The UN Sustainable Development Goals: an Interdisciplinary Academic Introduction

Katja Biedenkopf

Professor of Sustainability Politics at the Faculty of Social Sciences

KU Leuven

Prof. Dr. Katja Biedenkopf is a Professor of Sustainability Politics at the Leuven International and European Studies (LINES) research group (KU Leuven), of which she is the chair. She also leads the Sustainable Futures research group within LINES. Her academic research focuses on the external effects of European Union environmental and climate policy, carbon pricing policies, climate diplomacy, e-waste policy, and chemicals regulation. She is the Principal Investigator of the ERC-funded project ‘Polycentric Carbon Pricing Governance’ (PolyCarbon), leads the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on EU External Action (EU ExAct), and is a work package leader in the Horizon Europe project ‘Transforming and Defending Multilateralism: EU Support for more Robust, Effective, and Democratic Global Governance’ (ENSURED). Prof. Biedenkopf teaches Global Environmental Policy, qualitative research methods, and international negotiation skills.

André Decoster

Full Professor at the Faculty of Business and Economics

KU Leuven

André Decoster (1958) is full professor at the Faculty of Business and Economics of KU Leuven, where he teaches courses “Principles of Economics”, “Public Finance” and “Welfare, Inequality and Poverty”, and where he currently chairs the Department of Economics (2017-2020).

His research and publications concern the construction and use of microsimulation models, with special focus on indirect taxes and labour supply; optimal taxation and the evaluation of tax reforms, with special focus on how to measure individual welfare; and empirical analysis of changes in inequality and/or poverty, both at the national and international level. His research is mainly based on the empirical analysis of micro data: household budget surveys, household income surveys, and administrative data of social security registers or tax forms.

He coordinates the Belgian national team in the European network of microsimulation which develops and maintains the EUROMOD-model, and is a founding member of the International Microsimulation Association. In 2015 he won the Taxman Award (prize from jury and prize from the public), and the Maatschappijprijs KU Leuven, for research with broad societal impact (project Rekening14). He is fellow of the World Wealth and Inequality Database network (Paris), in the context of which he initiated the integration of a series of Belgian top income shares into the publicly available and internationally recognized database.

More info and list of publications on: www.andredecoster.be

Hilde Heynen

Full Professor at the Faculty of Engineering Science

KU Leuven

Hilde Heynen is a professor of architectural theory at the University of Leuven, Belgium. Her research focuses on issues of modernity, modernism and gender in architecture. In Architecture and Modernity: A Critique (MIT Press, 1999) she investigated the relationship between architecture, modernity and dwelling.

She also engaged with the intersection between architecture and gender studies, resulting in the volume Negotiating Domesticity (co-edited with Gulsum Baydar, Routledge, 2005). She co-edited the 2012 Sage Handbook of Architectural Theory (with Greig Crysler and Stephen Cairns). More recently she published an intellectual biography of Sibyl Moholy-Nagy (Bloomsbury, 2019; Sandstein, 2019).

Bart Kerremans

Full Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences

KU Leuven

Bart Kerremans (1963) is currently Professor of International Political Economy and American Politics at the Leuven Institute for International and European Studies (LINES) of the KU Leuven. He got his Ph.D. of Political Science at the University of Antwerp in 1994 and is since 1996 institutionally affiliated with the KU Leuven.

His research focuses on the political economy of trade policy-making, particularly in the context of the World Trade Organisation and with a focus on the European Union and the United States. He is regularly consulted by the Belgian media with respect to U.S. politics in general and U.S. elections in particular.

Miet Maertens

Professor at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering

KU Leuven

Miet Maertens is professor in agricultural and development economics and head of the Division of Bioeconomics at KU Leuven. She holds a PhD in agricultural economics from the Georg-August University in Goettingen and MSc. degrees in Economics and in Bioscience Engineering from KU Leuven.

Her research focuses on food trade, supply chain coordination, food standards, and sustainable agricultural intensification – she studies these issues from the perspective of how they affect low- and middle- income countries and the rural development process in these countries, with specific attention to food security, labor market developments, gender and empowerment.

Axel Marx

Deputy Director Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies

KU Leuven

Axel Marx is Deputy Director Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, University of Leuven. He studied in Leuven, Hull and Cambridge and holds a PhD from the University of Leuven. Axel Marx has managed over 50 funded research projects including multi-team and international projects and acted as a consultant to several national and international governmental organizations including the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Committee of the Regions, International Labour Organization, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards, OECD, IDEA, and the Belgian, Dutch and German Governments and private organizations.

His academic publications (150+) have appeared in four dozen leading international peer-reviewed journals and 6 languages (English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese). He recently co-edited books on Global Governance of Labor Rights (Edward Elgar with J. Wouters, G. Rayp & L. Beke, 2015); Global Governance Through Trade (Edward Elgar with J. Wouters, B. Natens & D. Geraets, 2015) and edited a Research Collection on Global Governance (Edward Elgar, 2019 with J. Wouters). He was guest co-editor for special issues in International Labour Review (2016), Global Policy (2017) and Sustainability (2019).

He is on the editorial board of Chinese Journal of Global Governance, Politics and Governance and Sustainability. As a guest lecturer, he has thought at European University Institute, China University of Political Science and Law and several European universities. His research interests include voluntary sustainability standards, sustainable development, human rights, global governance, governance through trade, EU trade policy and comparative case methods.

Bart Muys

Full Professor at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering

KU Leuven

Bart Muys is full professor Forest Ecology & Management at KU Leuven, where he lectures to students in bio-engineering, biology and sustainable development. He interprets sustainable development as a harmonization exercise between humans and nature (see Muys 2013, Challenges in Sustainability).

His research focuses on sustainability indicators for forestry and other land use, and on how biodiversity contributes to productivity of ecosystems and ecosystem services. He also published numerous papers on the role of forests for climate regulation. His work has been cited over 20,000 times, and is leading for the domains of forest ecology, silviculture, forest management, bioenergy and sustainability (Google Citations).

Constanza Parra

Associate Professor at the Faculty of Science

KU Leuven

Prof. Dr. Constanza Parra is an environmental social scientist with interdisciplinary interests in the ways societies relate to the environment and deal with contemporary sustainability challenges. Since 2014, she has worked at the Division of Geography, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Leuven. Before moving to Belgium, she was a Rosalind Franklin Fellow at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and an AFR/Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at the University of Luxembourg.

Her research focuses on social sustainability, social innovation, governance of social-ecological systems and protected areas. Ongoing projects cover themes such as protected areas and biodiversity conservation, disasters, food, ecotourism, land grabbing and the rebuilding of the commons. Constanza Parra is the founding director of the KU Leuven M.Sc. in Sustainable Development, and since 2017 she serves at the IUCN as Chair of the Commission for Ecosystem Management for Western Europe.

Kolja Raube

Senior Researcher, Programme Coordinator and Assistant Professor for European Studies

KU Leuven

Dr. Kolja Raube is a senior member and research manager at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies. He is Assistant Professor for European Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences at KU Leuven. He is programme coordinator at KU Leuven’s ‘Master of European Studies: Transnational and Global Perspectives’. He is adjunct professor at the American University Washington D.C. (Brussels Campus) and was a visiting professor at Kobe University (Japan) as well as Visiting Research Fellow at the EU Studies Centre at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

At the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, he takes part in the H2020-project RECONNECT, the interdisciplinary research programme CONNECTIVITY, the Jean Monnet Network EUCROSS, the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence FRAGOLA and the Jean-Monnet Module EUSUM ('Euro-Asia Summer School').

Kolja Raube has published widely on the European Parliament, interparliamentary cooperation in the European Union and global governance, as well as security policies, the rule of law, legitimacy and coherence in EU external action and global governance. His articles and chapters have appeared with the British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Global Affairs, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Journal of European Integration, Politique Européenne, European Foreign Affairs Review, Hague Journal of Diplomacy, International Spectator, Asia-Europe Journal as well as Oxford University Press, E. Elgar, Palgrave, Routledge, Hart and Nomos.

Luc Sels

Rector of KU Leuven

KU Leuven

Luc Sels (Merksem, Belgium, 1967) is Rector of KU Leuven. The term of his mandate as Rector started on the 1st of August 2017 for four years. In his capacity as Rector of KU Leuven he is a member of the Rectors’ Assembly of the League of European Research Universities, the Rectors’ Advisory Group of the Coimbra Group, the Board of Directors of Venice International University (VIU), the Board of the Flemish Inter-University Council (VLIR) and the Board of Directors of Vlerick Business School.

Luc Sels joined the Faculty of Economics and Business of KU Leuven in 1996 as an assistant professor, became full professor in 2004, was elected Dean in 2008 and re-elected for a second four-year mandate in 2013. Since 2013 he has served as Advisor to the Rector for Integration at KU Leuven.

Luc Sels participates in the Department of Work and Organisation Studies and in the Leuven Economics of Education Research Centre (LEER) of KU Leuven. He is also honorary professor of Cardiff University and research fellow at the Vlerick Business School.

His primary substantive research interests center around labour market projections (e.g. employment projections, skill level projections, regional projections, active and inactive population, retirement age), active labour market policies, talent management and workforce differentiation, and cooperative enterprising. He is Chairholder of the Randstand Chair on Employer Branding, the VBO-FEB Chair on Belgian Business Champions (Federation of Enterprises in Belgium), and the CERA-Boerenbond Chair on Cooperative Entrepreneurship.

His research has been published in leading scholarly journals such as Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Human Relations, Human Resource Management Journal, Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review.

Luc Sels is actively involved in labour market policy research and policy advice. He serves on the Belgian High Council for Employment (Hoge Raad voor de Werkgelegenheid) as a representative of the Federal Minister of Employment and is director of the Centre of Expertise in Labour Market Monitoring which advices the Flemish government on labour market policies.

Ilse Smets

Full Professor at the Faculty of Engineering Science

KU Leuven

Ilse Smets is full professor at the (Bio)Chemical Reactor Engineering and Safety Division of the Chemical Engineering Department at the KU Leuven. She holds a Master in Bioscience Engineering, a Teaching Degree and a PhD in Applied Sciences: Chemical Engineering, all obtained at the KU Leuven.

The main focus of her research is on monitoring, modeling, optimization and control of biological wastewater treatment systems (i.e., classic activated sludge systems as well as membrane bioreactors) with a specific emphasis on the bioflocculation dynamics of activated sludge. While previous research predominantly focused on aerobic processes, the current interest extends to anaerobic processes as well.

As chair of the Belgian division of the International Water Association, Ilse Smets is very active in creating awareness of the importance of water through workshops and lectures for the general public.

Karel Van Acker

Full Professor at the Faculty of Engineering Science and the Faculty of Economics and Business

KU Leuven

Prof. dr. ir. Karel Van Acker is professor in Circular Economy at KU Leuven with a joint mandate at the department of Materials Engineering (faculty of Engineering Sciences) and at the Centre for Economics and Corporate Sustainability (faculty of Business and Economics). His research is on developing strategies to realize the circular economy (CE) and on sustainability assessments of these CE strategies, including amongst others recycling, materials substitution, sharing economy. Karel holds a PhD in Materials Science and has been for 12 years coordinator of the KU Leuven Materials Research Centre (>500 researchers). He also leads the policy research centre “Circular economy” for the Flemish government and currently is the chairman of the Sustainability Council of KU Leuven.

Chris Van Geet

Vicerector for the Biomedical Sciences Group and University Development Cooperation

KU Leuven

Vice Rector for the Biomedical Sciences Group, also responsible for University Development Cooperation Chris Van Geet, M.D., PhD, (born 1961) is vicerector for the Biomedical Sciences Group and University Development Cooperation.

She holds a candidate’s degree in psychology (1984) and a PhD in medicine, surgery, and obstetrics (1986). She became a paediatrician in 1993 and was certified as paediatric haematologist and oncologist in 2014. From 1999 to 2014 she was an FWO fellowship Clinical Investigator at the Centre for Molecular and Vascular Biology. Chris Van Geet has been a part-time full professor since 2005.

From 2005 until august 2017 she was head of Paediatrics at University Hospitals Leuven; and as a paediatric haematologist she still continues to treat children with blood diseases and do research in the field.

Development cooperation has been a constant factor in her life and work. Through her collaboration with partners in Congo and Benin, and in her role of Chair of the Interfaculty Council for Development Cooperation, she developed wide-ranging experience across different disciplines in the field.

Kurt Willems

Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law

KU Leuven

Kurt Willems (°1982) graduated in 2005 with a master's degree in law after having studied at the KU Leuven and Sheffield University. In 2011 he obtained a doctorate in law from the KU Leuven with a thesis entitled "De natuurlijke verbintenis" ('The natural obligation' - obligatio naturalis).

From 2011 to 2014 he worked at Eubelius where he worked on a wide range of civil law, administrative law and commercial law cases in the firm's litigation department. He is presently teaching education law at the University of Leuven. He is also responsible for the teacher training program and assists the rectory in education dossiers.

His current research deals with various aspects of education law, with a particular focus on the contractualization of the educational relationship and the legalization of the educational field.

Kurt Willems is the author of various contributions in Belgian and international journals and books. He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal Deontologie & Tuchtrecht (Flemish leading journal on deontology and disciplinary procedures), the Journal for Education law and policy (Tijdschrift voor onderwijsrecht en – beleid - TORB) and NJW (Nieuw Juridisch Weekblad). Professor Willems is also judge in the Appeal Chamber for disciplinary measures against educators of subsidized non-state schools (Kamer van beroep voor de personeelsleden van het gesubsidieerd vrij onderwijs) and substitute judge in the Appeal Chamber for disciplinary measures against educators of state schools. He is also one of the directors of ELA – the European education law association.

Jan Wouters

Full Professor at the Faculty of Law

KU Leuven

Jan Wouters is Full Professor of International Law and International Organizations, Jean Monnet Chair ad personam European Union (EU) and Global Governance, and founding Director of the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies and of the Institute for International Law at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven). He is also President of the Council for International Policy of KU Leuven. As Visiting Professor at Sciences Po (Paris), Luiss University (Rome) and the College of Europe (Bruges) he teaches EU external relations law. As Adjunct Professor at Columbia University (SIPA), he teaches on the EU, the US and international human rights. As Visiting Professor to the Universities of Ottawa and Trento in the Spring of 2019, he taught global and regional perspectives on international law; as Visiting Professor at Université Paris II (Panthéon-Assas) in September 2019, he teaches EU external relations law. As Of Counsel with Linklaters he has been working more than 20 years as an attorney at the Brussels Bar. He is a Member of the Royal Academy of Belgium for Sciences and Arts.

His most recent books include The Law of EU External Relations (2nd ed. 2015), China, the EU and the Developing World (2015), Global Governance of Labour Rights (2015), Global Governance Through Trade (2015), The Contribution of International and Supranational Courts to the Rule of Law (2015), Global Governance and Democracy (2015), Armed Conflicts and the Law (2016), Judicial Decisions on the Law of International Organizations (2016), Internationaal Recht in Kort Bestek (2nd ed. 2017), Research Handbook on EU Energy Law and Policy (2017), Commercial Uses of Space and Space Tourism (2017), The Commons and a New Global Governance (2018), EU Human Rights and Democratization Policies (2018), International Law: a European Perspective (2018), The G7, Anti-Globalism and the Governance of Globalization (2018), The Faces of Human Rights (2019), Changing Borders in Europe (2019), General Principles of Law and the Coherence of International Law (2019) and Parliamentary Cooperation and Diplomacy in EU External Relations (2019).