Vlerick Business School

One campus. Dozens of nationalities. One unforgettable celebration.

Last year's International Festival turned our Brussels campus into a global village, with students celebrating where they come from and what connects them. As a new academic year approaches, it's a reminder of what makes the Vlerick community special.

We're proud to be named one of Europe's major engines for entrepreneurship.

The 2026 Redstone University Startup Index ranks Vlerick #4 among Europe's business schools for start-up creation, with 66.7 start-ups created per €100m of institutional budget, well above the European average.

This isn't an isolated result. It reflects how entrepreneurship is embedded in the Vlerick experience, from the classroom to Ghent's own start-up ecosystem. At Wintercircus, our students connect directly with founders, investors and the hubs shaping Ghent into one of Europe's most active entrepreneurial cities.

"Our strength lies in turning entrepreneurial ambition into action," says Professor Miguel Meuleman. "At Vlerick, we don't just teach entrepreneurship. We build entrepreneurs."

Recent alumni start-ups include Spotable, Conveo, Donna, ResultX, PermiPro and Labo Mérilo, built by graduates of our Masters in Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Masters in General Management.

Read the full story. Link in the comments.

Sarah Vranken knew she wanted a technical career. She just wasn't sure which one yet.

After a broad Master's in Business Engineering, she chose Vlerick's Masters in Business Analytics and AI to get hands-on, real-world experience, one of very few programmes of its kind in Europe.

"I used my year at Vlerick to try out different roles and take different courses," she says. "The beauty of the programme is its flexibility. You choose what you want to specialise in, you decide where you want to go the extra mile."

She also credits Vlerick's career coaching as a turning point. "My coach really understood where I wanted to take my career and what I find important. It's an exceptional part of the programme."

The day after graduating, Sarah joined Johnson & Johnson's Technology Leadership Development Programme, the role she had been working towards all along.

"Take every opportunity Vlerick offers," she says. "You're in the driving seat of your career, and that starts at Vlerick."

Read Sarah's full story. Link in the comments.

Is Europe's growth engine slowing down? Not quite.

The 2026 European Scaleup Monitor shows growth rates cooling across high-growth firms after several exceptional post-pandemic years. But Professor Veroniek Collewaert, who co-authors the research, is clear: this is normalisation, not decline.

Current growth levels remain well above pre-pandemic levels. And the geography of European growth is shifting. Southern Europe, especially Portugal and Greece, is becoming one of the continent's most dynamic regions, while some traditional leaders like Germany have seen their share of fast-growing firms fall.

Vlerick is a founding member of the European Scaleup Institute, the collaboration behind this annual research.

"What matters is not only the percentage of companies growing fast, but the absolute number of companies behind those percentages," says Collewaert.

Read the full findings. Link in the comments.

Simon Petit was building a career in finance. Then a marathon training problem changed everything.

While training for races, Simon and his friend Numa Verberne kept hitting the same wall: confusion around sports nutrition. They tracked every other part of their training with data, but fueling remained a guessing game.

That frustration led Simon to Vlerick's Master's in Business Analytics & AI. "I went in expecting finance," he says. "I left obsessed with data and AI. It was the best left turn I ever made."
After two years as a data science consultant, Simon and Numa took the leap. In early 2026, they launched DataFuel, turning training data from wearables into personalised nutrition plans for endurance athletes.

The company is now in closed beta with around 50 users, and has been selected for both Start it KBC and StartLab Brussels

Simon's advice to anyone considering their own leap? "The perfect timing doesn't exist. Sometimes you just have to do it."

Read Simon's full story. Link in the comments.

Looking for your next great read this summer?

Our Dean, Professor Marion Debruyne, has handpicked her top management books for 2026. A selection of recent bestsellers on leadership, authenticity, AI, careers and what it really takes to thrive at work.

A few titles on the list:
- The Happiness Files by Arthur C. Brooks, on insights into work and life.
- Don't Be Yourself by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a sharp challenge to conventional career wisdom.
- Empire of AI by Karen Hao, an eye-opening account of the world behind Sam Altman's OpenAI.

Whether you're heading to the beach or the garden, these are reads worth packing.

Discover the full list. Link in the comments. All books can be borrowed from the Vlerick library.

How can Europe keep medicines affordable today, without undermining the innovation that delivers the treatments of tomorrow?

Vlerick's Professor Walter Van Dyck and Researcher Paola Argiolas explore a growing tension in healthcare: short-term cost containment versus long-term pharmaceutical innovation.

Their research warns of a "tragedy of the commons". When every country focuses on minimising drug spending, the collective effect can weaken R&D incentives, delay patient access to new therapies, and reduce Europe's competitiveness.

The good news? Belgium is well placed to lead. Swipe through their four recommendations for a more sustainable, innovation-oriented pharmaceutical policy.

👉 Read the full policy paper via the link in the comments.

That's a wrap on this year's In-Company Projects.

For the past months, our Masters and Full-time MBA students worked side by side with companies on real strategic challenges. This week, they present their findings. Time to look back at what they tackled.

A few examples:

At Roche, students researched the role of hospitals in preventative healthcare.

At Sarens they ran a customer satisfaction study on the sales process.

At Indaver, they developed market-entry strategies in the circular polymer industry, bringing fresh thinking to complex sustainability challenges.

At MSD Belgium, they supported the data side of a neighbourhood-based initiative focused on HPV prevention
Different sectors, different questions, one constant: students delivering real impact for real organisations.

Thank you to every company that opened its doors. And to our students: congratulations on the work, and good luck at your defences.

Some great news to start the new week with: Our Masters in Financial Management has reached #13 worldwide in the 2026 Financial Times Masters in Finance Ranking, reinforcing its place among the world’s leading finance programmes.

This recognition reflects what we stand for at Vlerick: academic excellence, real-world impact, and strong global career outcomes.

Key highlights this year:

💼 #5 Career services
🌍 #6 Alumni network
🚀 #3 Salary increase within 3 years

Behind these numbers are real journeys of graduates who are accelerating their careers, stepping into international roles, and leveraging a powerful global alumni network.

We’re proud of this milestone, and even more focused on what comes next: pushing boundaries, evolving our programmes, and preparing the next generation of finance leaders to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

More information:
https://www.vlerick.com/en/insights/vlerick-finance-masters-ranks-13th-globally/