Laat je meevoeren door UAntwerpen en hoe we de stroom in beweging zetten.

De Bron

Times change, and so does the curriculum. An expert analyses an old textbook to check what is still correct.

Old source, new spring

The Belgian Constitution: the basis for cohesion? 

Duik in de verhalen van alumni, partners en iedereen die UAntwerpen mee vorm geeft.

Onderstroom

What is going on in the UAntwerp community? We get acquainted with our members through a series of questions.

Stream of consciousness

Hanane Llouh wants to make the world a better place

Bjorn Ipermans went into management after biomedicine

A jab against hearing loss 

News

New rector Herwig Leirs: ‘Happy with support’

UAntwerp and its alumni have an impact, worldwide.

International waters

"Education is an important weapon for girls"

Who is the person behind the science? Research is not in the spotlight this time.

Beneath the surface

Annick Schramme: ‘Awareness of sustainable fashion grows, but shopping behaviour doesn’t change’

Discover the story behind an object that means something special to UAntwerp and its community.

The thing

Genetic manipulation in the kitchen: a good idea?

Patrick Goossens: ‘Artisanal is not a luxury’ 

Antwerp pedestrian tunnel converted to particle accelerator

Dompel jezelf onder in ons diepgaand&nbsp;onderzoek met maatschappelijke impact.

Stroomgebied

When the storm surrounding a topical issue has calmed down, we dive in.  

Silence after the storm

‘A working woman wearing a veil is actually a role model’'

Honorary doctor Rik Devillé: 'There should be more humanity'

Two candidates battle it out for rectorship

Museum To Scale 2.0 is more than just a feast for the eyes 

Using AI against racist robots

Trending: cyberbullying

Complicated scientific research, explained in simple terms.

Crystal clear

Joseph Nelson Siewe Fodjo manages river epilepsy

An orthosis that changes lives 

Is sexting a bad idea? 

‘Human rights assessment useful tool to evaluate collaboration’ 

The road that researchers travel is often full of twists and challenges. Luckily, detours sometimes lead to the most beautiful places.

Meander

Dimitri De Waele: ‘Ambition and selfcare don’t always match’ 

Sinterklaas’s servant

Nele Wynants: ‘Leave more room for chance, intuition and unexpected twists’ 

Magic lantern was the mass medium 

Using facts, we disprove myths around science and other topics.

Burst bubble

Are biological materials poor conductors?

Time travel for flood control

Princess Astrid visits lab for dementia research  

“Give students the opportunity to prove their skills” 

Alumni to Cambridge and Delft thanks to Flemish scholarship 

Wastewater analysis shows international drug use 

Measuring air quality with a doll

New telescope measures gravitational waves 

UAntwerp environmental economists study CO2 use and storage 

Football clubs score off the pitch

Filip Lardon gives workshops on smoking

100 years of Disney: Insufficient diversity

Honorary Doctor Denis Mukwege running for president in Congo 

Exhibition shows forgotten history of orphans

Heart attacks in women: overlooked for too long

Master chef Seppe Nobels brings restaurant to Mutsaard

Three researchers selected for PhD Cup

Trio gets European funding for ambitious projects

Hosna Ghaderi makes eye models tailored to patients

Water and fire

Should universities embrace AI?

Komidas go for 80% veggie by 2030

Piet Bladt is a lateral entrant into secondary education

Three students go abroad on UAntwerp scholarship

Jente Wagemans: 'I want to inspire'

Lawyer Kati Verstrepen wants to make herself obsolete

Joyce Bosmans trains the brain with balance exercises

Spanish university honours physicist Staf Van Tendeloo 

UAntwerp law students win Queen Mathilde prize

‘Exercise during pregnancy is healthy and necessary’ 

Historic tiles restored by UAntwerp students

Is tinnitus for life?

Jacotte Brokken gave her parents headaches

Will we all be speaking English at the university soon?

Silvia Lenaerts: 'I am very competitive'

Niel Hens: 'We calculated our way out of the crisis'

Thomas De Kerf checks windturbines with robots

Geoffrey Dierckxsens: "An academic career is no certainty"

Can universities and companies collaborate?

Expo reveals the Brantijser’s past

Innovation hub for sustainable chemistry at Petroleum-Zuid

UAntwerp opens Patrice Lumumba lecture hall

Renée Eykens combines her studies with the Olympics

Jonas Spruyt gets sick animals back on their feet

Jan Lemmens (Glints) lives his childhood dream every day

Claudia Verheyen plays DJ to save the environment

Do consumers buy healthier thanks to Nutri-Score?

Why not every manager is a leader 

Alumnus builds sustainable houses in slums

Designers think with their hands

‘Ukrainians are deserving refugees’ 

Biking outfit protects from abrasions 

Honorary degree for UAntwerp virologist Erika Vlieghe

Traditional craftsmanship meets technology 

Podcaster Laura Scheerlinck talks about more than just 'de Volksjury'

University holds on to drinking young people

Young start-ups learn at Accelerator Programme 

Flamigel from Antwerp: A staple for more than 20 years

UAntwerp launches new online magazine Stroom

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Opera singers and scientists sharing a stage? It probably never happened before, but on Thursday, May 2, it will. During the benefit gala ARIA for MS, the University of Antwerp and Opera Ballet Flanders will join forces. The goal: to put multiple sclerosis on the map and raise money for promising new research through the Antwerp University Fund. You can now <a href="https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/events/aria-for-ms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">get your tickets</a>, thus contributing directly to the research.

New cell therapy can boost battle against MS

At the presentation of the Language Industry Awards, or LIAs for short, UAntwerp's <a href="https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/about-uantwerp/faculties/faculty-of-arts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Faculty of Arts</a> won two awards. The project "A Touch of Museum to Scale" received an award for the way in which the permanent art collection of the <a href="https://stroom.uantwerpen.be/en/the-source/museum-to-scale-2-0-is-more-than-just-a-feast-for-the-eyes-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Museum to Scale</a> is made accessible to everyone. Also <a href="https://duikintaal.be/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Duik in Taal!</a>, a campaign to get young people interested in studying languages, received an award. Some language teachers from UAntwerpen put their shoulders to the wheel.

Two projects Faculty of Arts win Language Industry Award

At the indoor world athletics championships in Glasgow, the Belgian Tornados captured the men's 4x400m world title for the second time in a row. Christian Iguacel, an alumnus of physical therapy and rehabilitation sciences, was one of four Belgian runners in the final.

Alumnus wins world title for 4x400m

In the book Een nuchtere kijk op alcohol (A Sober Look at Alcohol), Geert Dom (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) gives advice and insights on how to deal in a healthier way with beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages. Dom compiles all medical-scientific insights and shows the visible and hidden effects of alcohol on the body.

Professor writes book about dangers of alcohol

Alumnus Warre Clarys (industrial sciences, 2023) wins the prestigious mtech+ Prize 2023 with the development of a digital skin model that mimics the heat distribution of skin and tumors. By training this model, the subcutaneous shape and depth of the tumor can be precisely measured. Clarys also won the public award from mtech as well as the Eos Prize.

Alumnus wins mtech+ Prize and Eos Prize

Doe maar niet (Better don't)&nbsp;is the title of the very first book by law student Amir Bachrouri, former president of the Flemish Youth Council. In the book, Bachrouri, who grew up in an underprivileged family, searches for levers so that all Belgian youth can prosper. The book presentation took place at De Roma.

Student writes book about the future of youngsters

Bart D'Olieslager (product development 1998) is the new CEO of the Luxembourg division of the telecom company Eltrona. In recent years he worked at Belgian telecom operator VOO, and also held a management position at Orange Belgium in the past.

Alumnus becomes new CEO Eltrona

The OVAM presents the annual Ecodesign Award for students. Kieran Franck (product development, 2023) won with the project Cyclowash, a system that filters microfibers and waste particles from the water of washing machines in laundromats. The filtered wastewater can thus be reused and the waste does not end up in our oceans. His colleague Emiel Goffin was laureate in the Industrial Design category. His Paccobox is a circular system where consumers can deposit the empty reusable packaging of their meals.

Alumnus wins Ecodesign Award

In Madrid, Em. Prof. Louis Beyens (Department of Biology) received the Lifetime Achievement Award Eug&egrave;ne Penard, presented by the International Society for Testate Amoeba Research. The biologist has been researching the impact of climatic fluctuations on single-celled organisms, more specifically scaled amoebae, in the polar regions since 1978. His passion for the polar regions has led to several popular science books, such as The Future Polar Bear.

Polar expert receives Lifetime Achievement Award

As a biostatistician, Prof. Niel Hens (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) was often in the media during the corona period with his models about the expected spread of the disease. Together with his UHasselt colleague Christel Faes, Hens now wrote the book What if?. The authors offer a look behind the scenes: which data was available? Which questions had to be answered first and why? The book offers guidance for anyone who wants to know what was behind 'the daily covid figures'.

Biostatistician writes book on daily covid figures

PhD student Annelies Augustyns (Faculty of Arts) won the audience award of the PhD-Cup with 1.800 votes. In her research, she investigates diaries from unknown Jewish Germans during World War II.

PhD student wins PhD-Cup audience award

Professor Annick Gilles (Translational Neurosciences)&nbsp;won the Annual Science Communication Prize with her book (h)OREN(dol)?! published in 2022. In the book she formulates clear answers to questions that patients with tinnitus may have.

Professor wins Annual Science Communication Prize

Professor Annick Schramme (Antwerp Management School) has received the Visser-Neerlandia Prize as a reward for her commitment to Dutch-Flemish cooperation, which runs like a common thread through her career.

Professor wins Visser-Neerlandia Prize

Martha Mutua (Development Evaluation and Management), Hannah Downes (Globalisation and Development), Abdulwahid Panganting (Governance and Development) and Colin Van Belleghem (International Relations and Diplomacy) were honoured by Minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez at the presentation of the Prize for Global Research by the Province of Antwerp.

Four alumni win Prize for Global Research

Professor Joris Dirckx (Dept. of Physics) works on a science musical about Marie Curie, in collaboration with UAntwerp and Podiumacademie Lier. There will be a live orchestra, a cast of 70 and an international dance company. Tickets for&nbsp;Curieus&nbsp;can be bought on the <a href="https://www.musicalcurieus.be/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>.

Professor makes science musical

Julien De Wit (Law, 2023), president of the Flemish Association for Students, published his first book.&nbsp; Ge(e)neratie (translation: (No) generation) is a plea for a society in which youngsters are more included in decision making processes.

Alumnus publishes book

Genetic researcher Lotte Van Den Heuvel (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) launched a podcast. In 'Plots, Doodeerlijk' (Suddenly, Deadly Honest) she talks with patients who have an incurable genetic condition. How do they cope with their diagnose?
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/04E4PXdHRDHFGhj880yYLn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen to the four episodes</a>

Researcher launches podcast

Alumnus Matteo&nbsp;Balliauw (Business Engineering, 2013) starts as Head of Data, Analytics &amp; Insights at the Royal Belgian Football Association.

New Head of Data at Royal Belgian Football Association

Alumnus Tom Ongena (Law, 1998) is the new - acting - chairman for Open Vld. Ongena, who is from Mechelen, has been seated in the Flemish Parliament since 2019.&nbsp;&nbsp;

New chairman Open Vld

In his book&nbsp;Spring verder (Jump further), Youssef Deconinck (Organisation and Management, 2015) helps new entrepreneurs to survive their first year of business. As a coordinator for Xerius, he knows the questions entrepreneurs have through and through; the answers to these questions are now combined in one book.&nbsp;

First aid for entrepreneurs

Since 1989, EAIE promotes international education, with focus on learning, networking and knowledge exchange. Piet Van Hove (Dept. University &amp; Society) is the first Belgian president since establishment. His term will end in September 2024. The upcoming conference will be in September 2023, in Rotterdam.

First Belgian president European Association for International Education (EAIE)

Katrien Crauwels (Law, 1992) has taken the oath as the new President of the Bar Association of Antwerp. Crauwels is a partner at the law firm Crowe Spark Legal, where she mostly focuses on social law. &nbsp;

New President at the Bar Association

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of gay marriage in Belgium, Paul Borghs (Law, 2003) published Echt Verbonden &ndash; Geschiedenis van het homohuwelijk in Belgi&euml; (Truly connected &ndash; The history of gay marriage in Belgium). In this book, the alumnus tells all about Belgium becoming the second country in the world to legalise gay marriage.

Twenty years of gay marriage

Together with Kathleen Beckers and Annelien Van Remoortere, Karolin Soontjens (Faculty of Social Sciences) wrote Journalism Out of Balance<a href="https://www.aspeditions.be/en/book/journalistiek-uit-balans/19400" target="_blank" rel="noopener">?</a>. The book sheds new light on the debate on press bias. The book provides answers to the many questions surrounding perceptions, image damage, bias ... between political parties and journalists.

Journalism out of balance?

Sara Op de Beeck (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) was selected for the prestigious Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany. For one week, the researcher gets to attend several lectures and has the opportunity to network with other young researchers. Moreover, Sara will have the chance to meet Nobel Prize winners.

Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

Alumnus and visiting professor Peter Piot (PhD in microbiology, 1980 and affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) won the Global Health Leaders Award. This award, presented by the World Health Organization (WHO), is given to him for his phenomenal achievements in public health.

Global Health Leaders Award

Student Jef Vandorpe (Law) won the VRT 1 television quiz &lsquo;1 year for free&rsquo; in early April. The prize was a whopping 85,000 euros. He will gift part of the prize money to his godson.

Winner '1 year for free'

Master of Law students Eva Devlieghere, Pieter Mertens and Charlotte Verstreken participated in the eighth edition of the Belgian Moot Court in Constitutional Law organised at the Council of State at the end of April. It was quite a success, because the trio went on to win all the prizes.

Belgian Moot Court in Constitutional Law

<span class="NormalTextRun SCXW201491465 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="normaltextrun" data-ccp-charstyle-defn="{&quot;ObjectId&quot;:&quot;7f6e2fc1-5842-4e86-9a15-b8a26bc58c88|9&quot;,&quot;ClassId&quot;:1073872969,&quot;Properties&quot;:[469775450,&quot;normaltextrun&quot;,201340122,&quot;1&quot;,134233614,&quot;true&quot;,469778129,&quot;normaltextrun&quot;,335572020,&quot;1&quot;,469778324,&quot;Default Paragraph Font&quot;]}">Three professors from our university recently released a new book. Dirk Avonts, Hans Keune and Roy Remmen (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) wrote&nbsp;Natuur op doktersvoorschrift (Doctor&rsquo;s prescription for nature). The book is about how nature can have an influence on human health.

Doctor’s prescription for nature

<span class="NormalTextRun SCXW12916827 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="normaltextrun" data-ccp-charstyle-defn="{&quot;ObjectId&quot;:&quot;7f6e2fc1-5842-4e86-9a15-b8a26bc58c88|9&quot;,&quot;ClassId&quot;:1073872969,&quot;Properties&quot;:[469775450,&quot;normaltextrun&quot;,201340122,&quot;1&quot;,134233614,&quot;true&quot;,469778129,&quot;normaltextrun&quot;,335572020,&quot;1&quot;,469778324,&quot;Default Paragraph Font&quot;]}">Student Elaheh Ahmadi-Eli (Alumna of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy and PhD student) recently became the new physiotherapist of Antwerp basketball powerhouse: Telenet Giants Antwerp.

New physiotherapist Telenet Giants Antwerp

Antwerp Zoo and Planckendael caught a new veterinarian: alumnus Jonas Spruyt (Veterinary Medicine, 2011). The ambitious and adventurous doctor was active abroad for many years and is eager to take on this new challenge.

New veterinarian at Zoo Antwerpen and Planckendael

Alumna Jacotte Brokken (Chemistry, 2015) succeeded Frank Deboosere as weatherwoman. In April Jacotte joined VRT&rsquo;s weather team.

Alumna Jacotte Brokken joins weather team VRT

Officer of the Order of Leopold: this title was conferred on Dominiek Dendooven (Department of History). He received the medal and certificate from Didier Vanderhasselt, the Belgian ambassador to India. In his research, Dendooven emphasises the important role Indian soldiers played during World War I.

Officer of the Order of Leopold

Andreas Pfeffer (Communication Sciences, 2003) is the new chair of Voka &ndash; Chamber of Commerce and Industry Antwerp-Waasland. Pfeffer is the CEO of temporary employment and recruitment agency Recrewtment.

New chair Voka

The birthplace of poet Paul van Ostaijen on Antwerp&rsquo;s Lange Leemstraat is bustling again. Matthijs de Ridder, Dennis Van Mol and Ewald Peters are three former members of staff of the Louis Paul Boon Documentation Centre at UAntwerp. De Ridder wrote a biography on Van Ostaijen, Van Mol and Peters worked out an exhibition around the poet&rsquo;s artist friends.

The birthplace of Paul van Ostaijen

Imposter mother, that&rsquo;s the title of Hanan Challouki&rsquo;s latest book (Communication Sciences, 2015). In the book, the alumna &ndash; an expert in inclusive marketing and communication &ndash; talks about her first, uncertain year as a mother.

Imposter mother

Telex

In the VRT series Godvergeten (Godforsaken), countless people testify about how they were sexually abused by clerics in the Catholic Church. The documentary was awarded the Impactprijs (Impact Award) by de Kastaars!, the Flemish media awards. The new impact award is "a prize for courage, boldness and daring in the Flemish media" and praises a program that "blew everyone away last year". But what now after Godvergeten? How should things continue for the victims, and how can we deal with the Church? Four experts provide their insights on the matter.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Since the 1990s, many victims of sexual abuse in the Church have sought refuge with Rik Devill&eacute;, the priest-author whose books are critical of the institution. We also see him in Godvergeten. On 28 March, UAntwerp confers an <a href="https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/events/honorary-degrees/honorary-degrees-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">honorary doctorate</a> on him.
&nbsp;
Even in his first book, De laatste dictatuur (The Last Dictatorship) from 1992, Devill&eacute; was critical of the Church. The book was banned by Cardinal Danneels, but this served only to draw more attention to it. &lsquo;After that, people approached me with a desire to tell me something about the sexual abuse they had experienced. At the time, I thought they were only a few exceptions, but they kept coming. Today, we have more than 1,300 reports&rsquo;, recounts Devill&eacute;.

Godvergeten inl alg + inl devillé + al 1 2

People with a lot of power don&rsquo;t have to bother with how other people think, feel and experience.

Several years after the sexual abuse committed by Bishop Roger Vangheluwe came to light, Vangheluwe gave a surreal interview from his retreat in France, in which he mused about the &lsquo;secret relationship&rsquo; he had maintained with his underage nephew. &lsquo;That scene proves that the perpetrators are completely unaware of what they are doing&rsquo;, responds Devill&eacute;. &lsquo;They think nothing is wrong, have no concept of what it means to be a human being, let alone a child. Their abuse is an egocentric, selfish experience of lust. It also has to do with power. People with a lot of power don&rsquo;t have to bother with how other people think, feel and experience.&rsquo;

Godvergeten al 3

<h2>No end in sight</h2>
&nbsp;
We ask how he can live with himself and stay positive amidst so much misery.&nbsp; &lsquo;Against my better judgement, I keep thinking it&rsquo;s about the last one&rsquo;, he continues. &lsquo;I would like to see it come to an end.&rsquo; Devill&eacute; refers to the book Trauma and Recovery by the American therapist Judith Herman. &lsquo;This book taught me that 60% of all psychiatric services would be empty if there were no child abuse, and that a single perpetrator claims an average between 30 and 50 victims.&rsquo;
&nbsp;
What can the Church and government do to ensure that victims get the recognition they deserve? &lsquo;It would be nice to give those who were treated like black sheep for years an honourable welcome and let them tell their stories&rsquo;, recounts Devill&eacute;.

Godvergeten al 4 en 5 + illu

<h2>Without bias</h2>
&nbsp;
He also finds the whole history of sexual abuse a wake-up call for his own profession of faith. He is grateful for that, because according to him, a society must be cautious about blindly following a dictatorship. How does he profess his faith? &lsquo;In the morning, I open my computer to see what questions have come in. I try to be present for the questions in a humane way, to empathise and get to work on them. There are human beings in front of me, and I listen to them, without bias. That&rsquo;s what it&rsquo;s all about for me.&rsquo;
&nbsp;
On 28 March, Rik Devill&eacute; received an honorary doctorate from our university. &lsquo;I break out in sweat every time I think about it&rsquo;, he describes. &lsquo;I do feel honoured, but I&rsquo;ve not yet dared to say that to anyone. It&rsquo;s beyond my comprehension.&rsquo;