ghent University researcher and professor - to find creative solutions in her work in Kenya. That work is also her life’s work: improving the rights and lives of women and children. When she talks about it, you hear, above all else, her fighting spirit and faith in a better future.