Rebellious, critical, but also very close-knit. The alumni group of PUB 73 meet up every year. They celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their graduation from Vlerick in 2023 with a class gift spread over three years. “The best students should have the opportunity to study at Vlerick. You learn how the world works there, and the world needs people like that today.”
“When we graduated as engineers, we knew how to analyse, synthesize, and come to a conclusion. But we didn’t know where to look for the solution. That’s what we learned during our year at Vlerick: general business management, personnel management, cost calculation, marketing, sales, …” After a flourishing international career at the head of Etex, Fons Peeters looks back on his Vlerick year with appreciation.
For Johan Van Wassenhove, CEO of Denys, the scope of his engineering education also seemed too narrow: “Vlerick was originally aimed at that engineering profile. Professor Vlerick, founder of the school, believed that engineers had an excellent profile to lead a company, provided they followed additional training. PUB, the Postgraduate program in Business Management, offered that training. There were 34 of us in our year, 20 of whom had an engineering background.”
The most striking memory of their PUB year? Without hesitation: the general business management course by Professor Vlerick. “Those were on Saturday mornings – Professor Vlerick was Minister of Finance at the time,” Johan notes. “That man did more than just teach. He was a gifted storyteller. And we, his students - whom he considered a bit like his children - literally got a front-row view of his life. His life as a politician, with his experiences in parliament, but also his life as a member of a family business in the textile industry. I still hear his deep voice and see him with his little booklet and typewritten pages. I enjoyed those lessons, and they also marked me. For me, Professor Vlerick symbolizes the enthusiasm for entrepreneurship in Flanders. I also had the desire to become an entrepreneur, just like my grandfather. It was in my genes. Today I would still recommend Vlerick to anyone who aspires to start their own business.”
“That certainly doesn’t mean we blindly accepted everything they taught us,” Fons notes. “In May 1968, we were in our first year of university. We were inspired by the student protests at the Sorbonne and gave our own spin to it: Leuven Vlaams. We brought that same rebellious and critical mindset to Vlerick. Should a company only be concerned with making a profit? Doesn’t it also have other social obligations? We let the voice of a new generation be heard. And that is exactly what we aim to accomplish with our PUB 73 class gift: give a voice to the new generation, more specifically to the students for whom the tuition fee is a barrier. Because, let’s be honest, the tuition fee is much higher today than it was back then. Nevertheless, Vlerick should attract the best students, regardless of their financial situation. If a business school only attracts students who can afford it, it limits its potential.”
“For me, contributing to a scholarship was self-evident,” Johan states. “It is a way to show our gratitude, because we were fortunate enough to follow that program at Vlerick. When Philippe Haspeslagh (fellow alumnus of PUB 73, strategy professor, and honorary dean of Vlerick, Ed. note) launched the idea of a class gift, I didn’t hesitate for a moment. In 2024, we reached the milestone of 20,000 euros.”
“We don’t necessarily need to know which students receive a scholarship thanks to our gift. We have 100% trust in Vlerick to put our gift to good use,” Fons concludes. “The best students should have the opportunity to study at Vlerick. You learn how the world works there, and the world needs people like that today. Johan and I may be in our seventies now, but we both still engage with the world with an open mind and our feet firmly planted on the ground, each in our own way. Johan is successfully transforming Denys into a niche player in the global energy market, something I have immense respect for. I myself am retired but have been using my experience, knowledge, resources, and relationships for a development project in Northern Congo for ten years. Africa also needs industry and entrepreneurship to connect with the rest of the world.”
The PUB 73 class gift will provide a scholarship to Daniel Alejandro Torres Espinosa from Ecuador, allowing him to pursue a Master’s in Financial Management at Vlerick. "Education is my passion. I’ve always strived for top grades, and my parents have supported me throughout. But with my sister starting university, they can’t afford to help with this next step. I’ve always dreamed of studying at a top European business school, and thanks to this scholarship, that dream will soon be a reality. I can’t wait to dive deep into finance and create a positive impact, not just for myself, but for my community—and maybe even the world." |
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