PROF. KOEN ENEMAN, VICE DEAN FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: DOING MORE WITH FEWER PARTNERS

FACULTY NEWS

Strengthening the international position of the Faculty of Engineering Technology. That will be the Vice Dean’s challenge for the next four years. It doesn’t seem like a titanic task at first thought. Does the faculty not yet maintain close contacts with universities in more than 40 countries? Can students not yet swarm out to 140 Erasmus destinations? What more does the Vice Dean aspire?

“ Not more, but differently”, Prof. Eneman answers. “Internationalisation should no longer be measured in terms of the number of partner institutions. In line with the Truly International concept in the strategic plan of KU Leuven, we want to evolve towards a limited number of strategic partners in specificly demarcated regions for structural cooperation and mobility of students, professors and researchers”.

Integration

Prof. Eneman studied Electrical Engineering at KU Leuven. After his PhD in Applied Sciences, he worked as a researcher and post-doc at ESAT-SCD (the current ESAT-STADIUS research centre) and at the Research Group Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngology of KU Leuven. In 2004, he joined the then Group T University College as a lecturer and researcher at the e-Media Lab. In 2012, he was promoted head of the engineering department. In this position, he smoothly steered the integration of the university college into KU Leuven in 2013. As campus chair, he transformed Group T into a leading international campus of the young Faculty of Engineering Technology. Therefore, it did not come as a surprise that the dean addressed Prof. Eneman to take on the new appealing position of Vice Dean for International Affairs.

Prof. Koen Eneman

Legacy

“Internationally, the faculty’s campuses travel at different speeds”, Prof. Eneman notes. “This is partly a legacy from the pre-integration era that cannot be ignored. It is not in itself negative either. On the contrary, every campus has its international trump card. In Ghent and Bruges, for example, there is expertise in international research. De Nayer Campus and Diepenbeek Campus are well acquainted with Internationalisation at Home. Geel Campus has experience in collaborating with developing countries. And at Group T Campus, an original 2+2 formula has been established for the bi-diplomination of foreign students. In Leuven, you can also follow the entire engineering programmes in English. Meanwhile, international master’s programmes have already started at Ghent Technology Campus, at De Nayer Campus, and will be soon at Geel Campus. Erasmus is well established everywhere, both in student mobility and in capacity building projects. So there is no shortage of initiatives. What is required is a faculty international policy to coordinate and optimise them”.

In this respect, the new Vice Dean feels strengthened by the circumstances. “The EU’s Erasmus programme is currently undergoing a thorough rethink. There is the earlier mentioned strategic policy of KU Leuven with the establishment of a university-wide Global Exchange Network. In the context of the curriculum reform, the Faculty itself is providing for a stronger embedding of education in the international policy. The message is always the same: quality takes precedence over quantity. Long-term structural cooperation becomes much more important than one-off or short-term initiatives”.

Organisation

“You don’t pursue a policy on paper. A policy supposes management and organisation”, continues Prof. Eneman. “The new organisational structure is still being developed. It should make it possible to share expertise on the campuses and deploy it on a faculty level. The current task force on Internationalisation, which is mainly operational, can continue to function. The expertise group will be transformed into a Faculty Council for International Policy, reinforced with representatives of the permanent education committees to strengthen the link with education”.

“International recruitment remains a priority”, confirms Prof. Eneman. “As far as upcoming engineering talent is concerned, the Flemish market has reached its limits. Every year, there are some shifts in the student populations, but currently growth has to be sought in tapping foreign sources, in a wellconsidered and selective manner”.

Research

In the Vice Dean’s policy, there will also be room for research. “All research groups already have their own international network and no longer need to be convinced of the importance of internationalisation. There is already a great deal of consultation and cooperation within the research departments of the Science, Engineering and Technology Group of KU Leuven. The faculty’s international policy will play a facilitating and supporting role here in order to further develop international research at our campuses”.

Yves Persoons