KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGED WITH SUSTAINABILITY
Vlerick is a springboard for professionals across the world to keep taking leaps and making positive impact, wherever they go. The journey starts here in our learning environments – but it continues to ripple out wherever our alumni go.
We support the Vlerick alumni community to remain engaged with sustainability and to keep making positive impact in a number of ways.
Student entrepreneurship fund
The aim of this fund is to close the gap between dreaming and doing, by providing seed money for entrepreneurial ventures. It provides grants – entirely funded by philanthropy – of up to €50k for Vlerick students or young alumni.
Since its launch in 2019, the fund has received 135 applications – and 25 have been awarded grants.
OUR STUDENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP FUND IN ACTION
CLARA MASPONS - CO-FOUNDER OF MATERNIA Masters in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, 2022
With support from the Vlerick Entrepreneurship Fund, Clara Maspons and her social start-up Maternia are helping to improve access for pregnant women to adequate healthcare.
She says: “It has been an unbelievable journey. Vlerick played a key role in turning the idea into a reality and supported our approach to prioritise social impact over profit.”
JORG HENDRIKX - CO-FOUNDER OF QVIRO Masters in General Management, 2014
The Student Entrepreneurship Fund allowed Jorg Hendrikx – an alumnus of our Masters in General Management – to co-found a start-up. Qviro is a comparison site for engineering components that ranks items according to quality.
He says: “The interesting thing about the selection process is that you have to defend your case before a jury. This kind of experienced and constructively critical sounding board is particularly valuable. Although the financial contribution of the Student Entrepreneurship Fund is naturally important, the subsequent guidance and frameworks are truly valuable. I still contact some of the jury members to ask for their opinion on certain decisions, both for Qviro and for other projects. We were also able to pitch our idea to the V-entrepreneurs, a community of Vlerick entrepreneurs. Their advice was also worth its weight in gold for us.”
Alumni engagement and clubs
A learning journey at Vlerick is the start of a lifelong relationship. We have more than 25,000 alumni – and 2,000 of these professionals are actively involved in our Alumni Association.
Our alumni have created a number of business and social clubs – which in themselves can play an important role in sharing sustainability thinking and best practice.
Three of our clubs are directly related to sustainability and diversity:
IMPACT CLUB
This community of professionals is passionate about making positive change. They work together on new ideas for solving society’s challenges. They encourage fresh thinking and sustainability through a range of thought-provoking activities.
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP CLUB
The mission of this club is to inspire, connect and lift up members through inspiring events and networking opportunities. The club empowers women to reach their full potential by championing and promoting more inclusive business environments.
FIERCE AND PROUD CLUB
Professionals of all backgrounds, ages and identities are welcome at the fierce and proud club – which supports and represents LGBTQIA+ alumni.