Location:

Leuven, Belgium

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Academic Year

Program Overview

Program Description:

Through an innovation project, either within a company (in-company project) or as an independent entrepreneur (team project or start-up project), you will learn how to implement creative and innovative concepts and ideas. There are three types of projects: - An in-company project An in-company project is carried out by one or two students within an organisation. You can select a project from the online database, but you can also propose a company project. Students with special interest in community service engineering can choose for a company project within the social profit sector. Students interested in management skills can choose a project focused on the domain of technology management. - A team project During a team project you work intensively on an innovative project on campus, together with a group of students and in collaboration with various enterprises and organisations. - A start-up project Alternatively, within the framework of a start-up project, students have the option of writing a business plan around their own, with a view to starting their own company. "Make things work" is the central philosophy behind the projects. Each project is organized in a way that will let you design and produce a tangible and functional product within the structure of a company or team. A number of deepening technical courses, compatible with the assignment of the innovation project of your choice, allow you to specialize in a specific technical domain. The educational programme also includes broadening courses to sharpen entrepreneurial and innovative skills, such as communication, project management, leadership, negotiating, innovation management or group dynamics.

Work experience, social and professional skills have never been more important for engineers. The interuniversity Postgraduate Programme in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Engineering will help to strengthen your profile and create career opportunities. The postgraduate programme consists of 60 credits, 40 of which are comprised in the innovation project and a minimum of 20 credits are available for additional courses. The focus of the programme is on innovation and implementation in an entrepreneurial manner. The programme offers a unique and hands-on introduction to the job market and the industry. Through the innovation project and a customised curriculum designed to meet your personal needs, you will develop your technical, entrepreneurial and innovation skills. All of this will take place under the intensive personal coaching of professionals in the field and academic experts. Completion of the programme will allow you to enter the job market at a higher level and grow at an accelerated pace.

Setting Description:

KU Leuven is an autonomous university. It was founded in 1425. It was born of and has grown within the Catholic tradition. From its Christian view of the world and the human, KU Leuven endeavours to be a place for open discussion of social, philosophical and ethical issues and a critical centre of reflection in and for the Catholic community. KU Leuven offers its students an academic education based on high-level research, with the aim of preparing them to assume their social responsibilities. KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university that carries out both fundamental and applied research. It is strongly inter- and multidisciplinary in focus and strives for international excellence. To this end, KU Leuven works together actively with its research partners at home and abroad. KU Leuven encourages personal initiative and critical reflection in a culture of idea exchange, cooperation, solidarity and academic freedom. It pursues a proactive diversity pol