Vlir (Flemish Interuniversity Council): Bernard Vanheusden takes over as chair on 01/09/2025

The rector of Hasselt University (Belgium), Bernard Vanheusden, will take over as chair of the Flemish Interuniversity Council (Vlir), the association of Dutch-speaking universities in Belgium, on 01/09/2025, after Jan Danckaert, rector of the VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), has held the position for two years.

Bernard Vanheusden obtained a PhD in Law from KU Leuven (Belgium) in 2007. At Hasselt University, he has held several roles over more than two decades, including Professor of Environmental Law, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Law, and, since 2020, Rector and Vice-Chancellor. Alongside his university positions, he worked as a Senior Associate at Monard Law from 2011 to 2020 and served as a Guest Professor at KU Leuven’s Brussels campus for over 13 years. Earlier in his career, he held a position as Deputy Advisor at the Federal Ministry of Environment.

"I want to work towards strengthening cooperation between public authorities, universities, businesses and civil society. All scientific disciplines contribute to this, including the humanities and social sciences. The perception…