Pintra (EN) Blog
Nova Academy, the lifelong learning network of which UAntwerp is a member, is growing rapidly. Seven new partners have joined. The aim is to make our range of further education and professional development courses more accessible to a wider audience and to collaborate more closely on the content. ‘Lifelong learning should be the norm,’ says Jan Dries, vice-chair for lifelong learning.
That time of the month and no tampons or sanitary pads with you? Because no woman should have to experience stress over what is essentially a basic necessity, our university became the first in Flanders to provide free menstrual products in all toilet facilities. An initial evaluation shows that the project has been an overwhelming success. ‘Students sometimes literally tell us we saved their day.’
The Antwerp School of Education (ASoE) celebrated its anniversary at the beginning of May with a festive study afternoon. For the past 10 years, the academic expertise centre has been building bridges between research, education and practice. We spoke to four key figures about the evolution of the teaching profession and the power of collaboration. ‘When major changes in direction are made, we’re often involved in shaping them.’
As of this academic year, smoking is no longer permitted anywhere on our campuses, indoors or outdoors. This makes us the first university in Belgium with such a comprehensive anti-smoking policy, stricter than what the government imposes. ‘A smoke-free generation is what we should all continue to strive for,’ says Professor Filip Lardon, head of the Center for Oncological Research (CORE) and dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Would you like to support a research project at our university before the end of the year? Or is your New Year’s resolution for 2026 to raise funds through an initiative? As of recently, doing so has become very easy via the University Fund action platform, which has relaunched this year with a new, enthusiastic team.
Our university cut its CO₂ emissions by 16.5 per cent in five years. A solid result, but we aren’t on track yet to meet our targets. Although many services and departments are already on board with the climate agenda, we still need to step things up: ‘The collective support is there; now’s the time to turn that into action.’
UAntwerp has more than 2,000 PhD students. What drives them? Where do they feel their support comes from? And isn’t their work lonely sometimes? We invited three of them to tell us how it really is.
Campus Drie Eiken has recently gained a building, and what a building it is: the architecturally striking Building P houses a spacious food hall, two sports halls, and a state-of-the-art training hall for physiotherapy students. By all accounts, this place is set to become the new vibrant heart of the campus. A brief explanation from the three key figures behind the project.
More and more students are facing financial difficulties. That’s why our university launched the ‘Students in Need’ initiative – to ensure that financial worries never become a barrier to earning a degree. Every year, the project provides a much-needed financial boost to numerous students. “For me, it made a world of difference,” says master’s student Rafal Mahan.
March 8 marks International Women’s Day. With 52% female employees, UAntwerp seems to be performing well in terms of gender equality. But there’s a caveat: in the highest academic ranks, eight out of ten professors are still men. “How can women advance? The first step is to talk about your ambitions.”
About two and a half years after the fire, the majority of the employees in the Buildings …
As a valorisation manager at the Faculty of Design Sciences, Svetlana Samsonova is the greatest believer in the power of collaboration you’ll find. ‘A designer that designs work clothes for the port personnel? I also thought it was a surprising combination, but everyone was happy with the result.’