The COVID-19 crisis is confronting society with huge challenges. Governments all over the world are focusing on the complex task of setting up rapid high-volume vaccination campaigns so that life can get back to normal as soon as possible. In consonance with these efforts, blockchain technology can help tackle several of the challenges imposed by COVID-19, and it can even help our economy recover more quickly from this pandemic. Professor Kristof Stouthuysen and researcher Tineke Distelmans talk about the possible applications of blockchain in vaccine tracking and storage, a COVID-19 passport and the global organisation of supply chains.

Thibo Clicteur earned a Vlerick Masters in General Management in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that didn’t slow him down. On the contrary, he’s been on a super-fast track ever since. During his in-company project at Katoen Natie he was introduced at Deloitte. After an instructive traineeship at their Global Trade Advisory where he was involved in solving international trade problems of all kinds, he was offered a full-time contract.

Leadership can be defined as the art of motivating people to achieve a common goal. To be able to motivate your team, you need to understand them, know which tasks they enjoy and which they don't, and take their input into account. This kind of relationship can only be built if you truly listen to them. Listening is also the pathway to fresh insights and ideas, and can be the difference between a project succeeding or failing.

Over the years, Vlerick alumnus Jennifer Elliot has consciously looked for her ‘Ikigai’ – the Japanese secret for a long and happy life – which includes work that you like and are good at. Jennifer started out by studying Law. After her Masters in General Management, she worked for 10 years as a Marketing expert in large corporate environments. Finally, her professional search has led her to create her own jewellery label: Elliot & Ostrich.

iGMO partners EY and KBC look back on the way the past year tested medium-sized companies’ resilience. How are companies handling Covid-19? How do they keep helping each other along even now? What’s the pandemic’s lasting impact? A conversation about ‘familial fuzziness’ and rediscovering the joys of entrepreneurship.

With students around the world increasingly turning to an online MBA programme as a more flexible and more cost-effective method of furthering their career development goals, QS Quacquarelli Symonds have released their annual list of the world’s best online MBA providers. Vlerick’s Online MBA programme has entered the global top 10, rising from the 12th position last year to number 9, and remains the only Benelux business school to be featured in this list. The 2021 edition of the list names 57 programmes worldwide, with Spain’s IE Business School ranked number one for the fourth consecutive year.

Earlier this year, Vlerick’s Centre for Sustainable Finance joined the exclusive network of institutions that promote frameworks for sustainable bonds. The network is hosted by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). In this network, academic institutions have the status of observers, participating in the updates of the Principles and joining working groups and advisory bodies. Vlerick Business School is the first academic institution in the Benelux to become a member of the ICMA.

As a Masters in General Management student, from next academic year onwards you will be able to opt for a specialisation in Business Analytics (BA). “Supplementing your general management skills with analytical skills will help you to become the data-savvy manager that everyone wants and progress through the ranks quickly.” Sound good? Professor of Business Analytics Philippe Baecke and Senior Career Advisor Wendy Lisarde answer five questions.

The current pandemic has forced companies to reinvent themselves and put innovation higher on the agenda. Consequently, innovation has outgrown the “creative thinking box” and become more accountable. The logical Vlerick response was to redesign our Masters in Innovation & Entrepreneurship to focus more clearly on managing, measuring and valuing innovation. Programme Manager Robin Kleer and Career Advisor Emilia Konttinen explain what has changed.

Sustainable investing is booming. But how can you objectively measure sustainability? As opposed to financial reporting, sustainability reporting is only in its infancy and the difficulty to measure sustainability in an objective and qualitative manner might keep investors from moving into the sustainable investing field. There is no lack of ESG information, but much of this data is unstructured, which makes eliciting meaningful information challenging. According to Professor Kristof Stouthuysen and doctoral researcher Bjarne Brié, artificial intelligence can decrease the uncertainty inherent to sustainable investing. The combination of AI and big data analytics allows for fast and almost real-time objective information analyses based on multiple data sources.