ECONnect

FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS & EKONOMIKA ALUMNI VOLUME 3 ISSUE DEC.2014 JAN.FEB.2015

Education@FEB
FEB acquires EQUISaccreditation.
Interview with Ludovic Deprez,
Luc Sels, Tom Van Puyenbroeck
and Steve Van Uytbergen

Research@FEB
Can we explain the
evolution of House prices?

Students@FEB
Top Sport @FEB:
Jesse Stroobants

Alumni@FEB
Alumni For
Entrepreneurship

Contents

Education@FEB
FEB acquires EQUIS-accreditation.
Honorary doctorate for Justin Yifu Lin

p4
p4
p9

Awards, chairs and appointments

Quiz for Vriendtjes Tegen Kanker

p 16

Research@FEB
Can we explain the evolution
of house prices?
In the long run we are all dead,
even in real estate

p 16

Telematics insurance:
the safer you drive, the less you pay
The academic heroes of Robert Boute

p 24
p 24
p 27
p 29

A different perspective:
Discover the world @ FEB
Vader Mercuur. A true economists beer
in honour of 85 years of Ekonomika

Alumni@FEB
Alumni For Entrepreneurship.
What is AFE?

p 20
p 22

p 19

Students@FEB
Top sport at FEB: Jesse Stroobants
My first weeks at the FEB
Econnect 24-hour Run

p 12
p 14

p 30
p 32

p 33
p 33
p 37

Young Alumni Day

Lustrum: Herman Van Rompuy

p 38
p 39

ECONnect
A

s the last days of the year approach, the time has come to self-reflect.
Plans which are made in the beginning of the year often disappear (within
a few months) during the great spring cleaning. On the other hand, it seems
that the presence of Saint Nicholas and/or Santa Claus stirs up the memory of
vaguely made resolutions. Those who want to progress, have to dare to look
back critically on delivered performances throughout the year, which can serve
as the foundation for new resolutions.
A year ago, focus was on determining the future of our alumni association,
following the integration exercise within the FEB. In mid-May (the decision was
made to adjust the existing structure and to open it up to alumni who recently
became part of the FEB alumni. In this context the integration of Absoc Alumni
(Campus Antwerp) can be viewed as a best practice in every sense of the
word. In just 6 months a new association was constructed that has now
finished its first activity!
The main resolution for next year is to work towards a similar model with the
alumni of Campus Brussels. As stated in this issue, this is a process that takes
some time since preserving the identity is crucial in this process. Furthermore,
the success of the latest Ekofeest has fueled the demand for yearly meetings.
As a result, certain parts of the alumni organisation were given new life and
I would like to ask all year managers or people who want to organize a
yearly meeting to contact us. Finally, in order to follow the Utile Dulci motto,
mentoring/coaching programmes are being developed with help of the faculty.
These programmes will be presented to you in the course of 2015. In short, a
number of plans are being developed to further expand the alumni association!
With no less than 41 (self organised) activities in the past year, I would also
like to thank the numerous board members and staff members who commit
themselves to the organization of these activities for free.
On behalf of Ekonomika Alumni, I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas
and a great New Year! Let your first resolution be to join us at one of our
numerous Ekonomika Alumni New Years receptions!

Ludovic Deprez
Vice-Chairman

Education@FEB

FEB ACQUIRES

EQUIS ACCREDITATION
The Faculty of Economics and Business recently acquired the prestigious EQUIS
accreditation for its four campuses. This accreditation confirms FEBs rightful
place amongst the top business schools. The perfect occasion for an interview
with Dean Luc Sels and Campus Deans Tom Van Puyenbroeck (campus Brussels)
and Steve Van Uytbergen (campus Antwerp). Ludovic Deprez, Executive Director
of Ekonomika Alumni, joined the interview to shed light on the importance
of EQUIS for the Alumni Association, but also to discuss the integration of

Rob Stevens

the Antwerp Absoc Alumni association.

WHAT PRECISELY IS THE EQUIS ACCREDITATION

AND WHICH ORGANIZATION GRANTS IT?
Luc Sels EQUIS is an international accreditation system
aimed at business schools and faculties in the field of business.
The accreditation is managed by the European Foundation for
Management Development (EFMD), a non-profit organization of
business schools and companies that aim to promote, improve
and internationalise management education. This also explains
why the accreditation is not only granted on the basis of
excellence in education, but also on the basis of relevance of
education and research for companies and businesses. In the
field of business schools and faculties focusing on business
education, three important accreditation systems can be
distinguished: AMBA (The Association of MBAs), AACSB
(The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business)
and EQUIS (EFMD Quality Improvement System). EQUIS is the
most exclusive label, it is also called the Rolls Royce of
accreditations. It is the most difficult to acquire. The limited and
exclusive list of business schools that are EQUIS accredited
illustrates this well.
WHY IS ACHIEVING THE EQUIS ACCREDITATION
SO IMPORTANT FOR THE FACULTY AND ITS
4 CAMPUSES?
Tom Van Puyenbroeck The accreditation has a very strong
international component. Acquiring the EQUIS label is important
for FEBspartner network. This accreditation makes working
with other high-quality partners a lot easier. That has been an
important factor in the decision process. Secondly, the
accreditation also helped us in the process of integrating the
four campuses. We have used the EQUIS accreditation system
as a framework for the further implementation of our integration
process. The preparation and the actual visitation have set
things in motion that were coming either way, but the pace was
increased considerably because of it.
Luc Sels We would be much less one faculty today if we had
not gone through this accreditation process.
Steve Van Uytbergen What you find with each visitation
process, is that you are obliged to do to some self-reflection.
You have to write a self-evaluation report, something which is
always a useful exercise and in this case also had an added
value in the integration process. In addition, the award is an
important boost to the international recognition and the further
internationalisation of each of the four campuses.
Tom Van Puyenbroeck Each visitation also creates something
akin to exam stress, particularly at the time of the commissions
visit. That was nodifferent here, and this feeling was shared by
people of all the campuses. That too creates a bond.
WHAT DID THE VISIT OF THE EQUIS COMMITTEE
ENTAIL EXACTLY?

Tom Van Puyenbroeck A group of directors and deans of

foreign universities or business schools visited us for three days.
To get a good idea of how we engage with our stakeholders,
they attended several panels. They looked at our faculty
governance: how is a faculty managed? There was also a focus
on internationalisation. The programmes and student affairs
were looked at, but they also took a close look at the HR policy
and financepolicy. In fact they tried to get a 360 degree image
of the faculty, ending in an assessment whether you meet the
EQUIS standards.
Luc Sels This kind of review checks an organization from top
to bottom. Everything is analysed: technical matters such as
our risk management, our financial position and solvency, the
policy on diversity and sustainability, research and development,
education, corporate connections, etc. In addition, a wide range
of experts from the KU Leuven was interviewed as well:
the technical support services, the education services, the
personnel service, the rector and the chairman. But also
the Alumni association. No stone was left unturned.
This creates a very comprehensive view of a school. You have
to live up to the EQUIS standards in all those domains, only a
few exceptions are allowed. You cant be below par in more
than two or three domains.
WHICH ARE THE STRENGTHS HIGHLIGHTED BY
THE REVIEW AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED?
DOES THIS DIFFER FROM CAMPUS TO CAMPUS?
Tom Van Puyenbroeck The Peer Review Team has highlighted
the Corporate Connections of the faculty as an area of
excellence. That was perhaps a bit unexpected since most
people do not see us as a standard business school, but as a
traditional faculty within a university structure. It turned out that
our corporate connections are an important strength, which is
a nice surprise. The Corporate Council of the FEB played an
important part in this decision, and also in the preparation.
Luc Sels If you think about it, its not at all that surprising, but
sometimes something like this just has to be brought to your
attention by a third party. What also made a difference are the
researchchairs, the alumni association and the corporate
partners who help support the faculty. The Peer Review Team
appreciated the nature and depth of FEBs cooperation with
businesses. Its about much more than corporate sponsoring.
Its an intensive research collaboration with input from both
sides. In addition to the corporate connections, the level of our
research was also strongly highlighted, as well as the researchbased education. The committee was also impressed by our
students. Those are the domains that really caught their eye.
Tom Van Puyenbroeck As far as the corporate connections
are concerned, there are slight differences between each
campus. Brussels has a historical, structural contribution of
visiting professors and resonance councils which are used
differently in Leuven, but it is the overall image of the faculty
across all campuses which got us this great result.

Luc Sels (laughs) Getting very little sleep.

Education@FEB

EQUIS looks for a balance between high

academic quality and the professional
relevance provided by close interaction with
the corporate world. A strong interface with
the world of business is, therefore, as much
a requirement as a strong research potential.
EQUIS attaches particular importance to the
creation of an effective learning environment
that favours the development of students
managerial and entrepreneurial skills, and
fosters their sense of global responsibility.
It also looks for innovation in all respects,
including programme design and pedagogy.
Institutions which are accredited by EQUIS
must demonstrate not only high general quality
in all dimensions of their activities, but also
a high degree of internationalisation.
FEB boasts the largest international
exchange network of any faculty in Flanders
and has extensive links with the corporate
world. National accreditation (NVAO)
demonstrated FEBs dominance as the top
school in Flanders. International EQUIS
accreditation now asserts FEB is not a big
fish in a small pond, but an international
leader in research and education in the field
of economics and business.
By achieving this accreditation, FEB affirms
its place amongst a select group of
accredited schools, such as Amsterdam
Business School, Babson College, BI
Norwegian Business school, Copenhagen
Business School, Edhec, HEC Paris, IESE,
IMD, Insead, Judge Business School
(Cambridge), London Business School,
Rotterdam School of management, Sad
Business School (Oxford), Stockholm School
of Economics, etc.

Steve Van Uytbergen The corporate connections are

present on all campuses, but not always in the same way.
For example, on the Antwerp campus, company projects are
part of the dissertations of our Bachelor students. As such,
education in cooperation with companies is structurally
embedded. The concept of compulsary business projects for
all students is relatively unique within the faculty. The
accreditation applies to the entire faculty, but the committee
also paid a lot of attention to the identity and strengths of each
campus individually.
WHY IS THIS ACCREDITATION IMPORTANT FOR THE
(CURRENT AND FUTURE) STUDENTS OF THE FEB?
Luc Sels The accreditation raises the bar for the FEB. You will
no longer be compared with other Flemish universities, but with
other accredited schools such as the London Business School,
the Guanghua School in Beijing, HEC Paris or Singapore
Management University. You really do play in another league.
We will therefore have to be even more strict on our own quality,
and that can only benefit the students. Some things still have
to be developed further. The mix between analytical skills and
management skills is one of these. This attention to management
skills is more strongly developed on the other campuses than
in Leuven. This is a work in progress but also an exercise in
balance, since we do not intend to lose our focus on analytical
skills. The access to international partners is important for the
students as well. The accreditation allows us to forge even more
partnerships with top business schools. EQUIS also contains
lots of new focus points, for example sustainability and diversity,
which we need to focus on even further within the programmes.
That leads to better education and a better preparation for the
labour market. In addition, you have the international students
of whom we know that they are more likely to opt for schools
which have been accredited. Foreign students have little
information to make a choice and they are easier led by an
accreditation like the EQUIS label. This also implies that we will
get a more international environment in the FEB. And I also think
that the value of the degrees will become greater, especially for
international careers.
Tom Van Puyenbroeck In Brussels we have many international
students, and they were the first ones to notice that we had
acquired the EQUIS accreditation: Yes, we study at a school
with the EQUIS label!.
Rob Stevens

EQUIS Accreditation is awarded by the EFMD,

recognized globally as an accreditation body
of quality in management education with
established accreditation services for
business schools and business school
programmes, corporate universities and
technology-enhanced learning programmes.

 Rob Stevens

AND WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE FOR THE ALUMNI?

Ludovic Deprez Well, we can include the alumni association
in this move for integration. Four campuses, each with its own
past for what the alumni operation is concerned. We must now
move towards one central cooperation. And for the alumni
operation, we want to work to make it a stable whole without
losing the identity of each campus.
THIS ACCREDITATION IS VALID FOR 3 YEARS.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THAT TERM EXPIRES?
Luc Sels We have to submit a progress report each year on
the areas of improvement. After three years, another committee
will visit to reassess the process again in all ten domains.
And then there are three possible outcomes. Either we lose
the accreditation, or we get an extension for 3 years, or we
get an upgrade to a 5 year accreditation. That last one is the
most desirable outcome, obviously.
Tom Van Puyenbroeck An accreditation for 5 years is hardly
ever awarded to a school which applies for the first time. So we
should be quite satisfied, especially because we were in the
middle of the integration process.
Luc Sels The integration has proven to be both an advantage
and a disadvantage. On the one hand, the committee noted
our approach to the integration as a strong point, along with
the corporate connections. They were pleasantly surprised that
after only one year we were already so far along in the
integration process. On the other hand, it was noted that it is
impossible to complete such a large-scale integration after only
one year. We must demonstrate that within three years from
now we form one faculty in more than one way. This is
reasonable, since we work hard day in and day out to make it
so. The policy on sustainability is very elaborate in Brussels for
example, not so in Leuven and Antwerp. Within three years
there should be a faculty-wide policy. In internationalization,
each of us is currently working with its own portfolio of
international partners, something which needs to change.
The three working points are: finalizing the integration, attracting
more international faculty and putting more international
programmes on the market.

THE BENEFITS OF EQUIS

ACCREDITATION
International recognition of excellence
Mechanism for international benchmarking
with the best
Sharing of good practice and mutual learning
Agenda for quality improvement and future
development
Acceleration of quality improvement in
international management education
Asserting a strong international reputation
and meeting the high standards of the best
business schools in the world

Education@FEB

INTEGRATION ABSOC ALUMNI

IN EKONOMIKA ALUMNI
WHAT WERE THE ADVANTAGES FOR ABSOC ALUMNI
TO INTEGRATE IN EKONOMIKA ALUMNI? AND WHAT
ARE THE BENEFITS FOR EKONOMIKA ALUMNI?
Ludovic Deprez Student association Absoc asked to
integrate following the integration of the faculty. We sat down
and I was surprised how smoothly it all went. We agreed almost
instantly, the overall structure was to be strengthened by using
each others strengths. There are concrete benefits for both
sides, especially since we can now offer a wider range to all of
our graduates.
Steve Van Uytbergen In my opinion, an important leverage
was created by the Absoc student association, which has been
governed by some strong boards in recent years. Absoc promoted
the idea to revitalize a local alumni organisation, which in all
honesty had been on a back burner for quite some time on the
Antwerp campus. Here too we wanted to use the integration
as a boost by putting the new Absoc Alumni under the overall
structure of Ekonomika Alumni, an organization that can fall
back on a tradition of many years and a strong structure.
In addition, the alternative of a completely independent alumni
group for the Antwerp campus wouldnt have been logical at all
in the integration context. Thus, the decision was quickly made.
Ludovic Deprez What I would like to add is that Absoc is a
subset with its own board, it is still responsible for its own
activities and finances, but they can use our central
administrative office, our experience, our connections. It is
important that the graduates keep a bond with Absoc and are
not just dropped in an organization with which they have no
relationship. Now, there are 15 or 16 subsets within the alumni
operation (such as regions, departments, generations, Absoc)
that each have their own operation, but which we stimulate to
engage in cooperation on some aspects. If we, for instance,
have an activity in Antwerp which is organized by Absoc for
recent graduates, then the entire region of Antwerp, every
recent graduate and Absoc will be invited. In the past this would
have only been Absoc. Only by cooperating, canwe achieve a
stronger product.
Luc Sels It is important that we have these regional centres
and that this matches the activities of Absoc Alumni. It's not
just joining a group in Leuven, but rather one in your own
province. This also offers opportunities with Brussels, which
also has a well-developed group. If we can expand the activities
on both sides, it will only make us stronger as an alumni group.

ARE TALKS WITH THE BRUSSELS ALUMNI

ASSOCIATION ON THEIR WAY?
Ludovic Deprez We will start talks mid-December, to discuss
the possibilities and possible difficulties. We have to try to
preserve the identity of each campus and to integrate this
identity in the overall structure. For Absoc that went pretty
smoothly since there was demand from both sides.
The intention would be to strive for a similar structure as we have
with Absoc, just because we see that that works quite well.
HOW MANY MEMBERS WILL BE JOINING AND HOW
MANY MEMBERS DOES EKONOMIKA ALUMNI NOW
HAVE IN TOTAL?
Steve Van Uytbergen Absoc Alumni is currently still in its
startup phase. The recruitment campaign for new members is
still ongoing. So it is a little early to be giving a meaningful
indication of the number of members.
Ludovic Deprez I always find it dangerous to talk about
members in the sense of paying members; after all, we are on
organisation for all graduates. You have people who prefer not
to pay their membership but who do often come to activities.
I believe that our primary goal should not be to have as many
paying members as possible, but to have as many activities as
possible in order to appeal to and engage everyone. Whether
that is with Absoc, in West Flanders or at the Department of
P&L, it makes no difference.
Luc Sels This evolution mirrors what we have witnessed with
the faculty. You start with negotiations, yougrow into an
association with autonomous institutions, and finally, you
integrate legally and organizationally. Many of the alumni of the
Antwerp and Brussels campuses never studied in Leuven.
They cannot have a common identity. This shared background
will only be present in the recent graduates. But we are heading
in the same direction with a corporate structure which includes
many identities. So we will use each other's economies of scale
and, hopefully, evolve into a stronger entity. Even so, student
groups will always remain local, and that does affect the alumni
operation a bit. I think you'll always be working with different
chapters or subsets within one alumni structure. But as long as
all those chapters are placed into an overall structure and open
up their activities to each other, the integration will be an
enriching experience.
Michael Boelaert

Honorary doctorate
for top Chinese economist

Justin Yifu Lin

On Monday, 8 September, Vlerick Business School and KU Leuven jointly conferred an
honorary doctorate on Professor Justin Yifu Linn on the occasion of the official opening
of Vlericks academic year. Professor Lin is one of Chinas foremost economists and is
the former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank.
Professor Lin was born on 15 October 1952 in Taiwan. He received an MBA from the
National Chengchi University (Taiwan) in 1978, an MA in political economy from Peking
University in 1982, and a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago in 1986.
He has held positions at top universities including Yale and Duke and was co-founder of the
China Centre for Economic Research and the National School of Development at Peking
University. He has advised many international institutions, including the Asian Development
Bank and the United Nations Millennium Task Force on Hunger. In 2008, he became Chief
Economist of the World Bank, the first person of Asian descent to hold that position.
Currently, Justin Yifu Lin is pursuing an ambitious research project that examines
industrialisation in countries undergoing rapid development. His research also sheds new
light on the causes of stalled growth in poor regions.
PATIENCE TO COOK A STONE
Professor Louis-Henri Verbeke, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vlerick Business
School, delivered the laudatio for the new doctor honoris causa. He emphasised
Professor Lins bold yet gentle demeanor and lauded Lins impressive contributions as a
researcher and as Chief Economist for the World Bank.
Professor Lin played an important role in planning Chinas modern economic
development. In his work, he resolves the ostensibly irresolvable: he built a worldencompassing career without losing sight of China, he reconciled economic performance
with real social harmony, and he successfully brought free market thinking in line with
the needs of developing countries. None of these trajectories are easy, but, to quote one
of his colleagues, Professor Lin possesses the patience to cook a stone.
In his honouree address, Professor Lin spoke specifically about the Chinese economy
and his vision of the role of the market and government in the economy. Since the
transition from a planned economy to a market economy in 1979, Chinas economic
development has soared. China has transformed itself from a poor, agricultural, inwardlooking country into an economic world power and world producer. However, the
sustainability of the Chinese growth model is constantly questioned. In his speech,
Demystifying the Chinese Economy, Professor Lin explained why China has been able
to support such dynamic growth, the price the country has paid for its growth and
whether China will be able to sustain this growth in the years to come.
Rector Rik Torfs closed the session by officially conferring the honorary degree on
Professor Lin. In the citation, Lin is lauded for his contributions to the advancement of
Chinese society, his academic accomplishments in the area development economics,
his pioneering work as a co-founder of the National School of Development and his
courage and dedication in defence of universal human rights.

Education@FEB

Laudatio for Professor Justin Yifu Lin,

delivered by Louis-Henri Verbeke,
Chairman of the Vlerick Business School.
Rector Torfs
Your Excellencies
Esteemed Colleagues
Ladies and Gentlemen
Dear students
It was not so difficult I thought, to
introduce Prof Justin Yifu Lin to you.
These are the words I took from the titles
of his 25 books: Demystifying, The
Quest, Rethinking, Development and
especially Against the Consensus.
He is not the only economist who begs to disagree; very few
however distinguish themselves in doing so as world class
players. Even fewer would give credit to their team rather than
themselves. Almost none have created an institution which
provides first rate thinking to a leading nation and trains that
nations economic leaders.
The name he chose has a meaning in the thought of Confucius.
Yifu Lin means: A persistent man on a long journey, I learned,
so perhaps, just perhaps, his path was unavoidable.
He is a famously eminent scholar of course. Famous in many
ways. Courageous. Intensively private. Gentle. Paradoxical.
Polite but reportedly desperate when presented with a personal
business opportunity.
With a PhD of the University of Chicago, he went back to China
with free market thinking but not the Chicago version. He
would dispute and be very annoyed by the claim that he created
a Chinese version of free market thinking. Since we aim to
please him, at least today, I will restrict myself to suggesting,
sotto voce, that he assembled a team which was not irrelevant
to some of the changes which occurred in China.
Prof Lin is an unusual man. He was born on an island off the
coast of China. He was the first Chinese to return with a US PhD
after the cultural revolution. He was the first Asian to be named
Chief Economist of the World Bank but, more importantly,
so he replied to a journalist in a rare moment of cheekiness,
I quote, more importantly I may be first Chief Economist of the
World Bank understanding the needs of developing countries.
Since providing loans to developing countries is the goal of the
World Bank that comment went far.
He is a bit of a hero for all those who profess and try to live the
world of competing truths. State intervention and free markets,
a global career and loyalty to his people, academic excellence
and pragmatically building institutions, political clout and civil
society, economic performance and harmony.

10

To me he is the kind of man whom Gandhi thought of when he

stated that one has to be the change one wants to see.
He also makes me think, at times, of the other great Asian
economist, Sen of India, the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics,
who shares the idea that justice cannot be seen in binary terms
and must be managed in a continuum , an idea opposite to
some Western abstract ideals and single truths.
Ladies and Gentleman, I agree with Prof Lin that, whether in
economics or in justice, one size does not fit all. As a man from
the East and a man of the West, he does not just serve China.
He pursues development e.g. for Africa. A global man who helps
us to practise the ultimate Greek virtue Thaumazo, the
intellectual attitude most necessary of academics in general and
economists in particular to distinguish rather than to ideologize.
I cannot but thank the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, with the
Universiteit Gent, the Schools parent university, for gracing this
event with its centuries old tradition. I personally thank the
University and Rector Torfs for the honour of presenting this
Laudatio in the Universitys traditional robes, an honour which
I do not deserve.
I cannot end this laudatio without acknowledging the 20th
Anniversary of the National School of Development, NSD,
founded by Justin Lin as the China Centre of Economic
Research, at Peking University, which the Vlerick Business
School proudly partners with.
NSD is most arguably the leading think tank for China, a
major educational reformer and a pioneer in economic and
management thinking.
Let me end with Prof Lins introduction to the brochure
published for the National School of Developments 20th
anniversary. He quotes the 4th century Chinese philosopher
Mencius by some likened to Socrates: If I reflect on myself and
find myself to be right, then even if it be an army of a hundred
thousand, I will go forward. That and Renew yourself day
after day, time and again are the mottos of the NSD and its
founder Professor Dr Justin Yifu Lin, the persistent man on a
long journey . One of his colleagues reportedly said about him:
He has the patience to cook a stone.
Prof Justin Yufi Lin does satisfy every possible meaning of the
concept of distinction. Todays event is but acknowledging this.
For these reasons, Honourable Rector, I invite you on the
recommendation of the Academic Counsel of the Katholieke
Universiteit Leuven as parent university of Vlerick Business
School, and the Vlerick School to confer the honorary
doctorate of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven upon Professor
Dr Justin Yifu Lin.

Press conference Professor Dr. Justin Yifu Lin Q&A

WHAT DOES THIS HONORARY DOCTORATE MEAN
TO YOU?
Its a privilege to receive this honorary doctorate from a very
prestigious institution in Europe. On the one hand, its a
recognition of my involvement in the development of an
academic institution and on the other hand, it provides a platform
for further engagement with Belgium. I can say its a great
opportunity and a great honor for me.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES FOR THE
CHINESE ECONOMY IN THE YEARS TO COME?
In my analysis, I always look at the potential of growth and the
challenges. If you can overcome the challenges and tap into
the potential, you can grow. The opportunity lies in the
advantage of backwardness (a developing country borrows
technology, industry and institutions from the developed
countries at low risk and costs). China has the potential to
grow to 8% (average growth). The main challenges that China
must overcome are income disparity and corruption. The roots
of both challenges are the same, but we have to cope with
them to satisfy the people, especially for the low and middle
income people who envy the rich. One way is increasing
discipline and monitoring the Chinese government. They have
to help the poor in terms of education, housing, and
distribution of income Another way is to eliminate the
possibility for corruption.
IS THE CRISIS IN UKRAINE A CONCERN FOR
CHINAS ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA,
OR LOOKING AT THE EUROPEAN TRADE
SANCTIONS -, RATHER AN OPPORTUNITY?
China is a market economy in the globalizing world and we will
tap into the potential of new opportunities. China is poor in
resources but Russia has a lot. China has been negotiating with
Russia for access to natural gas and other resources for a long
time. Recently, we concluded an agreement with Russia for the
use of the gas for twenty years, worth 400 billion US dollars.
So what is good for China, is good for Russia.

HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE ALLIANCE BETWEEN

SCHOOLS IN LEUVEN AND BEIJING? WHAT ARE
THE MAIN REASONS WHY THE LEUVEN STUDENTS
SHOULD CHOOSE CHINA/THE BEIJING UNIVERSITY
TO STUDY ABROAD?
We are proud to have this sort of collaborations. In a process
of modernization, we need to benefit from each other. Our MBA
program in China, as a result of our collaboration with Vlerick,
has been ranked first by prestigious institutions like Financial
Times and Bloomberg. This alliance is also good for Vlerick
because China is likely to maintain an economic growth. By the
end of this year, China may be the largest country in the world
in economic sense (with the largest market). So there are huge
business opportunities in our country. If students are coming to
China, it will benefit their careers. I see this collaboration as a
win-win situation for both Chinese and Vlerick students.
IMPRESSIEVERSLAG
On the occasion of the opening of the academic year at Vlerick
Business School, an honorary doctorate was procured to
Professor Justin Yifu Lin. In advance, there was a small press
conference for economic media where Professor Lin described
the headlines of his book Demystifying the Chinese economy.
The keynote of the lecture was advantage of backwardness.
A developing country can benefit from experiences and
knowledge of developed countries. China achieved great results
with low risk and lower costs because they borrowed
technology, industry and institutions from the advanced
countries. Besides this, other relevant topics of the Chinese
growth were discussed, inter alia the costs for success and tips
for other developing countries.
I can conclude that it was a very interesting afternoon and a
true honor to meet the man whos considered very influential
in the analysis of economic growth in China.
Josephine Verschoore

11

Awards, chairs and appoitments

Education@FEB

12

KBC CHAIR: A DATA QUALITY FRAMEWORK FOR EFFECTIVE

RISK DATA AGGREGATION AND RISK REPORTING
The objective of this research
chair is:
to conduct research for the
development of a Data Quality
Framework for financial data and
for the influence of business
processes and ICT-architecture
on data quality;
to conduct research on the way
to achieve a high quality of
financial data.
The titleholders of this chair are
prof. dr. Monique Snoeck and
prof. dr. Wilfried Lemahieu

Prof. Anne ter Braak wins IJRM-EMAC Best Paper Award

Professor Anne ter Braak has won the 2013 IJRM-EMAC Best Paper Award.
She received the award in Valencia, Spain, at EMAC 2014, the annual conference of
the European Marketing Academy. Does private-label production by national-brand
manufacturers create discounter goodwill? (co-authored by Barbara Deleersnyder,
Inge Geyskens and Marnik G. Dekimpe) was considered the best paper published
in the International Journal of Research in Marketing in 2013.

Paul Verdin has

been appointed
as Senior Fellow
at the MossavarRahmani Center
for Business and
Government
at the Harvard
Kennedy School

Vlaamse
Wetenschappelijke
Stichting
The Prize of the Vlaamse
Wetenschappelijke Stichting
has been awarded to
professor Laurens Cherchye,
for his joint research with
professors Bram De Rock
and Frederic Vermeulen
(all FEB)

2015
Francqui chair
Professor Bram De Rock
(FEB) will hold the 2015
Francqui chair at the
Universit de Namur.

KU LEUVEN AND COCA COLA SERVICES

SET UP A NEW CHAIR.
On 28 october, the agreement between the Coca-Cola
Services NV/SA firm and the KU Leuven was officially signed,
formally establishing a new research chair. This chair is
called: "COCA-COLA CHAIR: Gaining business value out
of Big Data and Predictive Analytics" The titleholders of this
chair are Professor Dr. Wilfried Lemahieu and Professor
Dr. Bart Baesens

13

Education@FEB

Quiz for
Vriendtjes Tegen Kanker
A great combination of quiz fun, humor and warm commitment
for charity: that is the summary of the quiz for Vriendtjes Tegen
Kanker that took place on October 7 in the Pieter De Somer
auditorium. Following the well-known concept of De Pappenheimers, three panels with each a famous Fleming, a professor
at the Catholic University of Leuven and a chairman of a student
association battled for eternal glory!
Prof. Dr. Luc Sels, Klaas Delrue and Koen Spliet (for Economics
and Business), Prof. Dr. Luk Draye, Bart Cannaerts and
Michael Bauwens (for Arts) and Prof. Dr. Ignace Vergote, Els
De Schepper and Victor Mazereel (for Medicine) were grilled
by the Funds godfather, Tom Lenaerts. All under the supervision of juror Rik Torfs and the audience, that also played for
great prizes. After an exciting battle the team with Bart
Cannaerts was allowed to call itself the winner of the evening!
Thanks to the numerous attendees the Vriendtjes were able
to make a nice contribution for the much needed research
for ovarian cancer, a rare and aggressive form of cancer that
affects women of all ages.

Farewell to Louis Baeck,

the first popular Flemish economist

On 29 November 2014, retired professor Louis Baeck

passed away at the age of 86. He was often
mentioned in the news, when discussing important
current affairs and especially development economics.
Books like De Wereld is ons Dorp and Staat Brazili
model? have become classics in their field. Louis
Baeck was a student of Gaston Eyskens, father of
Mark Eyskens, former Prime Minister and Professor of
economics at the University of Leuven. His specialization
in development economics and the economy of
developing countries was inspired by his experience
in Congo, where he taught at the Lovanium University
in Kinshasa for a while before 1960. Ekonomika Alumni
will continue to commemorate Louis Baeck as a great
icon of the Leuven economic school. He applied the
motto La vie, c'est l'art de la rencontre daily.
On behalf of the Faculty of Economics and Business,
the alumni association Ekonomika offers its
condolences to the family.

14

Vriendtjes Tegen Kanker wants to give every woman a fair

chance in the fight against this silent killer and at the same
time increase awareness for the disease. By selling handmade jewels, participating in sports activities and other
various initiatives, money is raised for the research that falls
under the direction of Prof. Dr. Ignace Vergote, European
expert in gynecological cancer.
Ordering jewels or learning more about the functioning
and activities of Vriendtjes Tegen Kanker can be done on
www.vriendtjestegenkanker.be. You can also directly support
Vriendtjes Tegen Kanker by contributing on the donation
account of the KU Leuven, account number BE45 7340
1941 7789 (mentioning the credit number EVO-FOVTK1O2010). Gifts ranging from 40 euro are tax deductible.

15

Research@FEB

Can we explain
Frank Vastmans en Sven Damen

From the mid-1990s until the recent financial crisis, house

prices have increased at an astonishing growth rate in almost
every developed country. Never before had house prices risen
so fast, for so long, in so many countries according to
The Economist (November 26th, 2011). Even after the crisis,
The Economist (November 26th, 2011; January 4th, 2014) and
many policy institutions argue that many property markets "are
still looking uncomfortably overvalued. But how do we measure
whether or not a house price is above its fundamental value?
PRICE-TO-INCOME RATIO
An often used measure of overvaluation in the housing market
is based on the price-to-income ratio. The indicator is defined
as the ratio of the average house price to the average income
per capita. Any deviation from the long-run average is interpreted
as over- or undervaluation. The idea is that temporary deviations
from income are possible, but that house prices will return to
its fundamental value in the long run. It is indeed perceived
wisdom among housing market observers that house prices
cannot outgrow income in the long run (see The Wall Street
Journal; July 25, 2002 among others). Figure 1 presents the
over- or undervaluation based on this indicator for Belgium, its
neighboring countries, the United Kingdom and the United
States. We observe that the current price-to-income ratio can
deviate significantly from its historical average. Of all OECD
countries in which statistics are available, Belgium has the
largest deviation in the second quarter of 2014. The Belgian
price-to-income ratio is currently 44% above its long-run average.
Figure 1: Over- or undervaluation in 2014Q2 based on
historical price-to-income ratio

The existing literature, however, does not find convincing evidence

that house prices do return to income in the long run. Thus the
question remains: does there exist an alternative fundamental
value to which house prices converge in the long run? And if so,
what does explain the recent evolution of house prices?
BORROWING CAPACITY AS THE MOST IMPORTANT
DETERMINANT OF THE HOUSE PRICE
In our research, we find convincing evidence that the amount
that households are able to pay through their mortgage is the
most important determinant of house prices, rather than income
alone. We adjust the commonly used price-to-income ratio as
most borrower have to borrow for their home purchase through
a mortgage. The amount that households are able to pay is then
critically dependent upon their borrowing capacity. Historically,
the growth in the borrowing capacity is driven by growth in the
average income. But in recent decades, decreasing interest
rates had also an important role. This is not surprising: a
decrease in the interest rate of one percentage point, increases
the borrowing capacity by 10% given the same amount of
monthly mortgage payments.
Also differences in mortgage characteristics and the fiscal
advantage for homeownership have an important impact.
For these determinants, we observe large differences over time
and between countries. In the Netherlands (among other
countries), interest payments were fully deductible from taxable
income. The fiscal deductibility of interest payments resulted in
a large share of interest-only mortgages in the Netherlands.
Borrowers did not repay their mortgage to make maximum use
of the fiscal advantage. Belgium was, on the other hand, the
only country in the world where borrowers could deduct capital
payments (instead of interest payments) from their taxable
income until 2005. The deductibility of capital payments
provided a fiscal incentive to repay the mortgage over a relative
short time period as the fiscal benefits are tilted towards the
final mortgage payments.
For these reasons, we developed a model in which house
prices are dependent upon the long-term interest rate,
mortgage characteristics and the fiscal advantage for homeowners, in addition to the evolution of income alone. This allows
us to calculate one indicator, the ability to pay (ATP) for housing.

Source: OECD. Own calculations.

16

the evolution
of house prices?
The indicator measures the borrowing capacity of the average
borrower, given a fixed percentage of income that goes to
mortgage payments.
In Figure 2, we construct our measure of ATP for housing in
Belgium. We step-wise include the different components in the
indicator: first the evolution of income, second the effect of the
interest-rate, and finally the effect of the fiscal advantage for
homeowners. We are then able to compare these different
indicators with the evolution of Belgian house prices since 1973.

Figure 2: The evolution of Belgian house prices and indicators

Note: The house price is equal to the third quartile of the sale price of houses
on the secondary market. We correct the series to control for the
reclassification between houses and villas that took place between 2004 and
2005. Source: StatBel, NBB, ASLK. Own calculations.

The yellow line at the bottom presents the evolution of average

disposable income per capita. A comparison of the yellow and
blue line, reveals that income alone is insufficient to explain the
recent evolution of house prices in Belgium. From the mid1990s, we observe a structural divergence between the
evolution of income and house prices, which is also observed
in many other countries. The green line presents the evolution
of the borrowing capacity if we incorporate the effect of the
evolution of the long-term interest rates and the effect of the
fiscal advantage before 2005. We can see that the indicator is
able to explain the evolution until the mid-2000s due to
decreasing mortgage rates.

In 2005, the Belgian government introduced a new fiscal

advantage for homeowners (woonbonus). For the average
household, the net tax relief more than doubled. The new
system was no longer a pure capital deduction, such that
borrowers had an incentive to take a longer mortgage term to
make maximum use of the fiscal advantage over a longer horizon.
The dashed green indicator in Figure 2 includes the effect of
new fiscal advantage since 2005 in combination with longer
mortgage terms due to fiscal optimization. A comparison of the
dashed green line and the blue line indicates that the inclusion
of the effect of the fiscal advantage is able to explain the recent
evolution of house prices in Belgium.
To summarize: first-time homebuyers spend a fixed percentage
of income on net mortgage payments over time. The evolution
of the interest rate, mortgage characteristics and the tax relief
results in variation in the borrowing capacity, given these
mortgage payments. The econometric tests indicate that house
prices and the measure of borrowing capacity adjusted for the
net tax relief are cointegrated. Temporary deviations between
house prices and the indicator are thus possible, but house
prices will converge towards the indicator in the long run.
An important result is the relationship between the fiscal
advantage for homeowners and the house price. The study
includes 8 countries in which it is possible to deduct mortgage
interest or where the maximum rate at which mortgage interest
is deductible has changed over time. In 7 of these countries,
the net tax relief for homeowners capitalizes into house prices
according to the predictions of the model. The results, therefore,
indicate that the effectiveness of a general fiscal advantage for
homeowners is limited. Figure 3 indeed confirms that the
average home-ownership rate in Belgium was not affected by
the major policy change in 2005.

The results indicate that the

effectiveness of a general fiscal
advantage for homeowners is limited
as the net tax relief for homeowners
capitalizes into house prices according
to the predictions of the model.

17

Research@FEB

Figure 3: Home-ownership rate in Belgium (in percent)

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE

The reader who expects a clear forecast of future house prices
will be rather disappointed. The results do indicate that house
price corrections since the recent financial crisis were stronger
in countries that were relatively more overvalued based on the
indicator of the borrowing capacity. But for Belgium, we do not
observe a structural overvaluation based on the indicator that
incorporates the effect of the new fiscal advantage since 2005.
But this does not indicate that house prices cannot decrease
in the future.

Note: The home-ownership rate is defined as the share of the population

that lives in an owner-occupied home. Source: EU-SILC.

OTHER DETERMINANTS OF HOUSE PRICES

Furthermore, we find evidence that the borrowing capacity is
also a determinant of the price of new construction in Flanders.
The long-term relationship between the borrowing capacity and
the house price is thus observed for both the price of new
construction and houses on the secondary market. The double
relationship indicates that new constructed homes and houses
on the secondary market are close substitutes. The land price
of the building plots is then determined on a residual basis: it is
equal to the borrowing capacity minus the construction cost.
This residual pricing mechanism implies that the comparative
advantage of new housing supply in case of house price
increases disappears. The price increases on the secondary
market are indeed translated into the land price.

The announcements by the Flemish government with respect

to changes in the net tax relief from 2015, do have a predictable
impact on the borrowing capacity of households. Given the
same amount of net mortgage payments, the tax reform
decreases the borrowing capacity by 6 to 7%. If the other
determinants remain unchanged (which is unlikely), the model
implies that house prices will converge in the long run to a
fundamental value that is 6 to 7% lower than without the tax
change. The evolution of future house prices is, however,
dependent upon the evolution of all fundamental determinants
of the borrowing capacity, some of which are relatively difficult
to forecast.

The price increases on the secondary

market are translated into the land
price as new construction and
houses on the secondary market
are close substitutes.

REFERENCES
The latter is indeed important to understand the role of
demographic forces in models that explain the evolution of
house prices. The demographic pressure increases the price of
housing, but an increase in the supply of houses decreases the
house price accordingly. If growth in the number of households
is equal to the growth in the supply of housing, the net effect
on house prices is equal to zero. Demographic pressure is often
a temporary determinant, with no role in the long-run evolution
of house prices. This is the case for most countries where the
supply of housing is in line with household growth. A permanent
demographic shrinkage would, however, cause a permanent
effect on house prices. The effect of demographic shrinkage could
indeed have an important effect for some countries in the future.

18

Damen, S., Vastmans, F., and Buyst, E. (2014).

Kunnen we de prijsevolutie van woningen verklaren?

CES-Leuvense Economische Standpunten, LES (S) 2014/142.
Damen, S., Vastmans, F., and Buyst, E. (2014).
The Long-Run Relationship between House Prices and
Income Reexamined: The Role of Mortgage Interest
Deduction and Mortgage Product Innovation,
KU Leuven Discussion Paper No. 14.09.
Vastmans F., Buyst E., Helgers R., and Damen S. (2014).
Woningprijzen: woningprijs-mechanisme & marktevenwichten. De logica, nood en valkuilen van
betaalbaarheid als woningprijs determinant, Steunpunt
Wonen, Leuven.
Goeyvaerts G., Haffner M., Heylen K., Van den Broeck
K., Vastmans F.(cordinator), Winters S., and Buyst E.
(promotor), Onderzoek naar de woonfiscaliteit in
Vlaanderen, onderzoek in opdracht van Wonen
Vlaanderen (2014).

In the long run we are all dead,

even in real estate

50 before Christ. Caesar has overtaken all of Gaul, except for
one small village. Crismus Bonus (was he after all a banker?),
the Roman garrison's commanding centurion, finds out that the
Gauls have a magic potion, which makes Asterix, Obelix and
their friends invincible.
2014 after Christ. Belgium is about the only village in this
globalized world where, six years after the start of the financial
crisis, housing prices have not yet decreased. Strange.
Following respectful sources as The Economist and the OECD
housing prices are only in few other countries as overvalued as
in Belgium. Up to 60 percent. Do the Belgians have a magic
potion as well? Trappist of Westvleteren?
Belgians have a strong traditional belief in residential real estate.
Three out of four Belgians own a house. That is one of the
highest rates in the world. But the recent residential real estate
performance in Belgium is less spectacular than most people
estimate. If one takes into account the inflation and the
improved quality of the average house sold, there has been no
relevant increase in housing prices in real terms (i.e. corrected
for inflation) since 2009.
Frank Vastmans and Sven
Damen have proven the much
greater relevance of the
borrowing capacity (compared
to price-to-income) to understand the evolution of housing
prices. As researchers they are very careful to make projections
about the future. In my opinion (journalists are paid to be more
outspoken) the magic potion of the Belgians is gone.

ING estimates that the woonbonus is cut by up to 40.775 euro

over the entire period of a loan of 20 years. There will be much
less of a free lunch in real estate.
Ceteris paribus, the Romans said. Of course, the other
conditions do not stay the same and will influence the prices.
And never underestimate the unique character of a house and
its location. And the dynamics can change over the years.
A villa in Brasschaat and a fermette at the countryside were
fifteen years ago seen as the ultimate investment, a one
bedroom flat in Brussels as a much less interesting alternative.
But today?
One should also be careful to see the demographic boom as
the saviour of last resort for the entire market. There will be large
increases in cities like Brussels and Antwerp, but less
inhabitants in the villages. The average number of people in
towns with less than 5.000 inhabitants has diminished with
4 percent since 2000.
Belgians need to develop a more realistic approach towards
real estate prices. The last thirty years were exceptional.
Those who still doubt: take a look at the Herengracht house
index. It covers housing prices from the construction of the
Herengracht in Amsterdam in the 1620s up to 2008. The street
has been a top location for over nearly four centuries. In 2007
the average housing price at Herengracht (2,6 million euro), after
correction for inflation, approached the historical record price
of 1776. We all know what happened with the housing prices
in 2008 in the Netherlands. And Im afraid that neighter drinking
a trappist or a new fiscal potion or derivative loanched by
their government, will help in the short term neither the Dutch
nor the Belgians.

The secret (?) cocktail of three major tasty ingredients

approaches its expiration date.
ONE.
The continuous decrease of the mortgage rates (from 14
percent in the mid-eighties to less than 4 percent today) will not
last forever. Mortgage rates will never drop under zero. Be sure,
one day they will go up again.

PATRICK LUYSTERMAN
Licentiaat T.E.W. 1978

TWO.
The chances of an increasing purchasing power are going to be
very limited in the coming years. Whether we like it or not, the
federal government Michel I and its Flemish counterpart Bourgeois
I have no other choice than to ask their people for a couple of years
of socio-economic blood, sweat and tears. The best of the cuts
has still to come. (Journalists are born pessimists.)

Journalist

THREE.
The fiscal advantages are under pressure. In Flanders the
woonbonus has already been made less attractive.

Works at the business

paper De Tijd, covers
real estate

MBA 1979
Member of the Board
Ekonomika Alumni
Antwerpen

19

Research@FEB

Telematics insurance:

the safer you drive,

the less you pay
Telematics technology the integrated use of telecommunication and informatics
may fundamentally change the car insurance industry by allowing insurers to base
their prices on the real driving behavior instead of on traditional policyholder
characteristics and historical claims information. Telematics insurance or usage-based
insurance (UBI) can drive down the cost for low-mileage clients and good drivers.

Using telematics technology in commercial vehicles enables

to transmit and receive information that allows an insurance
company to better assess the accident risk of drivers and
adjust the premiums accordingly. A small black box device,
containing a GPS system, electronics that capture hundreds
of sensor inputs, a SIM card and some computer software, is
installed in your car. It monitors your driving behavior directly
and shares this information with the insurer. Simply put, the
less and the safer you drive, the less you will pay.
Car insurance is traditionally priced based on self-reported
information from the policyholder, most importantly: age,
license age, postal code, engine power, use of the vehicle, and
claims history. However, these observable risk factors are only
proxy variables, not reflecting present patterns of driving
behavior, such as temper, skill, and aggressiveness behind the
wheel. Hence, a lot of heterogeneity between drivers remains.
Over time, insurers try to refine this a priori risk classification
and restore fairness using no-claim discounts and claim
penalties. This so-called bonus-malus system differentiates
based on the historical claim pattern rather than present
patterns of behavior.
It is expected that these traditional methods of risk assessment
will become obsolete. Your car usage and your driver abilities
can be better assessed based on telematics data collected,
such as: the distance driven, the time of day, how long you have
been driving, the location, the speed, harsh or smooth breaking,
aggressive acceleration or deceleration, your cornering and
parking skills Furthermore, the data collected from your car
can be enriched with other sources of data, for example road
maps (and corresponding speed limitations), weather and traffic
information. This high dimensional data, collected on the fly,
will force pricing actuaries to change their current practice.

20

New statistical models will have to be developed to adequately

set premiums based on individual policyholders motoring habits
instead of the risk associated to their peer group.
The drivers most likely to benefit are those the standard
insurance market is currently overpricing. Infrequent drivers will
receive a fairer premium, making vehicle ownership more
affordable. Young drivers and drivers in other high risk groups,
who are typically facing hefty insurance premiums, can be judged
based on how they really drive. Women under the 2012 EU
ruling, banning price differentiation based on gender, may be able
to confirm through telematics that they really are safer drivers.
Through this form of pay-how-you-drive insurance, fairness will
be increased and cross-subsidization reduced. This improved
customer segmentation will allow insurers to dynamically align
insurance policies with actual risks.
Clearly some positive side-effects are to be expected.
Telematics insurance gives a high incentive to change the
current driving pattern and stimulates more responsible driving.
Gamification of usage-based insurance can further enhance the
customer experience by making it more interactive, gratifying
and even exciting. Less and safer driving is rewarded, leading
to improved road safety and reduced vehicle travel with less
congestion, pollution, fuel consumption, road cost, crashes
Governments could set taxes based on actual car usage.
Toll operators could automatically apply road usage charging.
Car sharing services could evaluate personalized car care.
Automated emergency response, immediate crash or breakdown assistance, theft tracking, geo-fencing, no texting while
driving, accident reconstruction and scam identification can also
be achieved thanks to the black box.

The choice for the kind of tracking device to be used is a raging

ongoing debate. Professionally installed black boxes are the most
reliable, but also the most expensive UBI solution on the market.
Alternatives are self-installed onboard diagnostics devices, smartphone solutions, embedded factory-installed solutions and some
sort of hybrids, which all have their strengths and weaknesses.
Telematics insurance still seems a niche market. Even though the
technology first surfaced more than 10 years ago, the high
implementation costs of the device and its complexity limited its
success. Technology and telecommunications advances have
however improved the cost substantially. Early adopters of UBI
were seen primarily in North America, Italy and the United
Kingdom due to the higher premiums, particularly for young
drivers, and a higher incidence of fraudulent claims and vehicle
theft. Montis decree of 2012, mandating Italian insurers to
provide a telematics option, has made Italy the most active
country in Europe in telematics insurance, with the overall
penetration level approaching 5%.
In other European countries, with less insurance fraud and theft
issues, premiums have always been much lower, yielding a smaller
margin to pay for such technology. Yet, the European Court of
Justice, ruling that gender is prohibited as a rating variable, might
further limit the use of proxy variables, such as age and postal
code, when pricing insurance risk. Moreover, the European eCall
initiative, which is scheduled to come into play by the end of 2017
or early 2018, forces all new-model passenger cars to install a
telematics device that will automatically dial 112 in the event of an
accident, providing precise location and impact data. Insurance
companies could easily jump the wagon by expanding the device
capabilities towards telematics insurance support, rendering the
current device debate obsolete on the long term and driving
increased usage of telematics in insurance.

Potential sources of resistance include privacy concerns, data

ownership and data security. However, many consumers value
the benefits more versus the loss of privacy in the growing use
of smartphones and tablets, social media networks, GPS
systems, electronic toll collection devices, search engines
personalizing adverts based on data mining, online retailers
analyzing shopping patterns... In insurance, the notion of trust
has always been a key factor in the relationship as insureds
share a lot of sensitive information. If the potential savings on
their car insurance are significant enough and they trust their
data is relatively secure, consumers will be more willing to make
the trade-off. Lingering concerns about personal privacy can
be mitigated by aggregating drivers data and moving away from
continuous tracking.
Anyway, insurance companies are challenged to come up with
new business models based on the upswing of telematics,
complying with existing and forthcoming legislation and
regulations. The industry sector realizes the urgency. The winners
might be those who act fast and attract the better risks, leaving
their competitors to lose profitable policyholders and to insure only
the most risky drivers. Rating agencies have therefore already
recommended the shift towards telematics insurance. Much is still
to be investigated, creating many opportunities for scientific
research, in which the joint efforts of the research groups in
Insurance and Business Statistics at FEB can play a role.
Meanwhile car manufacturers, telecom and internet companies
invest a lot in connected car systems and driverless vehicles.
Even though still in an early stage, this could phenomenally
reduce the accident rate and require an even more drastic
reinvention of the car insurance industry of the future.
Roel Verbelen

21

Academic
Hero

Every edition of ECONnect, we place the spotlight on a different FEB

professor and let them introduce his or her academic hero.
For this 8th edition, professor Robert Boute chose Marc Lambrecht,
Zeger Degraeve and Jan Van Mieghem as a source of inspiration.

The academic heroes

of Robert Boute

Marc Lambrecht,
Zeger Degraeve and
Jan Van Mieghem
22

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE MARC LAMBRECHT,

ZEGER DEGRAEVE AND JAN VAN MIEGHEM
AS YOUR ACADEMIC HEROES?
Robert Boute: There are several people in our field (Production
& Logistics) who I look up to, like Hau Lee at Stanford University
and Steve Graves at MIT, but ultimately I chose three professors
who influenced me personally in my academic career, each in a
different way. First of all I chose Marc Lambrecht of our faculty.
Secondly Zeger Degraeve. He used to be a professor here, he was
at London Business School and is now dean of the Melbourne
Business School. The third person is Jan Van Mieghem, professor
at the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University.
All three of them influenced and shaped me as an academic.

Marc Lambrecht taught the course Production

and Inventory management in my third year as a
business engineering student at the FEB. It was an
eye opener. Professor Lambrecht has the gift to
teach complex course material in a very clear way.
In his course, he could make the link between mathematical
derivations and usable practical insights. This appealed to
me and it influenced me to choose the major Production
and Inventory management, or Production and Logistic
Management as its now called. Later on, I built my career on
this specialisation and I also completed my PhD with Marc.
The way he guided me, makes me the researcher I am today.
Marc taught me that you need to have academic rigour, but also
not to lose track of the practical relevance.

My second academic hero is Zeger Degraeve.

During the last year of my business engineering
course, he had already moved to London, but he
still taught the course Operations research at
the FEB. Each Monday morning he travelled from
London to teach us and Im still grateful to him for that.
He taught us the same way he did his MBA students at the
business school. Something I hadnt witnessed before in
the 5 preceding years. He made use of case-studies, like the
Red Brand Canners Case, which I still remember to this day.
He could clarify a complex operational problem in a clear way.
Like Marc, he could solve relevant problems using mathematics.
And he did so in very engaging manner, with a lot of student
interaction. When I started teaching at Vlerick Business School
after my PhD (I divide my time between FEB and Vlerick) I think
I unconsciously kept the Zeger-model in my mind. I have now
developed my own way, and I certainly dont want to pretend
to be able to teach in the same way as Zeger could, but he
influenced me greatly in the way I teach today. I still meet Zeger
now and then, but sadly not as much as I would like to. He doesnt
know, but he influenced me greatly in the way I teach today.

The third person who shaped me is Jan Van

Mieghem. I first met him when he was on
sabbatical at the FEB in 2005. In 2010 I had the
opportunity to visit his department in Chicago as
visiting professor. Jan is someone who doesnt
compromise when it concerns high quality academic research,
yet he can make an abstraction of that when he teaches
business executives and give the content a spin so that its
relevant for those participating in his class. He can teach the
same material to MBAs, executives and researchers, each in a
different way that is best suited for them. I find that to be a gift.
I wrote a paper with him, which was also a great learning
experience. He was very stimulating to really push it to the max.
And what was great is that while we were working, he often
said: Robert, isnt this great fun?. Finding pleasure in pagelong mathematical evidence to then generate practical usable
insights: the beauty of the math, thats what he called it.
Publishing is important, but the intrinsic motivation of the work
itself makes it enjoyable. And for me that enjoyment-aspect is
also very important. Our paper was on offshoring vs. Backshoring: do we have to produce in China to benefit from low
labour costs, or do you have to stay local where its more
expensive but where youre closer to the market. It is very
relevant today and many companies struggle with this question.
If you can develop useful insights from your research and teach
those in your classes, thats very rewarding. Like Marc, theres
a connection to Jan in the way of thinking and working. We still
keep regularly in touch and often go cycling together.
Something which characterises all three of them is that they are
all very warm people to be around. On the one hand theyre very
committed to their work and they maintain very high standards,
but on the other they enjoy working with young researchers like
myself. I feel truely priveleged to have been influenced by them
for me all three of them are academic heroes.
Michael Boelaert

ROBERT BOUTE
Associate professor (part-time) Faculty
of Economics and Business (FEB) and
Vlerick Business School
Research Centre for Operations
Management, Leuven
Robert.boute@kuleuven.be

23

Students@FEB

Top sport @ FEB:

Jesse Stroobants
The name Jesse Stroobants rings
a bell amongst fans of athletics.
Jesse was one of our best
national cross-country runners
and had high ambitions in
marathon running.
After several years of being
injured, however, we lost sight of
him. Now that he has recovered,

It makes sense that you make that transition towards the end of your
career, but it was certainly not intended to take so long. In 2008 I already
attempted to make the transition to the marathon, but in the end that
didnt happen due to the build-up of injuries. I was out of competition for
three years. So I didnt intend to wait until now, after all Im already 34
years old. The goal was to start much sooner, especially since Ive always
known that the marathon would be my best distance. The ultimate goal
was therefore to make it to the 2012 Olympics in London. Because of my
injuries that didnt plan out.

Jesse finally resurfaces in

WHAT INJURIES ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

marathon running. Jesse studied

Well, the great fortune was that its always been different ones.
Probably compensation injuries, but nothing chronical. People with, for
example, a chronic Achilles tendon injury are likely to be obliged to stop,
but that wasnt the case for me. I have been troubled by my knee, my
feet, little things. It was always a quest to fix it. I dont have a very strong
chassis. Thats one of the gifts that wasnt attributed to me. I naturally
have great stamina and I can say that Im a good distance runner, but that
sensitivity to injury will remain a difficulty until the end of my career. I found
a better balance now, also because the intensity of my workouts has been
lowered slightly since Im combining running with a full time job.
Maybe that balance was needed in order to be able to run marathons.

Business Engineering and was a

teaching assistant at the Faculty
of Economics and Business
(KU Leuven). Since 2010,
he works as a research associate
at the Public Governance
Institute (KU Leuven).
24

YOU HAVE STARTED FOCUSING ON MARATHON RUNNING.

IS THAT A LOGICAL CHOICE NOW THAT YOURE NEARING
THE END OF YOUR ATHLETIC CAREER?

HOW MANY YEARS DO YOU HAVE LEFT

TO COMPETE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL?

WOULD YOU HAVE HAD OTHER AMBITIONS,

IF YOU HADNT BEEN INHIBITED BY INJURIES?

Id like to have another 2 years, but the context is a lot different

than it was 10 years ago. Back then I consciously chose for
sports and I would have given up an interesting job to focus on
my athletics career, but thats no longer the case. If I were to be
offered something that appeals to me, I wouldnt want to use
sports as an excuse not to take it. On the other hand, as long
as I can continue to be active in the university, the combination
should work because my present job provides the needed
flexibility. The great advantage of athletics is that you can easily
combine a job with the amount of hours you spend on training.
For a cyclist that would be much harder because of their long
training hours. So I hope to be able to compete on the highest
national level for another two years.

I think that if I had been able to make the transition to marathon

sooner, I couldve gotten better results seeing I have pretty good
physique and other characteristics as an athlete. I do think its
a shame that I never got to prove that, Im convinced that
I could have gotten close to that 2h10. Then I probably could
have been among the best European runners. But yes, that
firmness of the body is inherently part of an athletes career.

WHAT ARE THE GOALS YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE IN

THE MARATHON?
I would like to finish in 2h15. I didnt achieve that goal in the
marathons of Antwerp and Amsterdam, but I really want to
make that time. Its slightly more modest than my ambition in
2008 when I wanted to finish in 2h12. I can no longer do that
considering my training intensity is lower and because of my
age. Now, with that 2h15 youll still be among the best
marathon runners in Belgium. Our best marathon runner, Willem
Van Schuerbeek, finishes in 2h13. So keeping that in mind,
2h15 is still a national best. Internationally thats different of
course. At the European level youll still be among the better
runners, but at a global level its close to nothing if you look at
the African runners. On the other hand, if you talk about the
Olympics, the BOIC only wants to look at the international limits,
and thats good news for me. The national demands were after
all much higher in the past, around 2h09. Impossible actually.
But the marathon is a competition where many people can
enter, so maybe Rio 2016 is still doable for me if they have a
more flexible selection policy. But Im not letting that goal guide
me anymore. It would be nice, but for now I just want to run a
few good marathons.
YOU STARTED OUT WITH CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNING AND THE 5000M ON THE TRACK.
LOOKING BACK, WHICH DO YOU PREFER?
The marathon. It has something mythical. You work towards it
for much longer and you also only have 1 chance. So that one
day it has to happen, if not, then you cant just fix it a week after
that. That was the case for me in the Amsterdam marathon,
so its difficult to swallow mentally. But I think its such a great
discipline that Im just glad to have been able to finally run that
42k race. I enjoyed cross-country running, but that appeals less
to outsiders. Maybe that fits me best. In Belgium you have the
Crosscup that has been aired on tv for years. People talk to you
about it more often. If I can pick a place for cross-country
running, its on the top of my list.

WHY DID YOU CHOSE FOR THE FEB AT THE TIME?

AND WHY FOR BUSINESS ENGINEERING?
That was actually the logical thing to do after studying economics
and maths in secondary school. You kind of naturally ended
up with economics as a choice of study at the university.
Especially maths was one of my strong points and then you
quickly get to Business Engineering. So for what that is
concerned its been a very easy decision. I never regretted it.
I had a tough first year where I really had to struggle to make it,
but as soon as that was over everything went pretty smoothly.
Im a genuine Leuven-fan, so they choice to study at the
KU Leuven was also quickly made.
WERE YOU ACTIVE IN EKONOMIKA?
DID YOU ATTEND THE ACTIVITIES?
Not really. I regularly participated in activities, and many of my
classmates and friends were in the praesidium and committees.
But really being involved or actively being part in organization,
I didnt have much time for that back then.
DID YOU HAVE STUDENT ATHLETE STATUS? WAS
COMBINING STUDYING AND SPORTS FEASIBLE?
Yes, but I rarely made use of that. I chose to do all my exams in
June to be able to focus on athletics completely in the summer.
I reached my best level after my studies. Thats also a big
difference compared to our national top distance runners of
today like Jeroen Dhoedt or Pieter-Jan Hannes. They already
perform on the top level, during their studies. Thats the big
difference why I didnt make use of my student athlete status,
because my level back then was a little more modest.
WHAT DO YOU MISS THE MOST ABOUT BEING
A STUDENT?
The flexibility. Although you do have some difficult exam periods,
you have time throughout the year to deal with your sport.
It was a more relaxed life, especially when it came to having
more time for core strength and stability training. Those are
aspects that are difficult to find time for now. Its a bit more of a
puzzle now. But to be clear Im not complaining. Because it
works perfectly with the flexibility that I have here at the Public
Governance Institute. But thats doing main training, a running
training, all the rest just comes with it when theres time, even if
the stability training would have its benefits in preventing
injuries.. Other than that it was a carefree time. I think that many
people look back on it nostalgically.

25

Students@FEB

DO YOU STILL HAVE ANY CONTACT WITH YOUR

FELLOW STUDENTS?

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THE FUTURE

ON A PROFESSIONAL LEVEL?

Last year, we had our ten-year graduation reunion of Business

Engineering graduates of 2003 and it was nice to see everyone
again. There are still a few people I have contact with. Now, with
social media its a lot easier to remain contact with everyone,
but for the greater part thats about it. Personal contacts... really
just one or 2.

There are a number of logical trajectories when you exit the

Public Governance Institute, being that you can end up in a
public function. You meet people that worked here pretty much
everywhere, on a federal level, Flemish level and in local
government. Thats one possibility, but also other non-profit
organisations or the university world are also an option. I think
I have built a very nice resume and that my sports career has
also given me some character traits that could be appealing for
potential employers.

WHAT YOU REMEMBER OF YOUR TIME

AS A TEACHING ASSISTANT AT THE FEB?
Perhaps it was the stepping to combine my sports and
professional career. I had a lot of luck to be able to combine a
part-time job as a teaching assistant with professional athletics
and that was great. It allowed me to do something with my
diploma. I ended up with the FEB in a very nice section:
business economics, strategy and innovation. I'm still in touch
with all my colleagues, the professors too. I made many good
friends working there for 4.5 years. I was completely embedded
in the department, but also in the faculty. Ive been working at
the Faculty of Social Sciences for about the same period of
time, but I only know people from my department here.
That was different at the FEB. You really knew people from other
departments there, you knew the people of the administrative
office personally. I still have a good relationship with the dean
too. The FEB is more of a family, a real community.
Maybe having a common refectory helped strengthen that
feeling. For me it was a really difficult decision to leave there.
The time I spent at the FEB is will certainly never forget.

26

Michael Boelaert

It is important to have a good

start at the beginning of the
academic year. But how to do
that? Its always difficult not
knowing your fellow students.
Luckily, Ekonomika hosted its
annual welcome days. Here are

My first weeks

at the FEB

some first impressions

Finally the day had arrived: Monday 22 September! An auditorium

full of excited students was welcomed by the dean and the
praeses. The infosession was followed by a guided tour and a
barbecue. The days that week were filled with our first classes
and in the evening Ekonomika once again organised different
welcome activities. We got a lot of opportunities to get to know
our classmates outside of the lectures. We also quickly got to
know our professors: one of them we came to fear, the other
had a very pleasant voice and way of teaching, and so on.
What did become clear straight away: studying at university
level is hard work But luckily there was time for relaxation.
The Kick-off jungle party was sampled and I also learned that
Dulci always has a pleasant atmosphere. In order for us to feel
less lost, a godfather and godmother evening was organised.
It was written down on the post-its which we received at the
information sessions of the Faculty of Economics and Business
before summer: remember: Monday 22/09/2014 first day
@FEB. I secretly longed for that day to arrive. Not that I had
the extreme urge to leave everything and everyone from
secondary school behind, but the idea of a totally new start
really spoke to my imagination. I was struggling to decide on
what course to take for a long time and because of that
I registered fairly late.
Two days after my registration, I was standing in the Ekobar,
ready to leave for the welcoming weekend. Everyone seemed
to be busy talking and I was wondering how the other first year
students managed to speak to new people so easily. I was a
little lost waiting for friends that I knew from my secondary
school, until I was approached by some enthusiastic members
of the praesidium and people of the welcoming committee.
I suddenly found it was not so hard to speak to others.
That weekend was over before I knew it. The fun activities
followed each other in record time: we started out with speed
dating. This speed date was continued in the bus, where we
also learned the economists song. We quickly sang that song
loudly and with full conviction. In the evening, there was a quiz
and a small party. On Saturday the day started out early with
information sessions by the dean, the academic adviser and the
praeses. The sports activity and paintball were also a lot of fun!
On the last night we held a cantus. I am very glad that I was
able to join this weekend, as it allowed me to meet many new
students. After this weekend, there was maths week. I didnt
follow the maths classes, but I did attend some other activities
organised by Ekonomika, like the international party, where
I came into contact with the Leuven nightlife for the first time as
an official student.

Meanwhile, by mid-November, everything become more of a

routine. I now need less time to search for the classrooms
where we have lectures, I'm a bit more accustomed to the large
group of students and the way of teaching, Toledo is no longer
Chinese to me, the Ekobar has become a kind of permanent
home for lunch breaks and I always check the Ekowiki before
I start to study. I feel less of a newbie.
Even though my trail exams did not give me the satisfactory
study results which I was hoping for, I'm going to keep my head
up. I'm happy that I have chosen to study at FEB and I think its
great that my choice of study comes with such an enthousiastic
student association.

Janne Beke

27

Students@FEB
Glory, glory Ekonomika, my first weeks at the FEB were fantastic!
Rector Torfs and Vader Mercuur attracted me to Ekonomika in
Leuven. As economics and business are part and parcel of our
worldview today, a Bachelor in Economics seemed to be the
perfect fit for me. As it turned out, not only the studies would
engross me, but also the great student association, Ekonomika,
which offers activities on a daily basis.
Vader Mercuur and mother Ekonomika quickly embraced me
and all the other new students. They did this by organising an
incredible welcoming weekend in Opoeteren, two weeks before
the start of the academic year. A great team of active and
vibrant people made us bond by organising great activities: an
introduction to a cantus was of course obligatory. So long as
there is beer! I hope to be hearing this slogan often during the
4 years to come.
That first impression seemed very positive and I was very
curious about what was to follow... Studying at university level
was a real adjustment for me in the beginning. So much is
required of us, but in the meanwhile the freedom can get
overwhelming. Discipline is a word which was at times difficult
to find in our dictionaries. Luckily a great team of professors and
tutors were ready to mold us into true economists and business
students. After a few weeks the interest for the courses started
to grow. The interesting information came to us at a steady
pace and this has made me even more sure that I made the
right decision in my choice of study..
Leuven is a vibrant city. We quickly found out how vibrant The
Dulci always provides us with the necessary ambiance. In fact,
I saw very little of the Old Market Square these past weeks.
Praise to the committee!
I could actually keep on writing about the fantastic activities of
Ekonomika. My fellow students are jealous of my membership.
Catching up or sobering up can always be done in the best and
cheapest sandwich bar in Leuven; the Ekobar. In addition to all
the Dulci-activities of Ekonomika, the FEB also organises
numerous Utile-activities. For example, there are already some
first year students who attend the Finance Insights and I myself
will be attending my first B2U Lecture shortly. In short, the first
weeks at the FEB and at Ekonomika have been absolutely
wonderful. The years to come surely promise great things!
Sigrid Pauwels

Your expectations about living in

dorms shouldnt be too high, my dad
said sometime mid-August, "at least
not the first months, youll probably
feel alone and you might be bored."
I had heard the stories of my dad, how
he had to go to the phone booth to call
my grandmother. So I was a little afraid
about moving into a dorm room. I have
to say, there hasnt been a single
moment where Ive been bored these first few months in Leuven.
There was always something to do, always something that was
being organised, and then of course also classes to attend.
I had already been to the welcoming weekend, before the
academic year began. This was a great experience and one
that I recommend to everyone! There was also the mathweek.
The maths itself may not have been that great all the time, but
that was compensated by the evening activities of Ekonomika.
I met a lot of new people that first week, many of whom are
now my best friends.
When the welcome weekend was over and the academic year
really began, I wasnt at all that nervous or scared. I recognised
a lot of faces in the auditorium, so I didnt feel alone at all.
That first week Ekonomika also organised a series of welcome
activities: the gin-tour, a quiz, a cantus That last one I was
sadly unable to attend, but I had already had such a great time
that first week that I was down with the flu.
My studies and in particular the large amount of subject matter
scared me a little at first. Especially mathematics was a wake
up call, I really didnt know how I had to deal with all the prep
work, but after a while you get used to it. You also learn to
combine things, studying mathematics and the economics
courses, when in the beginning I only focused on the maths.
In the beginning I thought: After those first couple of weeks
these activities will stop, then it will probably become more
quiet. That is far from the truth, there is something on every
week. There was the freshman sale, I was eventually bought by
Cultuur & Lectuur (the best committee ever!). Then came the
hazing with the evening cantus, my mom said I was crazy to let
myself be initiated. It all turned out not to be as bad as everyone
made out, it made for a fun afternoon and evening. Since the
godfather and godmother evening I also have three godfathers,
who help me find my way. There was the 24-hour Run, where
I went and cheered for Ekonomika but especially against LBK.
The week after we were allowed to cook for the committee that
had bought us. Delicious pasta with pesto!
It became just a little less fun, when the trial exams started.
All in all, I found them to be not that hard. I had been having a
lot of fun those first weeks, but I had also been attending
classes! Now all thats left to do is wait for the results...
Tahnee Cornelissen

28

24-hour

Econnect
HOW DO YOU LOOK BACK ON THE 24-HOUR RUN?
I look back on the 24-hour Run with incredible pride. It was an
edition to remember. At first there was even doubt about
whether or not the 24-hour Run would take place, due to an
impending storm. It would have been a tremendous shame
since the Sport Committee had put a lot of work into its
preparation, but of course safety comes first.
After all the preparatory work, time and effort we invested, I was
more than happy with the result. We may have missed third
place, but we broke a record and convinced every FEB student
of Ekonomikas abilities. In the end, thats what its all about. I
hope everyone had a good time.
WHICH PREPARATIONS DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE
BEFORE THE START?
First of all you need to make sure that you have a fun concept,
which everyone can support, which appeals to the FEB
students and is not too serious. Furthermore, it is important that
you have a promotion plan in order to convince everyone and
to let them know that it's that time of year when we go all out
to beat the competition. A lot of work goes into the stand. We
were painting almost every day for over a week. It is also
important, of course, that you have enough runners and you
ring them up before the start, because there are always a few
that might have forgotten. The ICT system also plays an
important part. This system allows us to closely observe when
each runner is supposed to run. In order to motivate the
runners, we work with different incentives. Most important of all
is managing to convince everyone, making sure your whole
Sports Committee is excited and ready to give it their best,
which is what eventually happened.

Run

AS VICE-PRAESES OF SPORTS YOU ARE PRESENT AT

THIS EVENT THE WHOLE TIME. IS IT THE ADRENALINE
WHICH KEEPS YOU FROM GETTING TIRED?
Its incredible! The enthusiasm of my entire committee also
helped very much, they lifted my spirits. The excellent
atmosphere around the stand and the various encouragements
of the supporters were also really important. It was also nice
that you were never the only one cheering, apart from the
Sports Committee of course. There was an ambiance the entire
night, while that period of time is usually more difficult.
DE 24-HOUR RUN IS ORGANISED BY LOKO. DOES
THE COOPERATION WITH THEM GO SMOOTHLY?
There were some rougher patches, but generally speaking the
organisation of the 24-hour Run went well. There are a lot of
meetings, where all the rules and agreements are made clear.
ARE THERE ANY TIPS WHICH YOU CAN GIVE
TO YOUR SUCCESSOR?
Be enthusiastic and make everyone believe, convince everyone
that well once again be there to fight next year, that well crush
our adversaries. It is important that you motivate each FEB
student individually, the supporters also need to be motivated
because they are equally important.
AND FINALLY
A big thanks to all the students who came to run and cheer.
Thanks to the entire Sports Committee. THIS WAS A GREAT
EDITION, ONE TO ALWAYS REMEMBER!!
Thank you for the interview Elien.
Josephine Verschoore
29

Students@FEB

A different perspective

Discover the world @ FEB

Each edition of ECONnect, we talk to FEB students who have just experienced life
and study abroad, on FEBs exchange programme. This edition however, we talk
to an international visitor who came to FEB on exchange; FEB through the eyes
of one of our international guests.

COULD YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF?

My name is Adea and Im from Canada. I was raised in
the hometown of Mississauga, Ontario, roughly a 20 minute
drive from Toronto. Im a third year student studying
Commerce from Queens University located in Kingston,
Ontario and currently enrolled in the Business and Economics
Programme at KU Leuven.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE KU LEUVEN?
KU Leuven was my first choice when I was deciding where
I wanted to study abroad. I was super excited to finally be able
to live in a country that never makes headline news in Canada.
I chose Belgium because I wanted to learn more about the
countrys culture and the people. One of the other main reasons
I chose Belgium was because of how central it is compared to
the rest of Europe. I suppose that its difficult to understand the
importance of this when youre an EU citizen, but as a
Canadian, you take a 2 hour plane ride and not only are you still
in the same country, you might still be in the same province.
Here, you take a 2 hour plane ride and you find yourself in
a completely new place like Majorca surrounded with a
different language, culture and climate.
I chose Leuven specifically because of the university town feel
that my friends who had gone on exchange here had raved
about. It is just that a picturesque and lively university town
where something is always going on except on the weekends
when the student go back home. The size of Leuven is perfect
its not too big and youre constantly running into friends from
class at the main shopping street or at the grocery store. Youll
quickly become best friends with your local doner kebap maker.
HOW WAS YOUR ARRIVAL
IN BELGIUM?
Arriving in Belgium was very
welcoming. I remember first
coming out of the Leuven train
station and needing to go to
Sedes, our residence located
on the Naamsestraat.

30

At the time, it seemed liked the most difficult and furthest place
that we had to get to. As another exchange student and I
looked at a map, we were constantly offered help by Belgians
walking by. This was extremely sweet of them and if it wasnt
for their guidance, we would have walked around in circles with
our suitcases the whole day. The great thing is that once you
get familiar with Leuven which takes a whole two hours - you
quickly realize that nothing in Leuven is considered far away.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION
ABOUT LEUVEN?
My first impression was that everyone in Leuven, and Belgium
in general, are very relaxed. This is a great change from Toronto
as people are always hurrying to and from work or school.
Its easy to forget to do things that you enjoy when youre
constantly surrounded by so much commotion. Belgium is
more lifestyle oriented and this is great because it gives you
the opportunity to slow down and really enjoy your day.
WAS IT DIFFICULT TO ADAPT?
In the beginning, when youre completely out of your comfort
zone because you dont know anyone and are not sure where
to go to get groceries, you think you will never adapt. However
you soon realize that students in one part of the globe are the
same as they are in another theyre human. Leuven was not
very difficult to adapt to because of the many similarities between
Belgium and Canada.
Lieve Smets, the exchange and Erasmus coordinator at FEB,
is super sweet and extremely helpful during the whole process,
so you never need to worry about anything.

I love the courses that I am taking at KU Leuven and their

respective professors. Its common to hear that when you go
on exchange you wont learn very much since youll be busy
traveling and what not, however I believe I have learned more
about the world and about business during my 4 months here
at KU Leuven than I have in the last 3 years of university.

Queens University is one of

Canadas top universities and
one of FEBs prestigious
exchange destinations. Every
year, students from Queens
take classes at FEB, and FEB
students go to Canada and
follow classes at Queens. FEB
has a vast exchange network
with top universities and
business schools, both within
Europe and overseas. Not only
does this create unique
opportunities for FEB students
to go abroad during their study,
it also leads to a vibrant
Internationalisation@Home,
with international students
becoming part of our classes
and our campuses.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING AT FEB/KU

LEUVEN/LEUVEN/BELGIUM?

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST

GOING BACK?

I think I speak for all my friends when I say that my favorite place
is The Oude Markt - the longest bar in the world. Its full of life
and the place where you can still find students singing and
bands playing late into the night. The forty some cafs on one
square ensure that the students and locals never go thirsty.

Going back to Canada, I am super excited to see my friends

and family. Its always nice to go back home when youve been
traveling for a while.

WHAT STILL STRIKES YOU AS ODD

ABOUT FEB/KU LEUVEN/LEUVEN/BELGIUM?
One of the things that strikes me as odd, and Im sure this is a
common theme, is how the Manneken Pis in Brussels became
the citys most popular landmark. Aside from that, I also find the
amount of diversity you get when you travel outside of Leuven
very interesting. Visiting the bigger cities like Antwerp and
Brussels reminded me or Toronto with the vast array of
immigrants and different cultures.
WHAT WILL YOU MISS THE MOST GOING HOME?
There are plenty of things that I will miss from Leuven and
Belgium from the late night doner kebaps to celebrating
Sinterklaas. Out of all of these things, I will miss most the friends
that I have met here at KU Leuven most of them coming from
a plethora of different countries and carry with them the most
interesting of stories.

DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR OTHER

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ON EXCHANGE?
The biggest tips that I would have for other international
students on exchange is that patience is important and that
listening to opinions you dont agree with is great because it
teaches you to embrace different possibilities, opportunities,
people, suggestions and interests.
Wake up early on days when you havent gone to bed at 5AM.
Break out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself to try
things that normally give you anxiety. The more you do this, the
more that anxiety will fade away. Not a hiker? Go on more hikes.
Have trouble talking to strangers? Talk to everyone. Scared of
weird food? Eat the weirdest thing you can find start with the
Belgian dish: frites and mayonnaise!
Finally, learn to laugh at yourself if you dont already know how
to do it. I can assure you that you will look like a fool more than
once in your travels. Rather than get embarrassed, learn to
embrace it and realize that everything is what you make of it.
Thank you for this interview and Happy Holidays!
Loes Diricks

31

Students@FEB

Vader Mercuur
A true economists beer in honour
of 85 years of Ekonomika
Ekonomika is celebrating its
85th birthday. This time we
wont merely celebrate with
an anniversary week in the
second semester, but also
with a beer specially brewed
for the occasion

Every alumnus of the FEB looks back at their beautiful student days
with Ekonomika nostalgically every now and then.. The parties,
the stories, the friends, ... Fortunately Ekonomika has a tradition of
organising an anniversary party once every 5 years. The 85th year
of operation has the honour and pleasure to organise this years
celebrations. Students and partying, the link to a specially brewed
beer seems to be logical. We are therefore proud to present
Vader Mercuur, a true economists beer which has been sampled
and approved with great enthusiasm by the students. This blonde,
easy to drink beer, rich in taste, is based on an old recipe which
has surfaced from the extensive archives of our association.
Of course, we dont only offer this one-time edition to our students.
Vader Mercuur can be ordered via info@ekonomika.be and costs
8 per 4 bottles, which includes a special beer glass. Of course you
can always test the Vader Mercuur in the best faculty bar of Leuven,
the Dulci, or during the anniversary week.
We would therefore like to invite you to come to Leuven during
the first week of March, to celebrate the 85th anniversary of our
association along with the students. The ideal way to rekindle stories,
parties and friends. The opening reception will be held on Sunday
1 March, which officially kick-starts the anniversary week.
There are still a lot of other great activities on the schedule during
the rest of the week, including the traditional cantus on Friday
6 March. In addition, there will also be an exhibition about
Ekonomika over the years. Photos, posters, flyers or other visual
material of Ekonomika in the old days are more than welcome,
please send any contributions to the email address mentioned
above. More information about the schedule will follow shortly, but
we are already looking forward to welcoming you in large numbers.

32

Alumni For Entrepreneurship

Young entrepreneurs testify:

a passion for
entrepreneurship
I welcome this Alumni For Entrepreneurship (AFE) initiative. Entrepreneurs
are the core of our prosperity, the motor of economic growth. We are short of
entrepreneurs, not enough Belgians are bitten by the entrepreneurship bug,
this is an important initiative. With 3.5% of Belgians who want to be an
entrepreneur, we get one of the lowest rates in the world. I hope that AFE
can contribute to entrepreneurship. Congratulations to the initiators, and in
particular to the chairman of AFE, Philippe Rooseleer. Pieter Timmermans,
CEO of the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (FEB), used these words to
welcome the very first AFE event in Leuven, at the Faculty of Economics and
Business on 19 November 2014.

Philippe Rooseleer - Maarten Kerkhofs - Christel Gijsbrechts - Michel Vanstallen - Daan De Wever Tina Stroobandt - Frederik Delaplace - Bruno Vanderschueren - Lawrence Landeloos

33

Alumni@FEB

LAMPIRIS

Pieter Timmermans

Pieter Timmermans supported his argument on the importance

of entrepreneurship with some figures: The contribution of
enterprises in the creation of our prosperity is irreplaceable.
The total net added value by enterprises amounts to 179 billion
euros (2013). Of that, 70 billion euros, almost 40%, goes to the
government, in the form of paid social security contributions
(employer and employee contributions), withholding tax,
corporate taxes and other charges and taxes. 82 billion euros
goes to net wages, and 27 billion to financial charges or
dividends. We must therefore inspire more young people to
undertake something, in order to create added value, said
Timmermans, and he added: Count on yourself for your future,
don't wait for a miracle, make one!

Bruno Vanderscheuren (Lampiris)

en Frederik Delaplace (De Tijd)

34

These type of miracles do happen, as was proven on multiple

occasions. The first miracle or strong entrepreneurship story
is that of Lampiris, the electricity supplier. Co-founder Bruno
Vanderscheuren really wanted to become an entrepreneur, even
though he did not quite know in what. But along the way he
saw the light, together with a partner from Liege. The start-up
in 2003 was difficult. They needed to get permits for power
supplies of the regulators for electricity and gas, the CREG,
the VREG, ... In 2005, with the licenses finally in in our
possession, we literally went from door to door to sell our
electricity, to retailers, restaurants, ... we fought for every
customer! The big breakthrough came in 2007, when the
energy market in Wallonia opened up: suddenly we got tens of
thousands of customers. And we also got into the stream
production of decentralized green energy producers. Now we
have about 1.300 manufacturers. Innovation? Sometimes its
just about selling the same product differently, like energy.
But we made energy green.
In 2009, Lampiris got into the sale of gas as well. Sales grew
rapidly, but thats not everything: We are now above 1 billion
euro in sales, but what matters is the margin. And that is
affected by the defaulters. You also need creditors to be able
to finance the growth. In 2013, the company started to actively
look for new capital. Bruno Vanderscheuren: Business Angels
was interested ... but in exchange for an, in our opinion, large
share in the capital. We decided against it. I advise growing,
young enterprises to do the same: dont accept proposals of
financers too quickly. In the end we implemented a capital
increase of 30 million euros endorsed by GIMV and SRIW.
And how does Lampiris see its future? The last two years,
we offer more and more services in electricity and gas.
This is also necessary in order to continue to grow, because
the number of new customers in the sale of electricity and
gas is growing less quickly. What do we do? We offer
insulation products with third parties, selling wooden pellets
to private orders, maintenance of boilers and many other
services. Diversification in products and services is now our
growth strategy, concluded Bruno Vanderscheuren.

SOPRIM@
A second strong testimony was given by Michel Vanstallen,
Managing Director in Soprim@, which embodies the Latin
motto: Luctor et emergo, I struggle and I overcome . Yes,
I confess, I studied law, nobody is perfect, he quipped.
Entrepreneurship is in Michels blood, during his student days
he took his first steps as an entrepreneur. With a starting budget
of 100 euros he set up an event agency. Having paid for
starting errors, he considered it tuition money well spent and
sold his company in 1999. But in 2003 he saw a new
opportunity in elderly care. I realised that it was a severely
outdated sector, literally and figuratively. I tried to look at that
sector with a new vision. This time I did make a business plan,
and looked for sufficient start-up capital, 850.000 euros.
Though I also needed external capital. I did manage to get bank
funding, 10 million euros, in 2004, which would never work
today. Founded in 2004, Soprim@ has become a big SME with
a turnover of 65 million euros, and actively manages 15
residential care centres, with about 1.000 employees. Recently,
Soprim@ took over the Kasteel van Ham in Steenokkerzeel
and will turn it into a training center for its own staff.

And yes, in the life cycle of the enterprise you're paying a lot
of taxes and social security, but the benefits at the end are
the reward. Oh yes, the kick you get from securing a deal,
that too is also something that as a business owner is a really
great feeling!
And what tips does he have for budding entrepreneurs? Michel
Vanstallen: Just go for it, get on the market, follow your gut,
don't keep looking for that hole in the market, because that
does not exist, youre often in the middle of it but you don't see
it. You have to want to see it. And further: surround yourself with
competent people. The proverb if you pay peanuts you get
monkeys, is all too true. But you also need to look hard for the
right people. And finally, don't make the starting mistake that
I made, but work on a well elaborated and substantiated
business plan.

And what did Michel Vanstallen learn as an entrepreneur? First

some negative remarks: the business environment in Flanders
is not positive. If you fail everyone says: I told you so! And if you
are succesful they say: that's impossible! Also the financing has
become more and more difficult. The banks have become
much stricter and more selective. Flanders bends and moans
under rule which do not support entrepreneurship. A quarter
of the time of my employees is spent on paperwork. And yes,
entrepreneurship also weighs on the private life, you never
shake it off, even when you go to sleep!
And what is the positive news as an entrepreneur? Michel
Vanstallen: You get a lot of satisfaction from it. The idea that
you are creating prosperity, is very motivating. Build value.

Michel Vanstallen

35

DESTINY
Flamboyant, good looking, and perhaps the most successful of
all of them is Daan De Wever, founder of telecommunications
company Destiny. After only one year of Business studies, with
excellent results in economics and mathematics, he threw in
the towel. He did all sorts of jobs, including a job at Stageco,
which eventually led him to a company that was looking for a
topographer, someone who makes maps. Without any degree
I applied for this job anyway, when normally only civil engineers
are eligible. But I managed to convince the boss and got a
chance and an on the job training. My strong mathematical skills
were certainly an asset. You can never despair, go for your
passion, as I did as an entrepreneur.

Had I met him two weeks later, I would have no longer been
there because of insurmountable liquidity problems. Luck and
chance are things that you really need as an entrepreneur.
And then it went fast. You have to have good employees
who can make the difference. I almost immediately recruited
an external top guy, specialist in telecom, with extensive
experience. Now we are an alternative to Belgacom (Proximus)
and Telenet. But with a better overall package for our customers
(winks), mainly medium-sized companies. We now have over
50 people working for us. In 2012 we were named the most
promising company of the year. Our cash flow is, since last year,
clearly positive. And I am proud that we have companies such
as for example Katoen Natie as a customer. We still only have
a very small market share, but it is growing, and we see much
potential. Does he have a message for the young entrepreneurs?:
You don't build a business. You build people. And then people
build the business.
WORLD OF WAW

Daan De Wever

Daan has a younger brother, who is a computer specialist.

One day he called me and said he wanted to start up a
company, he had a good business idea. I told him that he
should do it, what was stopping him? He said I'm only 15 and
cant start a business, lets do it together? So we started
together, created a website, and sold software packages from
the US. In 2004 we founded Benesol, an IT company, data
center facilities, offering cloud infrastructure to companies.
The first year we had a turnover of 50.000 euros, whilst working
from home, the second year we already reached a turnover of
500.000 euros and more recently, a turnover of 20 million euros.
In 2008, the story of Destiny began. We made an offer for a
bankrupt company, and got it despite the counter offer of
Belgacom, we were faster. Within a day we had our license of
telecom operator. But we hadnt screened the acquired
business well enough, and discovered some problems. I had a
cash drain of some 100.000 euros per month. So we had to
urgently get on the capital market, armed with a business plan,
a financial plan, strategical plan, drawn up together with
the Vlerick Business School. We needed money now but
unfortunately it didnt go so fast. The money promised in May
2009 came only in December. And in the meantime? Well, I've
been lucky twice. First I could do a sale and lease backoperation, which brought relief for approximately 600.000 euros,
and then I met a top executive from ING. Really last minute.

36

The evening was rounded off with a testimony of a start-up,

the World Of Waw, by Tina Stroobrandt. The business
proposition is not easy to explain. It has to do with virtual people
and objects that you can show in reality and integrate and can
lead to fascinating applications. In six months time a turnover
of 350.000 euros was generated. We have assignments,
but we are still looking for the markets where we really want to
continue. Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will, as such
she perfectly illustrated the passion for entrepreneurship.
Her main concern now is the search for new capital. But we
havent made up our minds about that yet. Will it be private
equity or business angels, or something else? We only wish they
wont steal too much of our capital, we want to keep control
of our company. Thus she confirmed the ambivalent attitude
of young entrepreneurs to the market of the capital providers.
Fa Quix

Philippe Rooseleer, voorzitter AFE

WHAT IS AFE?
Ekonomika Alumni for Entrepreneurship, or in short AFE,
was founded under impulse of Freddy Nurski, the chairman
of Ekonomika Alumni. The primary goal of AFE is to boost
entrepreneurship with alumni and students. Aside from a
career in a big company, bank or as a consultant, there is
another way, the way of entrepreneurship. And to protect
our well-being, Flanders needs more entrepreneurs!
To realise its goal, AFE regularly organises a range of
activities including:
Public speeches, seminars, debates
Theme days
and corporate visits
These activities bring alumni, students, entrepreneurs
and academics together off line but also, online through
our Linkedin-forum. Everyone is welcome to link to our
Linkedln profile, so you can keep up with the coming
activities that we will be organising.
The next AFE event is scheduled for the Spring 2015 at
Sylvester Productions, a film and tv production company
where CEO Geert Van Overschelden will be giving a
presentation of the company and there will also be a visit
to a movieset.
When AFE was founded Freddy Nurski wished to organise
the first event during the Global Entrepreneurship Week,
which was held from 17-21 November. I wish to thank
the board for helping to organize the event in such a short
space of time, in particular: Christel Gijsbrechts, Michel
Vanstallen, Maarten Kerkhofs, Lawrence Landeloos,
Joran Liessens and Jeffry Steemans.

We are still looking for extra directors. Everyone who is

interested can talk to me or one of the other directors.
You dont have to be an alumni of FEB to join.
I also wish to thank our sponsors, on the one hand the
Faculty of Economics and Business for offering the
infrastructure, and thanks to Inge De Vriese from ING
Bank, which has given the needed financial support.
Finally I also want to thank all the speakers of the evening,
without them this event wouldnt have been possible.
This evening is part of a series of Testimonies of
Entrepreneurs and emphasizes on the concrete experiences
of entrepreneurs that founded a company themselves.
The entrepreneurs of tonight are:
Bruno Vanderscheuren, founder of Lampiris
Michel Vanstallen, founder of Soprim@
Daan De Wever, founder of Destiny
Tina Stroobrandt, founder of World of Waw
The speakers will be introduced by Frederik Delaplace
of De Tijd and afterwards there is a debate which will be
moderated by Frederik as well.
We are also delighted that Pieter Timmermans of the
Federation of Enterprises in Belgium was able to do
the opening speech.

Philippe Rooseleer
Chairman AFE

37

Alumni@FEB

Young
Alumni
Day
The Young Alumni Day was held in Leuven on 30 October 2014.
This event was introduced with the objective to introduce FEBs
young graduates and young alumni to business people with
years of professional experience. About 70 young graduates
took part and listened to, among others, Koen Van Gerven
(CEO BPost), Rik Van den Berghe (CEO ING Belgium),
Anneleen Desmyter (CEO Qrf and Real Estate Award Best
Mentor), Bart De Ridder (Technology Belux Lead Accenture),
Peter Willems (Head of Marketing Activities UEFA Switzerland),
Daan Killemaes (Editor in Chief magazine Trends) and last but
not least Jan Deleu (CEO AZ Groeninge, hospital group).
The formula is simple: the experienced business people
introduce themselves and the activities that they do, and then
let the graduates ask their questions. During the session with
Jan Dawson, CEO of the hospital group AZ Groeninge in
Kortrijk, and an Ekonomika Alumnus, he stated that economics
and business graduates can provide a large contribution in
the operation and management of a hospital, even though it is
the doctors and the nurses who make up the main group of the
staff. Jan Deleu: Business graduates ensure that the quality
care in a hospital also remains efficient and affordable.
Economic calculus really comes into play. Healthcare people
are not used to having to choose. The budgets are, however,
not limitless, even though some people still think that they are.
As a company, a hospital is an organization with a big turnover,
but with small margins, in which many self-employed people
(experts/specialists) literally and figuratively operate, you need
to drive highly skilled people in complex processes and logistics.
In addition, it is necessary to keep up with the rapidly changing
technological evolutions. When you hear this description it
should be clear: a hospital is a great environment for the
economics and business graduate to thrive in!
As is customary, the evening finished on a high with an intensive
networking dinner. In short, this Young Alumni Day was a
successful event, one that is surely to be repeated in 2015.

Fa Quix
38

LUSTRUM

Eko 70 promotion pays

tribute to its classmate
Herman Van Rompuy
On Friday 12 September 2014, 45 alumni of the Eko 70 promotion
classmates and their partners, a group of 80 in total visited the President of
the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy.
It was no easy feat for the Organizing Committee, Monique De
Cooman and Gusty Bertels, together with chairman Armand
Renier, to set up a meeting in the European headquarters
Justius Lipsius at the Schumann square in Brussels. Thorough
preparation and security checks were needed. Fortunately the
cabinet members were friendly and highly efficient .
A magnificent reception with a warm welcome by President
Van Rompuy was the reward. He had a few words and a warm
handshake for everyone present. We even posed for a group
picture with the President. You dont end up standing on
the estrade where Heads of State prime-ministers stare into
the camera every day, so this was a very special occasion for
all of us.
Former chairman Armand Renier, gave the laudatory speech
and looked into the future with the many challenges for a,
hopefully, more quiet life: Utile Dulci: nothing is obliged,
everything is possible.
Herman Van Rompuy revealed some of his academic plans for
the future. He also emphasised the intent to enjoy family
happiness in the third season of life. He pointed out the great
periods of his political career and the highlight, which was
the Nobel Peace Prize for the European unification in 2012.
His greatest personal honour was the Charlemagne Prize in
May 2014.

Under the guidance of Anne van Herreweghen, graphic artist,

we were allowed to visit the offices of the President and listen
to the explanation of her paintings and drawings, which
decorate the rooms. She also designed the portrait of former
Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, which hangs in the
Belgian Chamber of Representatives in the Palace of Nations
in Brussels.
We said our goodbyes and handed-over a framed group photo
of Eko 70 and ended this great day with a delicious dinner in
the nearby Residence Palace.
This will be a lifelong memory, a Once in a lifetime Event,
to be a guest of the President of Europe.
Thank you Herman for your invitation of Eko 70.
We close with one of his most beautiful haikus, dedicated to
his mother:

I LEARNED THIS FROM YOU

THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL:
LIVING IS GIVING.

39

ECONnect
Quarterly magazine
Joint publication of the Faculty
of Economics and Business
(KU Leuven) and Ekonomika Alumni,
the Alumni Association of
FEB@Leuven.
Contact: Loes Diricks,
Loes.Diricks@kuleuven.be,
tel. + 32 16 32 66 96,
Faculty of Economics and business
KU Leuven, Naamsestraat 69,
3000 Leuven

Editor In Chief:
Fa Quix, fa.quix@fedustria.be
Chairman Editorial Board:
Freddy Nurski,
chairman Ekonomika Alumni
Editorial Staff: Michael Boelaert,
Loes Diricks, Koen Spliet,
Freddy Nurski, Fa Quix,
Peter Reusens, Luc Sels,
Katrien Vanwetswinkel,
Katrien Wauters, Maud Wellens
Photographers: Jan Maryssael,
Rob Stevens
Publisher:
Luc Sels, FEB
Naamsestraat 69
3000 Leuven
Print: Artoos www.artoos.be