Greet Langie, KU Leuven, Belgium
Belgium is a small European country mostly known for its waffles, beer and chocolate. But did you know it is also a hotspot for Engineering Education Research? The ETHER group, led by professor Greet Langie, recently celebrated its ten-year anniversary. Let’s take a look at how it all started.
Greet has always had a passion for both education and research. After graduating as a physicist in 1987, she started her research journey as a PhD and postdoc in Physics. In 1992, she was given the opportunity to start as a lecturer at the University College KIH De Nayer in Flanders (currently KU Leuven, De Nayer Campus), which she gladly accepted. Taking up this role in education meant Greet had to put her interest in research on hold for a while, yet she was always on the lookout for new challenges. She took on several other responsibilities at her University College and over time research wriggled its way back into her professional career.
This transition to combining her interests in research and education was accelerated thanks to KU Leuven Association’s OOF funds (Educational Development Fu
nd). These OOF funds required recipients to work together with colleagues from other campuses and faculties, which made Greet meet some like-minded individuals who were just as enthusiastic about improving their education practice as herself.
They brainstormed with representatives of the faculties of the Science & Technology group (SET-Group) for the best possible ideas and applied for funds. These activities gained enough traction to pique the interest of vice chancellor Prof. Maex of the SET-Group and two deans: prof. Lievens of the Faculty of Science, and prof. Froyen of the Faculty of Engineering Science. This support allowed Greet and her colleagues to found the Leuven Engineering and Science Education Center (LESEC) in 2010 with Greet as its first chair. This was celebrated with a large event, with invited speakers such as Anette Kolmos and Kristian Kautz, who shared how they practiced engineering education research at their home universities.
When the University College became an official KU Leuven faculty in 2013, all professors had to be assigned to a department. Greet was originally assigned to the Department of Mechanical Engineering, but as you can expect, her research didn’t really fit in there. To address this, the dean allowed for the founding of the ETHER research group, aiming to improve engineering education practice at the Faculty of Engineering Technology. Her first step into engineering education research manifested as the successful application of the readySTEMgo Erasmus+ project, with postdoc Maarten Pinxten as coordinator. Two peer-reviewed journal papers and four papers in conference proceedings resulted from this project, along with some nice practical achievements at both the faculty and university level.
(Maarten Pinxten and Greet, 2017)
Together with Maarten Pinxten and Lynn Van den Broeck, her first PhD student, Greet learned how to do scientific research in engineering education by doing. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to take extensive courses as Greet also became vice dean of her faculty in 2012. This didn’t stop the trio, though: they read many papers by notable authors in the field, drawing inspiration from them in terms of research methods, design and reporting practices. They had long conversations with other researchers in the field and learned from their example. Greet had done scientific research before as part of her PhD in theoretical physics, but what she well preferred about engineering education research is that it allows her to give back to society in a more direct way, that it allows for education practices to improve, and that the results can readily be translated into support for the students she teaches.
PhD defense of Lynn Van den Broeck (2019)
Over the course of the years, the ETHER researchers have had a notable impact on the education system in Flanders. To give a few examples, all of the Flemish universities’ Engineering Technology bridging programs were adapted based on ETHER research findings. The PREFER model, that intends to make engineering students more aware of their own strengths and interests, has been implemented by several KU Leuven campuses as well as other Flemish universities and it has even gained popularity internationally. Positioning tests for engineering and science faculties in all of Flanders were adjusted for greater validity and the team currently has a MOOC on engineering skills in the making.
Some ETHER colleagues at the SEFI conference in Azores (2017)
Two of Greet’s former PhD students, Lynn Van den Broeck and Sofie Craps, are now holding a postdoc mandate and help to propel the group forward. Even though their professional experiences differed when starting their PhD – Lynn had just graduated as an engineer, while Sofie has a background in communication and several years of experience in that field – they share their seemingly endless enthusiasm for education research. Lynn focuses on lifelong learning competencies and their development, while Sofie’s interests lie mainly in gender and diversity in engineering education.
Some ETHER members at the SEFI conference in Dublin (2023)
Greet takes great pride in that her research group has not only become a team of researchers, but also a group of friends. All 8 actual members (Lynn Van den Broeck, Sofie Craps, Jolan Hanssens, Kurt Coppens, Mieke Cannaerts, Rani Dujardin, Shan Tuyaerts and Laurie Peeters) bring something unique to the table, along with a shared enthusiasm for education and research, which synthesizes into an interdisciplinary team to be reckoned with. The diverse backgrounds of the team members include, among others, various specializations in engineering, psychology, sociology, communication, and statistics. This allows all team members to contribute what they do best and makes the group learn from each other. The group has grown from a dream trio to a dream team, with Greet’s first PhD student still on board as a postdoctoral researcher.
ETHER in 2022
growing and to expand its knowledge and impact. The collaboration with faculty and educational services should intensify. After all, research in education should be inspired by practical needs and lead to change in practice. What better place to start than your own campus and faculty? Greet hopes to recruit more promising research talent in the future. Finding potential candidates with the right profile is not straightforward, as it is important to be familiar with the Flemish education system and this is something only experience can teach you.
Last but not least, Greet would love to continue collaborating with researchers all over the world who share her passion for education. She is grateful to be part of a very warm European EER community. Through intense collaboration with international universities, such as University of Melbourne and Tsinghua University, she would love to see this community grow into a worldwide circle.