Research chairs

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.

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.