The mission of the Faculty of Business and Economics includes the strong international orientation of our educational and research activities. The course 'International Week on Sustainability' or I-Week was introduced in 2014 to embed international exposure into the curriculum of Applied Economics: Business Economics and has since grown into a faculty-wide course, being incorporated in the curricula of Economic Policy, Business Engineering, Business Engineering: Management Information Systems and Social-Economic Sciences.

During the I-week, students:

1. interact with professionals and academics about economic, ecological and ethical sustainability
2. listen to an interdisciplinary debate and learn how to tackle a “wicked” problem together with students from other faculties;
   
3. analyze a current sustainability issue through group work with other international students;
4. create and present a poster that summarizes the analyzed issue;
5. meet students from all around the world;
6. improve their language and intercultural skills.

The course consists of 5 intense days of presentations, discussions and workshops during which students are exposed to international academics, sustainability experts and CEOs. To get the most out of the I-week, 3 preparatory sessions are organized online in the weeks before the I-week. The I-Week takes place in a hybrid learning environment: it can be followed online from abroad or in class on our campus.

The 2024 edition welcomed 402 participants from 32 different nationalities and 5 different continents. We had the honour of working together with 44 partner universities.

Speakers 2025

The 2025 edition will include speakers such as Peter Verhezen, Luc Van Liedekerke, Philippe Nimmegeers, Ekaterina Ivanova, Guido De Wilde, Ian Williamson, Jan Jonker, Orsolya Diofasi, Wouter Ghyoot, Antoine Lebrun, Kavita Hamza, Wilfried Remans, Philippe Weiler, Emine Aslı Mavi Sıddıq, Martin Dinter, Lebone Nkhumeleni, Elizabeth Abba, Catherine Louies, Simon D. Scagnelli, and many more.

The key to solving complex problems in our society today is interdisciplinary collaboration. This is why we co-organize an interdisciplinary day within I-week with the Faculties of Arts, Law, Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, Science and the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development. The topic of 2025 will be Airport development from a sustainability perspective.

The I-week is an innovative way to embed international perspectives and a focus on sustainability into the students' curriculum.