Welcome to these web pages. It is my pleasure to offer you an insight into who I am and what I stand for. Here I outline what KU Leuven can be and become with me as coach on the pitch. Happy reading!

Tine Baelmans

candidate rector KU Leuven

Rectorial elections often seem to be about individuals, but actually they are first and foremost an excellent opportunity to reflect together – about the direction we want to take with our research and education, about our societal role and impact, about how we can and want to shape all this as a collective endeavour. That’s why I’m proud to share my programme with you, and I’m particularly looking forward to engaging in deeper conversation about it with colleagues and students, and to listen to what they have to say. Because this is what I stand for: listening genuinely – involved, open-minded and unattached – with the purpose of collectively arriving at insights and devising solutions that can count on broad support, and of having an impact. Yes, that’s what I stand for and what I want to keep pursuing. Also as rector. Would you like to join the conversation or do you have a question for me? Then click the button above, and I will get back to you soon.

Programme

In my programme I show a heart for education and students, outline how we can shape the research of and for the future, view KU Leuven as an organisation that puts people at the centre, and as a university at the heart of the world. Four spearheads run through the entire programme. They outline who I am, as a person and as vice-rector. However, they do not only reflect my personal DNA – they also constitute the DNA of my programme. Because as rector, I want above all to remain true to myself. Read more about the spearheads, go straight to the programme or download the full programme by clicking the button.

Download the full program here

Steadfast and agile

In a rapidly changing context, we continue to seek a balance between continuity and agility, between preserving what is good and responding dynamically to opportunities and threats.

Impactful and engaged

KU Leuven must be a place where engagement is a lived reality that connects us, where we stand courageously and in solidarity with the world and make an impact with our research, our education and our community engagement.

Involved and efficient

KU Leuven must be a university where everyone can shine, feels involved and recognised, and with an efficient approach we can create breathing room for students and colleagues.

Supported and transparent

Driven by connected and authentic leadership, KU Leuven should make room for debate and critical reflection, policy is forged transparently and is broadly supported, everyone can learn from each other and feels empowered to take responsibility for the whole.

IN THE MEDIA

The media regularly cover these elections, and also in the past I have been given the opportunity to comment on my research or views. This overview offers a selection of such press clippings.

25 March 2025

THE ROAD TO ANGELA

“I am who I am. I follow my own compass, a compass that steers towards fairness, justice, a compass that is very curious about the systems, curious about what drives the other and wants to engage in debate about that. I think that is the path to empathy and humanity.”

25 February 2025

First female university president? Tine Baelmans to run in upcoming elections

VETO

“For me, the most important thing is to listen to all viewpoints and bring them together in well-supported decisions. We must avoid becoming inward-looking and always relate our work to society. As a university, we play a crucial role in society, and we must actively embrace that responsibility.”

watch the interview

21 February 2025

Tine Baelmans is eerste kandidaat-rector KU Leuven

DE STANDAARD

“It is in my character to be fully committed to strengthening democratic governance principles. This also characterises my leadership style: open listening and seeking different perspectives among staff, students and professors.”

TESTIMONIALS

An exceptional combination of empathy, results orientation and social commitment is what best characterises Tine for me. Her contribution to our Board of Directors is invaluable. Her listening skills and holistic view, informed by data and science, invariably lead to rich debates, new insights and innovative solutions. Her directorship exceeds the expectations for an academic-engineer profile. Tine’s core values place people at the center: working together to achieve the best outcome for as many people as possible. I am confident that as rector she will take the university to the next level, together with and for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Françoise Chombar
Chairwoman of the Board of Directors at Melexis
From decades of knowing her as a colleague, I have come to respect Tine’s impeccable integrity and inner strength, her wisdom, her scientific rigor and scholarship, and her care and concern for those around her. She combines these natural, organic leadership qualities with a humility that is genuine and heartfelt – this makes her as approachable and accessible to the first-year student or parent as to people at the highest echelons of administration and government. Her curiosity, openness, honesty and respect for everyone makes one enjoy her company greatly. She will bring a trail-blazing and refreshing yet analytical perspective to this critical job at a time of great tumult in higher education worldwide.
Suresh Garimella
President and University Distinguished Professor, University of Arizona
When I was LOKO President, I immediately noticed Tine’s unique ability to really listen, along with the personal attention she gave to students and colleagues. At the same time I admired her pragmatic approach and decisiveness as an administrator: she succeeds in getting to the bottom of complex dossiers quickly and making tough decisions. As Vice-Rector of Student Affairs and Chair of the Student Services Council, she not only gave students confidence but also made them full co-administrators of the university. From her own experience as a pioneer student, she understands better than anyone how important it is to give every student equal opportunities. This combination of pragmatic leadership, empathy and connecting power makes her, in my opinion, the ideal rector for KU Leuven.
Bram Smits
President of LOKO in 2011-2012, the umbrella organisation for student representation in Leuven
My colleague Tine and I share a bond where inclusiveness thrives, every voice matters, every difference is valued, and everyone belongs. Tine played a key role in helping me settle into KU Leuven, making me feel welcomed and supported from the start. Over the years at KU Leuven, I have seen Tine effortlessly balance her roles as vice-rector, professor, and researcher, excelling in each with dedication and grace. I admire Tine’s fairness and openness; she welcomes discussion on critical matters, values diverse perspectives, and always strives for balanced decisions. Throughout the years, I have come to know Tine as a warm and sympathetic person who enjoys sports, values time with others, and brings positive energy to every gathering.
Professor Maria Rosaria Vetrano
Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven
In my first undergraduate year, I got to know Professor Baelmans as a passionate teacher who cares about her students and knows how to convey passion for her subject. Later, during my doctoral research, I got to experience Tine as a committed supervisor. I still cherish the intellectual freedom and the opportunity to challenge the status quo together. She managed to put together a research group that was an amalgam of exciting and scientifically ambitious people who effortlessly knew how to find each other in the conviction of changing part of the world together for the better. As a current manager in industry, I find in Tine an exciting and expert academic partner for developing and valorizing scientific research, both through master’s theses and doctoral work.
Ruben Gielen
Program Manager Industry 4.0, Aperam CTO
Always a delight working with Prof. Baelmans and her highly innovative and dynamic research group in KU Leuven. A distinguished scholar, widely recognized in the international fusion community as one of the key physics and numerical developers, for over 3 decades, of our most important plasma boundary simulation code and the design basis for the ITER tokamak heat exhaust and fuel cycle. Our collaboration continues to enrich the ITER physics basis and I particularly admire her personal investment and commitment to the education and nurturing of students involved in our joint work.
Dr. Richard Pitts
Head of Experiments and Plasma Operation, ITER Organization
In my first year, I came to know Professor Baelmans – Tine – as a passionate teacher. When I later met her as a student representative in her position as Vice-Rector, that same drive and motivation struck me again. Tine sets the bar high (first and foremost for herself) and does everything she can to get everyone to reach it. As a fledgling student representative, her tons of policy experience were daunting, but her open attitude made our collaboration accessible, valuable and enjoyable from the start. She was always most receptive for student concerns and excelled at striking a balance between different parties. Above all, however, I discovered a very warm person with a big heart for our university and its students.
Vincent Hofmans
Former President of the Student Council at KU Leuven
Prof. Baelmans was my supervisor and mentor during my PhD at KU Leuven/Imec. She is an outstanding mentor who genuinely cares about the graduate students and postdocs. Her support and patience were invaluable, especially when I encountered challenges in my research. Prof. Baelmans consistently encouraged me to think ambitiously and fundamentally, pushing me to pursue high-level scientific research. One of the most impactful aspects of her mentorship was the opportunity to study as a visiting student at Stanford University during my PhD. This experience greatly enhanced my career development in the U.S. and played a key role in helping me secure a faculty position at Purdue University.
Tiwei Wei
Assistant Professor, Purdue University
For over seven years, I worked with Tine within LERU’s Learning and Teaching Policy Group. During that time, I became deeply impressed by her deep understanding of teaching and research and the way she knows how to strategically connect these domains. With her commitment to innovation and interdisciplinarity at KU Leuven, she has in recent years played an inspiring and agenda-setting role within the international group of Vice-Rectors to which we both belong. She values excellence in teaching and research, societal impact and international cooperation. The culture of quality she has established within KU Leuven in the field of education is considered international best practice and is an inspiration to me and many colleagues. I have come to know Tine as a connecting leader who knows how to bring together diverse perspectives and encourages open dialogue. With her vision, decisiveness and dedication, Prof. Tine Baelmans is in my eyes an excellent person to lead KU Leuven into the future with ambition and strategic insight.
Prof. Manon Kluijtmans
Vice-Rector of Education & Professor of Education to Connect Science and Professional Practice, Universiteit Utrecht