Vlerick Business School ("Vlerick") is a Belgian business school with campuses in Ghent, Leuven, and Brussels. It is a result of a merger of MBA programmes of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and of the Instituut Professor Vlerick voor ManagementofGhent University, in 1999 (which, however, have both started offering MBA programmes again since).[1] It is a higher education institute recognized and subsidized by decree.[3]
In 1953, professor, politician, and entrepreneur André Vlerick founded the Centre for Productivity Studies and Research at State University of Ghent, which in 1983 became an autonomous school called the Instituut Professor Vlerick voor Management.[4] In 1968, the Catholic University of Leuven created an international MBA programme, later organised by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
In 1999, the universities merged their MBA programmes, creating a new institution named Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School and established in Leuven and Ghent.[5] In parallel, the UGent and KU Leuven continue to offer graduate courses in management and business administration, including MBA programmes, in their faculties of Management and Business administration. In 2006, Vlerick opened its campus in Saint Petersburg, and in 2013 its Brussels campus, in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode.
In 2012, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School changed its name and becomes the Vlerick Business School.[5] Vlerick presents itself as being the oldest business school in Europe[5][6] though in 2018, it is legally speaking the most recent one founded in Belgium.
Vlerick has three campuses in Belgium: Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (Brussels), Ghent, and Leuven. 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 Saint Petersburg (Russia) opened in 2013, and closed in 2019. Vlerick also has a cooperative program with BiMBAofPeking University's China Center for Economic Research in Beijing (China).[8]
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 countries are alumni of the management schools.[9][10] In 2015, Vlerick MBA Program was ranked top 100 MBA Programs and Top 10 MBA Program in Entrepreneurship worldwide by Financial Times.[11][12]
Vlerick Business School is one of two Triple Crown business schools in Belgium and possesses accreditation by the American AACSB, the British AMBA, and the European EQUIS.[13][14] Vlerick is a higher education institute which is recognized and subsidized by decree.[3]
Media related to Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School at Wikimedia Commons
