600^th anniversary of KU Leuven and Université Catholique de Louvain: (Re)discover News Tank's articles

Rectors of the 47 universities members of the university associations Leru and The Guild gathered on 23/05/2025 to celebrate the 600^th anniversary of the Belgian universities KU Leuven (Dutch-speaking) and Université Catholique de Louvain (French-speaking). Numerous Brussels stakeholders were present to share insights on the theme "Unlocking Innovation: Research-Intensive Universities as Drivers of Competitiveness and Societal Impact". News Tank editorial team invites you to rediscover the highlights of this event.

The event focused in particular on what needs to be done to improve Europe's response to the challenges ahead.

According to Luc Sels, Rector of KU Leuven, "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".

Robert-Jan Smits, former DGRI of the European Commission, wonders whether "what we are doing is truly enough in light of the current geopolitical challenges, growing polarisation…