Jan Danckaert re-elected as rector of VUB
Brussels, 5 May 2026 - The 2026 rector election of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has been concluded. Prof Jan Danckaert obtained a large absolute majority across all electoral categories and was thus re-elected rector. He will start a new four-year term at the start of the 2026-2027 academic year.
The rector election is an important democratic process within the university. In all five electoral categories, which include all staff (including from the UZ Brussel) and all students, the required quorum was amply met. The Election Commission therefore declared the election valid.
Prof Jan Danckaert was the only candidate to succeed himself and obtained 79.30% of the votes. In a first reaction, the rector-elect stressed the importance of the broad support: "I am grateful to all colleagues and students for their trust. This strong mandate is essential at a time when our university is facing important challenges. Over the next four years, I want to build on the future together with the entire VUB community: with innovative education, strong research and an open view of the world. Only by moving forward together will we remain relevant and pioneering."
The policy plan with which Jan Danckaert went to the voters for his second term is entitled "VUB: a pioneering university in the heart of Europe. According to Jan Danckaert, the VUB has always played a pioneering role, both with pioneering research and successful new courses.
Physicist with a heart for education
Jan Danckaert (°1964) studied physics at the UAntwerpen. He then became an assistant in Engineering Sciences at the VUB. In 1992, he obtained his PhD in non-linear optics. After a period as a postdoctoral researcher at the FWO and two postdoctoral periods abroad, he became a full-time professor at the VUB in Sciences and (Bio-)Engineering Sciences in 2005.
In 2016, Jan Danckaert became Vice Rector for Education and Student Affairs in the team of Rector Caroline Pauwels. As vice-rector, he successfully guided VUB through the institutional review in times of corona. The international panel of experts spoke highly of the VUB.
When former rector Caroline Pauwels (1964-2022) was unable to continue her mandate in early 2022 due to her illness, Jan Danckaert succeeded her as interim rector. He then made it in the early rector election against then dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences Dirk Devroey.
During his first four-year term, the VUB continued to grow substantially, both in education and research. In recent years, Jan Danckaert has focused on agility in uncertain times, on scale increases and interdisciplinary research groups, on welfare and on the European positioning of the VUB. Among other things, the VUB is a driving force of EUTOPIA, an alliance of ten European universities. Jan Danckaert is currently president of EUTOPIA.
From 2023 to 2025, he also chaired the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR).
Tineke Sonck
