Today we witness a rapid transition towards a more sustainable economy. Long-term strategies by government institutions as well as private business all point in this direction. Finance is a keystone in this transition movement. It assists governments and companies in their changeover effort and guides institutional as well as retail investors in their search for sustainable investment. We witness rapid growth in the field of sustainable investment, yet when it comes to research that situates itself at the nexus between sustainability and finance, there is little to show in the Belgian context. This chair aims to fill this void and accompany financial institutions on their drive towards sustainability.

By 2020 the BNP Chair on Ethics & Finance should be the reference chair in Belgium on any question about ethics and finance.

In order to attain this leading role the chair will:

• conduct fundamental and more applied research on ethics and finance, in cooperation with other academic partners as well as the chair partner;
• share research insights with investors, students and the general public alike through presentations and online material;
• increase societal awareness about sustainable finance through external presence.

The chairholder is prof. dr. Luc Van Liedekerke . Dr. Hans Verboven is fellow of the chair.

The University of Antwerp (Department of Transport and Regional Economics) and BNP Paribas Fortis have teamed to set up a Chair in transport, logistics and ports. Through the Chair, the University and the bank want to be able to react quickly and efficiently to new developments in the sea and logistics world. That world is constantly changing, and that is also true for the port and logistics sector. Large, new powers like India and Brazil will influence the transport sector.

This Chair will respond to such issues, as well as to new trends in the field of logistics. There are also issues to act on at the micro level. For instance, once e-commerce gains strong ground, it will have consequences for the transport sector,  the type of commodity flows, and  the route that they follow. In the frame of this Chair, conferences and seminars will be organized to tackle these issues. The chairholder is Christa Sys.

Dennie Lockefeer

Dennie Lockefeer was highly appreciated in the port community, and in particular in the world of inland shipping, for his insights and expertise. He often collaborated with the Port of Antwerp, the Flemish Government and the University of Antwerp. He was often consulted by academics and was frequently asked to share his knowledge with students and professors. On the initiative of Prof. dr. Christa Sys, the port and inland shipping sector established a chair for fundamental research on intermodal transport at the University of Antwerp, carrying his name in memory. 

The chair can be used for research (e.g. to support the inland shipping sector, innovative inland shipping concepts), education (e.g. to award a biennial award for best thesis/doctorate) and services (e.g. for a colloquium, to organize a series of lectures).

Sponsor packages

The sector developed three sponsor packages in collaboration with the University of Antwerp, each involving a threme-year commitment:

• 'gold' package of 10,000 euros/year for three years
• 'silver' package of 5,000 euros/year for three years
• 'bronze' package for 1,000 euros/year for three years

 The return for the formulas consists of logo entry, invitations to the launch and closing event, attendance at interim events, amongst others. The 'golden' sponsor also receives exclusive involvement as a member of the steering comittee of the Dennie Lockefeer chair. The Chair is founded by the Department of Transport and Regional Economics (TPR) and chaired by Prof. dr. Christa Sys.

More information (in Dutch)

The Francqui Foundation encourages the prestige of disinterested fundamental research. Its objective is to further the development of higher education and scientific research in Belgium.  Each year, the Francqui Foundation grants several Chairs to Belgian scientists, proposed by the universities. The goal is to create the possibility to invite professors of other Belgian universities, for a series of courses of 10 teaching hours. For the academic year 2019-2020 the University of Antwerp and the Faculty of Business and Economics welcome Prof. dr. Siem Jan Koopman as one of the two laureates. 

Prof Siem Jan Koopman will give the inaugural lecture ‘The Econometrics of Time-Varying Parameters’.

More information about the lectures and registration