The Ghent University Societal Value Creation Fund supports initiatives that help ensure that Ghent University research has a social impact. The articles below are about or relate to projects that were financed by the fund.
January often starts with good intentions… but those plans can be quickly abandoned. To exercise more is always high up everyone’s list, but there’s often a gap between wanting to do it and actually doing it. So how do you bridge that gap?
“Should we panic or can we keep a cool head?” With that question, defence experts Michelle Haas and Tim Haesebrouck from Ghent University open every episode of their podcast De Paniekzaaiers (“The Panicmongers”). In a world where global politics seems upside down, they add some much-needed nuance.
Since May, the Belgian pavilion at the Biennale Architettura 2025 in Venice has been home to a unique experimental setup: Building Biospheres. For three months now, visitors have been experiencing how a planting area with 250 subtropical plants and trees creates a pleasant indoor climate.
TV show Het verhaal van Vlaanderen was certain: the box just unearthed from the City of Ghent's heritage depot contained the remains of the one and only Judith, the progenitor of the Counts of Flanders. But was that really true?
Adorable baby photos, your toddler's first day of school or this summer’s holiday pictures with the children. Parents love to share photos of their children. But sharing those photos online is not without risk. Doctoral researcher Elisabeth Van den Abeele offers tips for parents on how best to go about it.
“Climate change is a global problem. But if you really want to know its impact, you have to have local data.” So say meteorologist Steven Caluwaerts and bioengineer Pieter De Frenne. They both do research on microclimates, albeit with a different starting point. “Actually, we are very complementary. We should meet more often!”
Since the beginning of the first lockdown, Ghent University has been gauging how and why we comply with the rules. Meanwhile, the motivation barometer has become a unique behavioral study with unprecedented social relevance. “We provide scientifically substantiated policy advice to support our motivation drivers,” says Professor Maarten Vansteenkiste, the driving force behind the study.
The 2011 revolution did not bring about freedom for Syrians. The civil war in the country has already claimed hundreds of thousands of victims. Gradually, despair has set in. “But if you look closely, there are some rays of hope. We need to highlight those in order to not further dehumanize the people who are trapped in the conflict,” says Middle East expert Brigitte Herremans.
