The University of Antwerp will award its honorary degrees for 2026 on Thursday, 2 April.

Francesca Albanese

Honorary Doctorate for General Merit
The Italian human rights advocate Francesca Albanese is receiving an honorary doctorate for her dedication as Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories and for her in-depth work on Gaza.

This honorary doctorate is awarded in collaboration with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University.

Nominators:
Prof. dr. Herwig Leirs, rector UAntwerpen 
Prof. dr. Petra De Sutter, rector UGent 
Prof. dr. Jan Danckaerts, rector VUB  


Dr. Wanda de Kanter

Honorary degree in Medicine and Health Sciences

Pulmonologist.

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Ziekenhuis, Nederlands Kanker Instituut, Amsterdam.

Nominator: Prof. dr. Filip Lardon

Prof. dr. Noura Erakat

​Honorary degree in Development Policy.

Professor of Human Rights.

Rutgers University.

Nominator: Prof. dr. Gert Van Hecken

Prof. dr. Sanna Järvelä

Honorary degree in Social Sciences

Head of the Learning and Educational Technology Research Lab.

University of Oulu.

Nominator: Prof. dr. Piet Van den Bossche


Juliette Legler

Honorary degree in Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences

Professor of Toxicology and heads the Division of Toxicology at the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS).

Universiteit Utrecht.

Nominator: Prof. dr. Dries Knapen