International News

EPHEC visits its South-Korean partners and attends the 2023 NIBS Annual Conference

Barbara Brooijmans and Silvia Payan Garcia represented EPHEC university college at the Annual Conference of the Network of International Business Schools, which is organized by Woosong University. This was also an opportunity to visit our partner institutions in Seoul, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Myongji University, and our new partner, Sookmyung Women's University. Moreover, it was an opportunity to meet our students on exchange programs in South Korea.

The International Marketing Weeks Network and EPHEC wins the David Gillingham Award!

We are very proud to let you know that the International Marketing Weeks Network (in which EPHEC is involved) has won the 2023 David Gillingham Award, which is awarded every year by the Network of International Business Schools and honours outstanding, internationally-oriented business education projects.

All this was possible thanks to the involvement of the organizing professors who contributed not only to the success of the weeks but also to strengthen the collaboration between the partners institutions.

Study Tour Program at FPT University Vietnam

The Study Tour Program for EPHEC students at FPT University Danang Campus came to a successful end with a grand closing ceremony. After a two-week experience, the program was to provide EPHEC students with a global perspective by offering them an opportunity to learn about and engage with Vietnam's culture, educational system. More info

International Marketing Week in Valencia

8 students from our second year Bachelor Marketing accompanied by their professor, Stéphanie Callens, took part in an International Week organised by our partner in Valencia Universidad Europea from 26 February to 3 March 2023. They worked in teams composed of several students from other European institutions on an export issue for a wine producer in the Valencia region, Chozas Carrascal. It was a great week, rich in the development of technical skills linked to international business, in various encounters and in the discovery of Spanish culture.

Participation in staff week organized by ETSIAMN

Our colleague, Frédéric Simonis, administrative officer in charge of incoming students, participated in an International Staff Week organized by ETSIAMN. They worked on social skills (soft skills) in an international setting, through workshops and seminars led by the organisers, and through meetings and exchanges with other participants.

It was also the opportunity to visit Universidad Europea de Valencia, an academic partner of EPHEC.

Ajman University Winter Tour

30 students had the opportunity to participate in the Winter Tour organised by our partner Ajman University. This project was an incredible experience for our students who had the opportunity not only to get to know the UAE culture by visiting the Burj Khalifa, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and experiencing a desert safari but also to learn about the economic life and the role played by artificial intelligence in daily life. The visit of companies such as Gulf Craft, Huawei, the police department or the Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park allowed to understand the countless possibilities of AI.

Winter Tour Circular Economy and climate change

At the beginning of February five students and a professor from EPHEC joined LAB University of Applied Sciences in Lahti, Finland, to work during one week on the theme of climate change and the circular economy. The theme was explored through lectures and debates, visits to companies active in circular economy and case studies to be carried out in international teams. It was also an opportunity to discover Finnish nature and culture through various activities such as a day in the forest - including wood-fire cooking, sauna, ice swimming, ... - and a visit to the museum and the ski jumping park. This week, rich in meetings, learning and activities, ended with an international dinner during which everyone had the opportunity to celebrate the culinary tradition of their country.

Welcoming the new international students at EPHEC (spring semester)

On Tuesday 31/01, we welcomed the new group of International students, who arrived to spend the Spring semester 2022-23 at EPHEC. After their registration, they were given a taste of Belgian gastronomy (chocolate) and some goodies and were then gathered in a classroom to be officially welcomed. Other various activities were organized, such as a campus tour, a visit of Choco-Story (famous chocolate museum at the heart of Brussels), an interactive conference, etc.

The overall satisfaction rate for this integration week being 85%, we believe that the students were happy with their welcome at Ephec to start their semester with us in the best conditions.

Belgian Economic Mission to Japan

EPHEC University College, represented by Emmanuelle Havrenne and Barbara Brooijmans, has participated in the Belgian Economic Mission to Japan! This mission is the largest international trade delegation to visit Japan. It aims to renew and strengthen economic and academic interactions between our two countries.

Emmanuelle Havrenne and Barbara Brooijmans met our existing academic partners, Kindaï University and Kanagawa University, signed two new agreements with Soka University and Osaka Gakuin University and used the opportunity to meet with our student in Japan. It was also the opportunity to exchange with Japanese representatives

Visit of delegation of Universitas Airlangga

EPHEC University College welcomed on 30th of November a delegation from Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia. Dr Yetti Dwi, Dr Puput Tri Komalasari, Dr Tri Siwi Agustina and Dr Dian Ekowati visited EPHEC in order to discuss collaboration possibilities for students, staff and faculty members.

Start Up League

EPHEC University College is part of the Startup League, a new network which has as aim to (i) establish a network in the context of start-up / entrepreneurship (ii) set up digital, international and practice-oriented study programmes and (iii) enable employees from teaching, administration and research to network.

Caroline Lovens and Charlotte Mikolajczak represented EPHEC at the kick-off meeting which took place in Neu-Ulm, Germany, in October 2022.

Pitching Competition Rauma Chamber of Commerce

Our 4 double degree students (Sasha Briffaux, Alexandre de Staercke, Tanguy de Wouters de Bouchout, Cyprien Papeians) in Marketing studying in Rauma at SAMK for their 3rd year participated in the pitching competition organized by the Rauma Chamber of Commerce. They did a brilliant job!

The local company they represented got the internationalization award.

Olivia Moermans wins the Eloquence competition at ICD Business School!

Olivia Moermans, a 3rd year marketing student enrolled in the triple degree programme, won the eloquence competition at the ICD Business School, Toulouse campus. The final topic was "Should you keep quiet when you have nothing to say?"

She convinced the jury with her sweetness, her poetry and the intelligence of her words!

EPHEC in La Rochelle and La Roche-sur-Yon

From 28th November to 2nd December, 5 students in Marketing (2 from Brussels and 3 from Louvain-la-Neuve) travelled to the beautiful seaside city of La Rochelle, where EXCELIA Business School had set up a challenging International Business Strategy Game. It is an on-line,PC-based exercise where students run an athletic footwear company in head-to-head competition against companies run by other class members on a worldwide marketplace.

Businet Annual Conference

EPHEC University College participated in the 35th Annual Conference of Businet in order to develop international projects for students, staff and faculty members. Always a great opportunity to develop projects with colleagues around Europe!

Barbara Brooijmans made a presentation about Making staff and faculty members mobile. A challenge.

International Marketing Week with Gelateria Fassi

During an International Marketing Week, 22 students have had the opportunity to work on a project for an the artisan italian gelato business Fassi, located in Rome. In teams of 4 to 5 people, students from EPHEC, UCLL, Hanze University and SSM have developed an international marketing plan for the company Fassi to see the opportunities to expand the brand in Australia.

Collaboration ISCOM (Paris) x EPHEC (Brussels)

8 mixed Ephec / Iscom teams worked on a brief from the chocolate brand NEUHAUS. The aim was for the brand to create a link and acquisition with a younger target (under 40), in particular through digital activations. The brief was exciting because the brand has become premium with a coherent discourse, sincerely responsible and full of inspiring values, but which must now seduce younger audiences.

CSR Fair by our Erasmus students

Erasmus students (in the Digital Customer Experience package) who take part in the CSR and Business Ethics course were holding a stand at the « Are we socially responsible » Fair. They explained the social and environmental impacts of daily-used products and proposed alternatives to reduce those impacts. Their visitors were Erasmus students of the International Innovative Entrepreneurship package for their course focusing on developing Business English Skills.

EPHEC International students visit the chocolate museum in Brussels

2 groups of EPHEC exchange students, from many different nationalities, visited the chocolate museums « Choco-story », located in Brussels center near the Grand Place and the famous « Maneken Pis » statue. Chocolate, just like beer, is a flagship product of our Belgian gastronomy and the reputation of our ‘pralines’ is worldwide. This is why it is important for us to make our exchange students discover this part of our heritage, and this visit to the chocolate museum has become a "must" in our social activities organised for our international students on academic exchange at EPHEC.

Barbara Brooijmans attended the 5th GRIFF meeting on 12 September

50 participants from 42 institutions from 8 countries were able to exchange on their very similar realities and challenges despite the distance between them.

EPHEC hosted the annual meeting of IMN

Our partners of the IMN (International Marketing Network) have been organizing International Weeks (= Blended Intensive Programmes without the virtual component) for over 15 years. The aim has always been to offer a short international experience to students for whom it was not necessarily possible to go on a semester exchange. The network had therefore anticipated Europe's objectives!

Info session for outgoing students

On the 25th of October all outgoing students in the second semester were invited to a meeting. The purpose was to clarify the procedures before, during and after mobility and answer all their questions!

International EPHEC students visit the "House of European History"

In November, a small number of international students from Ephec visited the « House of European History », located in the beatiful « Parc Leopold » in the European Quarter in Brussels.

Some of these students are following the EU Affairs programme in English at Ephec and others are students from Africa. In both cases, these groups of students were keen to discover this museum which explains Europe from antiquity to the creation and functioning of the European institutions today.

Visit from LaSalle St Louis-Ste Barbe Group

EPHEC received Ms. Florence Gallego-Hiss, head of international relations at the LaSalle St Louis-Ste Barbe School Group, located in Saint-Etienne. Erasmus partner since 2021 for our International Business program, La Salle offers training from secondary to higher education, particularly in Management, International Trade, SME Management and Engineering.

One of their students is on exchange at EPHEC this semester. We presented our programs, our tools for managing IN and OUT mobility, promoted our International Weeks and the BUSINET network. A possible extension of the Erasmus contract for our engineering programs was considered.

Visit from delegates from Osaka Gakuin University

EPHEC welcomed on 19 September Mrs Midori Hatanaka and Mrs Tao Meng from the International Center of Osaka Gakuin University.  It was the opportunity not only to visit our institution but also to talk about various collaboration paths as COIL programmes, student exchange for one semester, short term mobility.

Visit from INSPER

We had the pleasure to welcome Ana Carolina Oliveira de Souza, Head of International Relations and Affairs at INSPER, Sao Paulo, Brazil on September 20.

Both our institutions were founded by an entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial mindset is part of our pedagogical model.  We are looking forward to or partnership and to develop projects not only for our students but also for our faculty members.

EPHEC attended EAIE

Barbara Brooijmans, Caroline van Hoeck, Mariannick Bossut and Jean-Michel Grégoire attended EAIE from 13 until 16 of September.  It was an opportunity not only to attend workshops but also to meet and network with old and new partners. Looking forward to seeing you all next year in Rotterdam! Last but not least, we travelled to Barcelona by train. Long live green mobility! #EAIE2022 #highereducation #internationaleducation #internationalization

EPHEC welcomes l’Université de Djibouti

Nadine Rouge, Barbara Brooijmans and Mariannick Bossut welcomed on September 8 Bernadette Smeesters, Abdikarim Fouad, Houssein Mohamed and Mahmoud Mourad from l’Université de Dijbouti.

We have talked about our programmes and possible synergies.  How to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and a structure like our EPHEC ENTREPRENDRE was in the middle of the discussions.  Next step will be a visit during their Innovation Week!

Welcome to Brussels!

On September 8 we welcomed around 150 exchange students at EPHEC. Most of them will spend a semester in Brussels but some will stay for the entire year.

During this welcome week, students get to know the building and the campus, receive pedagogical and administrative information and participate in social and cultural activities.

Visit from Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR)

Barbara Brooijmans and Olivier Kahn welcomed Frédéric Parissier from l’Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) on 29 June.

We discussed the possibility to collaborate on student exchange, to set up a summer school together with other partners on the overall theme of International Marketing and synergies for our commercial missions. 

NAFSA 2022

Barbara Brooijmans attended NAFSA2022 Annual Conference, the first conference organized on site since 2019!  The opportunity to finally meet in person existing partners and potential new partners in person.  An extraordinary opportunity to network.  A great opportunity.

EPHEC organizes EURASHE 31st Annual Conference

EURASHE and its members ARES and EPHEC, and with the support of the Wallonia Brussels Federation, organised its 31st Annual Conference,’Next Generation PHE: Skills relevance, Inclusion, Digitalisation and Innovation’, on 23-24 of May 2022 at the EPHEC campus in Brussels, Belgium.

First Blended Intensive Programme at EPHEC: Business & Arts innovation lab

This programme was designed to help participants learn about sustainable value creation together with students, entrepreneurs and creatives from many countries across Europe, all bringing in their own experience, knowledge and skills.

COIL Project: Promotion of the Chili-Peru Cross border Ecosystem

Students from EPHEC and from UTA Universidad of Tarapaca have been working together during one week to develop a digital platform to promote the Inca heritage of the Qhapaq Nan.