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.

On 16 March, the Great Place to Work® Institute Belgium once again announced the Best Workplaces™ in Belgium. In the category of small and medium-sized organisations, EASI holds the number one position; for the large organisations Accent holds the top position. The Covid-19 crisis has undoubtedly had a considerable impact on the results. On the one hand, many organisations succeeded in enhancing the level of trust. Despite these difficult times, they were able to show their employees that they were there for them as employers. On the other hand, it turned out to be very difficult for some organisations to keep in touch with everyone.

Over a 10-year period after earning her Vlerick Masters in Marketing (2002), Iris Decreus worked as a marketeer for several major companies. However, she did not feel completely satisfied, nor fulfilled. She always thought she could have a bigger impact and be more in control of her results if she would work on her own. The combination of Vlerick and her experience eventually gave her the courage to take the leap into entrepreneurship. She started as an independent wedding planner, changed her corporate model after five years and built an online curated, multisided platform called House of Weddings. By blogging during Corona, she managed to not lose her audience of partners and couples.

“The ‘Great Reset’ after the pandemic asks us to face uncertainty and discomfort bravely, instead of giving in to escape phantasies to alleviate our anxiety. Only if we are ready to welcome reality and take time to reflect can we remake the world,” says Smaranda Boros, Professor of Intercultural Management and Organisational Behaviour at Vlerick Business School. She sees the crisis as an opportunity for systemic transformation, to reinvent ourselves and restore our relation to the world as one ecosystem.

COVID-19 is a great lesson in humility. It’s the kind of experience that forces you to draw breath and reflect on who you are as a leader and the difference you want to make. After all, it’s all too easy to think that you can't have any kind of impact. According to Professor Katleen De Stobbeleir, everyone's choices and actions – no matter how large or how small your role – have a significant impact on the bigger picture. So, the question is, what difference do you want to make?

In the Paris climate agreement, more than 100 countries – including Belgium – have committed to reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. Although the new US President Joe Biden is putting climate change back on the political agenda, whether or not this goal is achieved will mainly depend on the vigour of the business community. According to Professor Kristof Stouthuysen, the proper use of artificial intelligence is the key to helping our companies become climate-neutral more quickly.

Traditional time-series analysis and forecasting methods are nothing new. However, lately companies like Google and Facebook have invested in developing time-series models that combine traditional techniques with Machine Learning (ML). What is the reason that Big Tech firms are suddenly looking into ways to optimise forecasting techniques? And why should all companies and their managers care about these new forecasting techniques?