Vlerick Business School Seminariestraat IMG 4960 ghent

Vlerick Business School ("Vlerick") is a Belgian

business school A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, school of business administration, or ...

with campuses in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. It is a result of a merger of the MBA programmes of the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, ...

and of the ''Instituut Professor Vlerick voor Management'' of

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when th ...

, in 1999. It is a higher education institute recognized and subsidized by decree.

History

In 1953, professor, politician and entrepreneur André Vlerick founded the Centre for Productivity Studies and Research at

State University of Ghent Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when t ...

, which in 1983 becomes an autonomous school called the ''Instituut Professor Vlerick voor Management.'' In 1968, the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of L ...

created an international MBA programme, later organised by the

. In 1999, both universities merge their MBA programme, creating a new institution named ''Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School'' and established in

and

. In parallel, the UGent and

KU Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, ...

continue to offer graduate courses in management and business administration in their faculties of Management and Business administration. In 2006, Vlerick opened its campus in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, and in 2013 its

campus, in

Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Saint-Josse-ten-Noode () or Sint-Joost-ten-Node (), often simply called Saint-Josse or Sint-Joost, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the Ci ...

. In 2012, ''Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School'' changes its name and becomes the ''Vlerick Business School.'' Vlerick presents itself as being the oldest business school in Europe though in 2018, it is legally speaking the most recent one founded in Belgium.

Building

The building of its Ghent campus since 2007 was built in 1905 by Mgr

Antoon Stillemans Antoon Stillemans (10 December 1832, Sint-Niklaas – 5 November 1916, Ghent) was for 26 years the twenty-fourth bishop of Ghent, in Belgium. Education Stillemans began studies at the St. Joseph Minor Seminary of Sint-Niklaas in 1846. In 1853 ...

, as the major seminary of the Ghent diocese. The diocese then sold the building to the province.

Organisation

Vlerick has three campuses in Belgium:

(

and

. The campuses are made up of an independent building or, in Brussels, classrooms located on a building floor. Other campuses abroad have been opened for limited periods of time: a campus in

(Russia) opened in 2013 and closed again in 2019. Vlerick also has a cooperative program with BiMBA of

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...

China Center for Economic Research The China Center for Economic Research (CCER) is an economics think tank in Peking University, China. It was opened in August 1994, and is directed by Justin Yifu Lin Justin Yifu Lin (; born on October 15, 1952) is a Chinese economist and p ...

in Beijing (China). Vlerick offers MBA & Masters in Management, as well as general and specialized courses for managers, and custom-designed training for individual companies. Over 23,000 alumni in more than 100 different countries are alumni of the management schools. In 2015, Vlerick MBA Program was ranked top 100 MBA Programs and Top 10 MBA Program in Entrepreneurship worldwide by Financial Times.

Accreditation

Vlerick Business School holds three international accreditations: the American

AACSB The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, also known as AACSB International, is an American professional organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to ...

, the British

AMBA Amba or AMBA may refer to: Title * Amba Hor, alternative name for Abhor and Mehraela, Christian martyrs * Amba Sada, also known as Psote, Christian bishop and martyr in Upper Egypt Given name * Amba, the traditional first name given to the fir ...

, and the European

EQUIS The EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) is an international school accreditation system. It specializes in higher education institutions of management and business administration, run by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFM ...

. Vlerick is a higher education institute which is recognized and subsidized by decree.

Ranking

Vlerick ranks high amongst international and European business schools: * The Economist magazine ranked Vlerick number 47 among global full-time MBA in 2010. * Financial Times ranked Vlerick number 15 amongst European business schools in 2015. * The MBA program ranked number 100 out of all global MBA programs in 2014 according to the Financial Times. * The EMBA program ranked number 82 amongst global EMBA programs in 2018 according to the Financial Times. * The Masters in Management program ranked number 29 among global programs in 2013 according to the Financial Times. * The Masters in Financial management program ranked number 26th worldwide in 2018 according to the Financial Times. *The Masters in Marketing program ranked number 9th worldwide in 2019 according to the QS World University Rankings.

Notable alumni

* Bob Claes, general manager of

Standard de Liège Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object t ...

* Felix Van de Maele, CEO of , Belgium's first unicorn. * Frank Donck, director at KBC Bank *

Frank Meysman François Louis Virginie Meysman (born 6 April 1952) is a businessman best known for being the Chairman of Thomas Cook Group at the time of its collapse. Early life He was born in Brussels, Belgium. He trained at the Vlekho in Brussels. He also ...

, Chairman of

Thomas Cook Group Thomas Cook Group plc was a global travel group, headquartered in the United Kingdom and listed on the London Stock Exchange from its formation on 19 June 2007 by the merger of Thomas Cook AG — successor to Thomas Cook & Son — a ...

plc. * Kris Peeters, politician and vice-president of the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solution ...

Marc Coucke Marc Coucke (born 27 January 1965) is a Belgian businessman, multimillionaire and media figure. Founder of former BEL20 pharmaceutical company Omega Pharma, he has spread his business interests across several sectors including art, through his ...

, co-founder of

Omega Pharma Omega Pharma was a Belgian-based pharmaceutical company which was acquired in 2014 by Perrigo Company plc, an Irish/U.S.-based global pharmaceutical public company. The company was founded in 1987 and was based in the Industrial area 'de Prijke ...

* Marion Debruyne, Dean of Vlerick Business School * Michel Moortgat, CEO of

Duvel Duvel Moortgat Brewery (Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat) is a Flemish family-controlled brewery founded in 1871 in the Antwerp Province ( Belgium). Its strong golden pale ale, Duvel, is exported to more than forty countries. Duvel is Brabantian, Ghent ...

Moortgat NV * Paul Bulcke, former CEO of

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...

* Philippe Delva, CEO of Global Commercial Banking Fortis * Rudy Provoost, CEO of

Rexel Rexel is a French company specializing in the distribution of electrical, heating, lighting and plumbing equipment, but also in renewable energies and energy efficiency products and services. Founded in 1967, Rexel has broadened its scope of activ ...

References

External links

* *
More information about higher education in Flanders/Belgium (in English)

Find an officially recognized program of this institution in the Higher Education Register

Beijing International MBA
{{Authority control Business schools in Belgium Universities and colleges formed by merger in Belgium