UCLouvain’s new rectoral team, led by Rector Françoise Smets, took up its duties on 1 September 2024. Her objective for the coming years is to strengthen UCLouvain’s social commitment and actions. On the eve of its 600th anniversary, UCLouvain wants to continue what has motivated it over six centuries of history, namely the production of knowledge, based on the equality of individuals, debate and the cultivation of free and independent minds.
The official 2024–25 academic year opening ceremony takes place Monday 16 September in Louvain-la-Neuve to the theme of “Reinvigorating the university: creating an inspiring future together”
This will take various forms, depending on the subject:
- Revitalising the culture of debate:
- In order to fulfil her social responsibility, Françoise Smets aims to stimulate, encourage and recognise the commitment of students, researchers and teachers to interacting with society. According to the UCLouvain rector, “This societal action must become an integral part of education and research programmes. This means being able to encourage, support and promote innovative teaching methods, such as service learning (academic learning through service), and transdisciplinary research programmes, using participatory methods in the context of partnerships with society’s economic, political and community actors.”
- UCLouvain's social action will also be expanded through the creation of an advisory board, bringing together not only university members but also representatives of society, from the cultural, non-profit, business and trade union realms. The aim is to listen to their needs and observations in the field and to empower UCLouvain to respond in a very concrete way, through its researchers’ research and critical thinking.
- A “make sense” campus:
- UCLouvain intends to develop the learning opportunities on offer by stimulating its students’ action and involvement, based on the principle that education is also fuelled by experiences in the field and must involve interaction with society (examples of service learning already exist within UCLouvain and can be enhanced, such as Ingénieux Sud or the Rosa Parks Law Clinic; student involvement in kots à projet—project-based student housing—is another).
- Another, complementary objective is to transform the organisation of education and focus it more on lifelong learning. Martin Buysse, UCLouvain’s new pro-rector for education, explains, “The idea is to adapt to the behaviour and desires of the new generation, to allow them to divide their education (bachelor's and master's courses), interspersing it with experience abroad or on the job market.” This will give them a better idea of the skills they need to acquire, the courses they should take and the opportunity to start building up a network at an early stage, which is essential if they are to pursue a rewarding professional career.
- Research diversity:
- UCLouvain is determined to assume its social responsibility even more fully, by increasing the number of contacts between society’s various actors and the scientific world, with the aim of playing its part, providing critical answers to overcome current crises (e.g. environmental or migratory), and giving society the means to move forward.
- To achieve this, UCLouvain intends to develop the confidence of its researchers in order to support creativity and innovation. According to Agnès Guiderdoni, the new UCLouvain director of research, “We’re creative when we feel free to explore, to move forward by trial and error. And it’s this freedom that drives us to go further, to be creative in the search for new solutions.”
- With one focus: preserving the diversity of research. Developing so-called applied research, i.e. research that is immediately relevant to society, is certainly a necessity. But it must continue to be fuelled d by fundamental research. It's through trial and error that we eventually come up with unsuspected discoveries and enable society to make the necessary transitions.
- UCLouvain’s future is European:
- Another challenge is to enhance UCLouvain’s internationalisation, by welcoming international researchers, increasing UCLouvain’s visibility and its participation in European university networks, and, on a global scale, transforming current collaborations with countries in the South. According to Hervé Jeanmart, UCLouvain's pro-rector for international affairs, “Education is in a constant state of flux. If UCLouvain wants to expand its international presence, it must innovate, particularly by offering new forms of exchange to its students, such as shorter exchanges combining online and face-to-face participation.”
- Europe must truly become UCLouvain's playing field, with joint diplomas, collaborations and privileged partnerships. This is a perfect example of what the University of Louvain embodied when it was founded in 1425. Aware of the richness that results when cultures meet, it was already bringing together professors and students from all over Europe, with degrees recognised everywhere.
- An inclusive university:
- With the creation of a new pro-rectorate dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), supported by a team with the necessary resources, UCLouvain’s ambition is to make visible certain phenomena of exclusion that are not yet sufficiently visible, “either because we don’t dare talk about them, or because they’re part of a routine in the system”, explains Sébastien Van Drooghenbroeck, UCLouvain pro-rector for diversity, equity and inclusion.
- The aim is to bring a cross-cutting dimension to DEI policy, both in terms of education and research and in terms of a sense of togetherness within the university, for all students and staff. “The aim is to make UCLouvain an institution that is recognised as an inclusive place, capable of welcoming, respecting and valuing diversity, whether regarding gender, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or religion. A place where people can study, research and work in a rich and satisfying context.
- To combat discrimination, the aim is to more effectively inform and raise awareness regarding the excesses of certain behaviours, the rights of each person and the possible sanctions in the event of failure to respect others and/or the rules in force at the university.
- Accelerate society’s transitions:
- Since 2021, UCLouvain has adopted a transition plan aimed at transforming the university's sustainable development practices, focusing on three areas: education, research and sustainable campuses. The goal for 2025 of Marthe Nyssens, UCLouvain's transition pro-rector, who has been reappointed for a further five-year term, is to accelerate the university's transition, based on the challenges recently identified by the participatory assembly established by UCLouvain to analyse and support its transition plan.
- In concrete terms, “After adding a sustainable dimension to half of its courses, UCLouvain is aiming to have 100% of its courses incorporating transition issues within five years,” Marthe Nyssens says. The university has also approved an investment plan to renovate its buildings in order to achieve its goal of a 100% sustainable campus with zero carbon emissions by 2035.