The University of Antwerp (Department of Transport and Regional Economics) and BNP Paribas Fortis have teamed to set up a Chair in transport, logistics and ports. Through the Chair, the University and the bank want to be able to react quickly and efficiently to new developments in the sea and logistics world. That world is constantly changing, and that is also true for the port and logistics sector. Large, new powers like India and Brazil will influence the transport sector.

This Chair will respond to such issues, as well as to new trends in the field of logistics. There are also issues to act on at the micro level. For instance, once e-commerce gains strong ground, it will have consequences for the transport sector,  the type of commodity flows, and  the route that they follow. In the frame of this Chair, conferences and seminars will be organized to tackle these issues. The chairholder is Christa Sys.

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Dennie Lockefeer

Dennie Lockefeer was highly appreciated in the port community, and in particular in the world of inland shipping, for his insights and expertise. He often collaborated with the Port of Antwerp, the Flemish Government and the University of Antwerp. He was often consulted by academics and was frequently asked to share his knowledge with students and professors. On the initiative of Prof. dr. Christa Sys, the port and inland shipping sector established a chair for fundamental research on intermodal transport at the University of Antwerp, carrying his name in memory. 

The chair can be used for research (e.g. to support the inland shipping sector, innovative inland shipping concepts), education (e.g. to award a biennial award for best thesis/doctorate) and services (e.g. for a colloquium, to organize a series of lectures).

Sponsor packages

The sector developed three sponsor packages in collaboration with the University of Antwerp, each involving a threme-year commitment:

• 'gold' package of 10,000 euros/year for three years
• 'silver' package of 5,000 euros/year for three years
• 'bronze' package for 1,000 euros/year for three years

 The return for the formulas consists of logo entry, invitations to the launch and closing event, attendance at interim events, amongst others. The 'golden' sponsor also receives exclusive involvement as a member of the steering comittee of the Dennie Lockefeer chair. The Chair is founded by the Department of Transport and Regional Economics (TPR) and chaired by Prof. dr. Christa Sys.

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The Francqui Foundation encourages the prestige of disinterested fundamental research. Its objective is to further the development of higher education and scientific research in Belgium.  Each year, the Francqui Foundation grants several Chairs to Belgian scientists, proposed by the universities. The goal is to create the possibility to invite professors of other Belgian universities, for a series of courses of 10 teaching hours.

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The recent events, such as the floods in Europe and the Corona pandemic have once again highlighted the crucial role of insurers in our society. Helping people in need. Coming to the rescue when things go wrong and thus guaranteeing the continuity of our daily lives,... And there are even more challenges ahead: climate change, cybercrime, social inclusion and diversity in a polarized society,... Moreover, tomorrow is not today and changes in the world are unpredictable and come at an incredible pace.

Insurers create impact in several ways. They pursue investment policies through insurance products and related services they offer. They also have the tools to make a difference in terms of increasing financial inclusion and solidarity and encouraging sustainable behaviour. 

The Chair of Sustainable Insurance, a collaboration between the University of Antwerp and Ageas, will be established to conduct research on sustainable insurance.

​Hans De Cuyper, CEO Ageas: "Corporate social responsibility is in Ageas's DNA and is present in everything we do as an insurer. I am therefore particularly pleased with the establishment of the Chair of Sustainable Insurance in cooperation with the University of Antwerp, chair holder Luc Van Liedekerke and researcher Kristien Doumen. I am certain that this partnership between the academic and business worlds will allow us as insurers to play an important role in solving the problems of society today and tomorrow."

More info about the chair and the inauguration in Dutch.

Crisis management is crucial and that is why the University of Antwerp, Antwerp Fire Brigade Zone, PM. Risk Crisis Change and Port of Antwerp-Bruges decided to join forces and jointly establish the 'Crisis Governance Chair'.

The 'Crisis Governance Chair' aims to create and disseminate knowledge on the broad subject of 'crisis governance' through a holistic, process-based approach. Both researchers and professionals are supported in how effective crisis governance can contribute to research and practice, both at a strategic and operational level, in order to adequately develop, manage and adapt to changing circumstances.

The chair not only aims to study how insights from different fields challenge existing paradigms and theories, but also wants to valorize that knowledge for organizations and their members. The ambition of the chair is on the one hand to act as a center for research and regulation and on the other hand to become a reference center for researchers and professionals interested in this multidisciplinary field of crisis governance. 

Chair holders: Hugo Marynissen & Sascha Albers

Fellow: Arne Cobben & Magali Jaspers

Partners: Antwerp Fire Department, PM - Risk Crisis Change and Port of Antwerp-Bruges

​More info about the chair​

The chairholder is Luc Van Liedekerke. Björn Mestdagh is fellow of the chair.

The innovative technology of DigiTrans enables transport and logistics operators to benefit from any data or information at their fingertips, in their own working environment, in the format they require and at the moment it is most useful for them. According to own estimations, the manual bundle of data for daily planning purposes costs a middle-size transport company up to EUR 150.000 per year. 

www.digitrans.io

PrediCube is a new tech startup that uses advanced big data technology to predict which online users are interested in a product, allowing targeted advertising on premium websites. 

Status: exit in 2018.

www.predicube.com 

CareerCoach offers a particularly complete, validated and cloud-based toolkit for self-directed career management, based on the most recent scientific models. The tools provide insight into personal career path motivators and pitfalls, into the person-organization fit and relationship, and into the psychosocial balance between the energy and stress levels at a specific career path stage. The tools are primarily intended for individuals on a crossroad in their careers as well as for organizations building a career management policy that addresses the issues of today’s and tomorrow’s employment reality.