Rik Van de Walle

I was born in 1970 and obtained the degree of Master of Science in Engineering Physics and Doctor of Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at Ghent University. After a visiting post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Arizona (Tucson, USA) I returned to Ghent, became a full-time assistant professor (‘docent’) in 2001 and set up the Multimedia Lab. This research group was one of the founding research groups of iMinds (since 2016 imec) and was renamed in 2016 as Internet and Data Lab (IDLab) after a merger with two other research groups (across departmental and even university boundaries). IDLab has now become a very large group: more than 400 members are part of it.

From 2012 to 2017 I was Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, and from 2014 to 2017 Chair of the Department of Electronics and Information Systems. I am also a member of the imec board. Since 2016 I am a member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and Arts (Technical Sciences).

In 2017, I was a candidate to become rector of Ghent University, together with Mieke Van Herreweghe, who was a candidate to become vice-rector. We were elected and have been holding these mandates since October 1, 2017. By now you know that we are candidates to be rector and vice-rector of UGent in the period 2021-2025 as well. Also in this period, we want to serve our university, our staff and our students, with all the commitment and passion we can offer.

I am married to Brenda Delcloo, dad of Bram and Kim, step-dad of Mauro and a Plan Parent. A significant portion of my childhood was spent on and around tennis courts. My current sports activities can best be described as ‘passionate endurance athlete’, with one to two participations in large city marathons each year.

Finally I was a passionate flutist for many years. I have the best memories of numerous concerts I played as a member of different orchestras and ensembles. Since a couple of years my musical ambitions have been restricted though: they don’t reach much further than attending a good concert from time to time.

Any other free time I like to fill up with a good book. Fiction or non-fiction? I haven’t really got any preferences. When choosing a book I am mostly led by what friends and acquaintances recommend, or by chance meetings with books in shop windows or on bookshelves.

My academic career and my personal trajectory clearly show that I like things to move forward. That is true - I don’t only want to dream, I also want to realise those dreams. The marathons I run are lessons in patience and focus. ‘When you run the marathon, you run against the distance, not against the other runners and not against the time’ is what the Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebreselassie says, one of the greatest long distance runners of all times. He is right. You do not run against the other runners, you run with them. You can only reach the final goal when you are supported by many people, not only during the marathon but also in the period before. Because, don’t be mistaken: the famous runner’s high does exist, but it only comes after countless hours of preparation!

Mieke Van Herreweghe

I was born in 1965. After my secondary education at Sint-Bavohumaniora I obtained a Master’s degree in Germanic languages at Ghent University in 1987 and one year later a Master’s degree in Linguistics at University College Dublin (Ireland). I then obtained a PhD Fellowship from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and in the course of my PhD I spent three months doing research at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in the US. In 1996 I obtained a PhD in Linguistics and Literature at Ghent University with a dissertation titled: “Prelingually deaf pupils and Dutch: a syntactic study”.

I never really let go of that topic. In the course of the years, first as a post-doctoral assistant in the English Department and then as a post-doctoral researcher funded by the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO), my research field slightly shifted, though, and I have focused more and more on (socio-)linguistic aspects of Flemish Sign Language (VGT or Vlaamse Gebarentaal). In 2002 I became an assistant professor in English linguistics and proficiency, doing research into the acquisition of English as a foreign language and historical aspects of English. I am a Flemish Sign Language interpreter and was one of the founding members of the Flemish Sign Language Centre (VGTC or Vlaams GebarentaalCentrum), which has been recognised by the Flemish government as the Flemish knowledge and expertise centre with respect to VGT. I was chair of the Flemish Advisory Committee on VGT and of the Centre for Adult Education VSPW (“Training Centre for Social and Pedagogical Work”).

I was chair of the Study Programme Committee of Linguistics and Literature and research director of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy. One of the reasons why I was a candidate four years ago was the fact that there are very few female colleagues in managerial positions. I am aware of the fact that a female vice rector can be a role model for many female colleagues. Today things have improved a lot in that respect, although we’re still not there yet. Regarding other aspects of diversity quite a lot of work still needs to be done but I don’t shy away from that. Rik and I are both people who believe that actions speak louder than words. The past four years have been very interesting – and admittedly the last year very challenging – but we have been a well-oiled team and we would like to be able to continue another four years, at the service of the Ghent University community.

My own personal background has led me to believe that trust is of paramount importance. My father was blind. From my early childhood onwards it has been instilled in me that we have to trust each other blindly - literally. That is what I want to convey to Ghent University. The best way to receive trust is to give trust. This is something I also apply in my family, together with my husband who also has a busy career as an engineer (and UGent alumnus). We have managed to raise our three daughters as confident young women, of whom the eldest two have graduated from Ghent university and are not living at home anymore.

Just like Rik, I was a keen athlete. I used to compete in both water skiing and badminton. When our daughters were still competitive gymnasts both my husband (as chair) and I were volunteers for gymnastics club Athena. In the meantime they are coaches there so they have taken up the torch. My biggest hobby is my family but I also like to devote some of my free time to cooking, reading or travelling and as a real water rat you can frequently find me in a swimming pool. And obviously, like so many other people this past year, I have become quite the hiker.