At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.

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Ghent University's Education Objectives

Quality Assurance at Ghent University

Applied profile: you become a versatile, application-oriented industrial engineer with an understanding of the design, management, and control of (production) processes. Thanks to your analytical background, you can also function in a professional environment of process development, product development and quality management. As a Biochemical Engineering Technology graduate, you translate new ideas into practical applications on the work floor.

Research attitude: we foster the knowledge and skills necessary for applied research. You will learn to devise and implement a solid plan to research scientific questions, solve problems and improve processes. These research skills complement the application-oriented character of our study programme and ensure that you enter the labour market with an all-round profile.

Future-oriented approach: our programme is designed based on the various applications of current biotechnological knowledge. This results in more sustainable production processes and innovative applications in the wider biotech and life sciences sectors. On a European scale, Flanders is in pole position in these sectors, not in the least because of the crucial importance of the Ghent cluster. In this unique ecosystem, you will be able to fulfil a variety of positions.

Talent development: you will acquire knowledge in many different ways. There are the rather traditional lectures and practicals, and then there are larger group projects on research, process optimisation and process scaling. You will learn to bring them to a successful conclusion, developing your assets as you go along. You can conduct the Master's dissertation in a research lab or a company. Through work placement, company visits and guest speakers from the industry, we bring you into contact with the professional field. This will help you form a clear idea of your ideal initial professional situation.

Premium quality: we offer a premium-quality and well-organised programme. Student appreciation and appreciation from the professional field are high. Our study programme’s application-oriented profile is realised through a wide range of active teaching and assessment methods, among other things. Students appreciate how their critical thinking evolves and develops.

Dedicated team of lecturers: our study programme boasts a close-knit and committed team of lecturers. They put their shoulders to a continuous, purposeful and transparent improvement policy. They are approachable to students and student representatives.

Growth through feedback: Students recognise that our study programme invests in feedback to facilitate their learning process. The active teaching methods in combination with a high degree of feedback foster the development of engineering and research competencies, culminating in labour market entry. Students feel empowered to function independently in their discipline.

Stakeholder consultations: we are in touch with the broad professional field as a way to ensure the sustained quality and relevance of our study programme. These stakeholders are a part of the curriculum in the form of company visits, or guest speakers. We also have strong ties with our alumni and bring them into contact with our last-year students.

Internationalisation: within the confines of a one-year Master’s programme, offering international experiences through Erasmus exchanges is challenging. We mitigate these through Erasmus example programmes and an offer of international partners. Internationalisation is visible in the curriculum as a series of activities that prepare our future engineers to communicate and collaborate in an international context.

Administrative burden: investing in active teaching methods requires the students to manage their deadlines well, which they combine with working independently on their Master’s dissertation. We monitor the manageability of these deadlines throughout the term.

Monitoring our profile: our programme has been a part of Ghent University’s Faculty of Bioscience Engineering since 2013. The same faculty also offers bioscience engineering programmes. Graduates of both types of programmes enter the same labour market. We must therefore monitor our much-appreciated profile closely in terms of the type and content of our education (more application-oriented), the teaching methods (more hands-on), and the Master’s dissertations and work placements. A continued differentiation between both profiles should remain in place.

This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The resulting Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.

This information was last updated on 08/07/2024.

In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.