ELSY VERHOFSTADT// PROFESSOR // GHENT UNIVERSITY
»ENLIGHT offered a space where education is not secondary, but central — and that made a real difference for me.«
Elsy Verhofstadt, a Full Professor in Labour and Welfare Economics at Ghent University and Chair of the Study Programme Committee in Business Administration, has built a career that bridges academic leadership, teaching innovation, and student development. Through her involvement in ENLIGHT, she has expanded her international collaborations and engaged in a vibrant community focused on improving higher education across Europe. In this interview, she shares her experiences, insights, and reflections on what it means to be part of a truly connected academic network.
Elsy Verhofstadt with ENLIGHT colleagues at Teaching and Learning Conference in Bordeaux 2023
What do you like most about your current occupation?
Elsy: What I like most about my work is being able to make a difference in small but meaningful ways. That can be helping a students grow in confidence, giving a colleagues constructive feedback or, as chair of the study programme committee, getting genuinely excited about new initiatives and helping to bring them to life.
How did you find out about ENLIGHT?
Elsy: I first learned about ENLIGHT when I was nominated by Ghent University for the ENLIGHT Teaching & Learning Award and attended the ENLIGHT Teaching & Learning Conference in Bordeaux in 2023. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but the experience turned out to be highly inspiring. Presenting our course with colleagues and receiving feedback on our collaboration really stood out — and meeting so many people who share a passion for education made me want to get more involved right away.
Have you been part of ENLIGHT activities?
Elsy: I have participated in two ENLIGHT Teaching & Learning Conferences, in Bordeaux and Uppsala. In Uppsala, I hosted an Idea Development Session on Enhancing Online Collaboration in Virtual Exchange and Blended Intensive Programmes, together with Erik Olsson from Uppsala University. In addition, I am currently involved in two ENLIGHT Incubator Grants. In one of them, I act as coordinator together with colleagues from Uppsala and Comenius University, focusing on the development of a Blended Intensive Programme about well‑being at work. The first edition of this BIP will take place in September in Ghent.
It gave me the feeling of belonging to a community that shares a genuine commitment to education and educational policy.
Were there any resources that you found especially helpful, and why?
Elsy: Yes, the calls for the ENLIGHT Incubator Grants are particularly useful. They create a real sense of momentum by encouraging you to actively look for colleagues to collaborate with, to develop ideas, and to take the first concrete steps together. Once you receive positive feedback, that momentum becomes a strong push to actually move the project forward. It also helps raise the visibility of the initiative within your institution, which makes it easier to prioritise the project in otherwise very busy academic schedules. For me, these calls turn good intentions into real action.
Did participating in ENLIGHT grow your professional network?
Elsy: I’ve been able to connect with colleagues who, like me, are programme committee chairs of a Business Administration programme at other ENLIGHT universities. It first brought me into contact with colleagues in Tartu, which resulted in an invitation to give a guest lecture there and created an opportunity for our students to take part in an online course offered in Tartu. Afterwards, I got in contact with the programme committee chair in Groningen, and his team. I remember sending that first email quite hesitantly, but it was received very warmly in August 2024. Since our programmes are similar in size, with more than 600 new students each year, we immediately recognised each other’s challenges, which made the exchange very valuable. We started collaborating online and still meet regularly that way. In May 2025, I visited Groningen with a few colleagues from our team, and that visit really stands out as one of the highlights of my career. The open conversations, the sharing of experiences, and simply feeling that same love for education was incredibly motivating. Soon they’ll be visiting us in Ghent, and I’m really looking forward to continuing this collaboration.
For me, these calls turn good intentions into real action.
Did you feel part of a broader academic community by taking part in ENLIGHT?
Elsy: As a professor, you are usually part of research networks and interact with colleagues through conferences. ENLIGHT felt complementary with a different focus.It gave me the feeling of belonging to a community that shares a genuine commitment to education and educational policy. It enabled me to exchange ideas about my teaching and the challenges I face as chair of the programme committee, and to reflect on those issues with colleagues. ENLIGHT offered a space where education is not secondary, but central — and that made a real difference for me.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Elsy: In my free time, I enjoy going for walks, swimming, and playing tennis. On Sundays, we like to meal prep for the coming week. I also enjoy having people over and spending a relaxed evening together with some nice tapas.
If you were to recommend ENLIGHT to a colleague, what would you say?
Elsy: I would say: don’t hesitate, just go for it. I did, and it led to meaningful collaborations with people who share the same mindset and ambition.You are bound to meet colleagues with a similar outlook, which makes it easy and enjoyable to work together in a meaningful way. For me, that combination of human connection and shared academic ambition makes ENLIGHT a real must-try.
Elsy Verhofstadt at Teaching & Learning Conference in Uppsala 2024