Hasselt University aims to excel and stand out in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial spirit. “And won’t just happen through education, where interest in the Commercial Sciences major, with its focus on entrepreneurial skills, is soaring,” says Professor Vandekerkhof. “As far as entrepreneurship is concerned, we are active on all sorts of fronts and are also aiming for cross-fertilisation between all departments at Hasselt University. That also fits perfectly within the vision that Hasselt University has in aiming to be a civic university, a university that wants to help build a strong region where it is good to study, do business, work, reside and live.”

StudentStartUp

The StudentStartUp mentoring service, for example, has now been in existence for eight years, and interest is growing among students from all kinds of fields. Under the leadership of Els Huysman, more than 700 students have already been mentored to help turn their business plan or idea into (a) business(es). “About one in three actually get started on his or her plan. But it’s about more than starting: being entrepreneurial in life is a skill that helps every student go on to build a great career,” says the person in charge of StudentStartUp, Els Huysman.

Entrepreneurial spirit

”We are also noticing more and more interest from students from all kinds of fields in our multidisciplinary course sections on entrepreneurship,” says Professor Vandekerkhof. “This involves training around entrepreneurship, building blocks of entrepreneurship and business planning. We find that a number of students who are determined to go into business later on are even taking several of these sections at the same time.”

Research

At the Faculty of Business Economics, for example, there is the investigatory group Research Centre for Entrepreneurship & Family Firms (RCEF), which now enjoys international prestige. “The research there focuses on entrepreneurship,” explains Professor Vandekerkhof. “Many of the insights from this investigatory group can also be used in the operation of StudentStartUp. Along with Professor Jelle Schepers, for example, we have translated a matchmaking tool for entrepreneurs to find the right business partner into a scientifically underpinned algorithm for start-ups to find a suitable co-founder.”

Spin-offs

”But we need to make our researchers themselves even more entrepreneurial,” notes Professor Vandekerkhof. “Researchers who want to market the results of their research can visit the Spin-off Academy to do so. LRM, Tech Transfer Office at Hasselt University and RCEF joined forces there to set up an entrepreneurial track for PhD students or post-doctoral researchers. Through this track, we want to bring even more spin-offs into the market, from all kinds of scientific directions.”

Cross-fertilisation

Finally, LRM and Hasselt University are forming a strategic partnership around entrepreneurship. For example, the Limburg Investment Company is funding a chair on entrepreneurial ecosystems. “After all, with its many campuses – such as Corda, C-Mine, EnergyVille and many others – as entrepreneurial ecosystems, LRM holds some fascinating hothouses for partnerships and cross-fertilisation between companies,” adds Professor Pieter Vandekerkhof. “The more we can boost entrepreneurship through these avenues, the better for Limburg’s prosperity and well-being.”