EU team

Our mission

We give your scientific excellence European relevance 

by helping you uncover and maximise the potential of your research for the global society, economy and environment.

• Are you interested to collaborate with Ghent University in European or international research and innovation funding?
• Would you like to apply for EU funding with Ghent University as your Host Institution? 

Contact us at EU-team@UGent.be 

Team structure

The EU team consists of three subteams, called People, Planet and Prosperity, each dealing with a number of proposals and projects in different research fields. 

Each team has staff members with different roles to help with all aspects of the project.

Subteam People

Subteam Planet

Subteam Prosperity

Legal advisors

The legal advisors of the EU team provide legal assistance with regard to the drafting and negotiating of contracts relevant for EU and international projects, the protection and exploitation of know-how and intellectual property rights which are the result of research performed at Ghent University.

• Contact:  Laurien Lenaerts, Matthias Meirlaen and Aëgir Snoeck.

ENLIGHT RISE team

Ghent University is a member of the ENLIGHT Network:  a European University Alliance formed by nine comprehensive, research-intensive universities from nine European countries (Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden), training over 300,000 learners per year and sharing a deep commitment to their social responsibility.

The EU Team manages the participation of Ghent University in ENLIGHT RISE, the ENLIGHT research and innovation component funded by the Horizon 2020 SwafS funding scheme.

• Overall UGent coordination of ENLIGHT RISE: Dirk De Craemer
• ENLIGHT RISE Project manager for Ghent University: Fede Dewulf
• Contact: RISE@UGent.be

European Public Affairs advisors

Our European Public Affairs Advisors are responsible for policy and Public Affairs activities of the Research Department, in close collaboration with the Education Department.

On the policy side, they provide intelligence on EU Research and Innovation policy developments (European Research Area, Vision 2030, Horizon Europe, FP10, Financial Regulation, Multi-annual Financial Framework, etc.) and give strategic advice to the Board of Governors, directors, thematic EU Account managers and interdisciplinary research coordinators. This in close collaboration with the Virtual UGent ERA team and on all ERA Actions.

On the Public Affairs side, they are responsible for maintaining relationships with institutional stakeholders in Brussels and with strategic partners, representatives of other EU Offices and the National Contact Point. In this context, they take on the role of Liaison Officers for European network- and lobby organisations (EUA, CESAER, The Guild, UnILiON) and provide input, together with colleagues from the Virtual UGent ERA team. Furthermore, they represent Ghent University in the VLIR and the VLIR & CRef working groups EU Research and in the Flemish Stakeholder Platform for European Programmes.

Finally, they undertake a wide range of communication activities, from sharing EU policy intelligence towards our researchers to responding to European Commission consultations.

• Contact: Wendy Sonneveld and Hannes Brouckaert

Teamcoach

EU accountmanager Excellent Science and teamcoach of the EU team: Margo Baele

• Content support and advice for project proposals in the Excellent Science pillar of Horizon Europe
• Support in shaping Ghent University's internal policy on participation in Horizon Europe and other European and international programmes