Exclusive"Universities will need to cluster their capacities" (Luc Sels, Rector of KU Leuven, Belgium)

"What I expect over the next six years—and possibly the next 600—is a period of extreme uncertainty. Universities will need to cluster their capacities, not only across linguistic borders but also internationally, especially within Europe", states Luc Sels, Rector of KU Leuven (Belgium) to News Tank on 23/05/2025.

"We need a more balanced view on developments in education, research and outreach with more coordination at the European level in an attempt to build up strong capacity that can match and meet the capacity that we see being organised in China, for example, and especially in the US", says Luc Sels.

The discussion also focuses on international cooperation, in particular with the United Kingdom as part of the possible re-association with Erasmus+.

For Françoise Smets, Rector of the Université Catholique de Louvain, it's "very positive. Brexit was a setback for academia, for both UK and European students, and even more so for researchers. Restoring collaboration with the UK is very important".

News Tank also asks them about Belgian news, in particular the pension reform…