In 1995 Howest, University College West Flanders became a single autonomous Higher Education Institution because of a merger of six prominent higher education institutions in Flanders. Since then, the development within Howest has taken on a fresh impetus, and we are now one of the leading providers of higher education in the province.
Today about 6000 full-time students are enrolled at Howest pursuing 23 Bachelors covering a wide range of disciplines. Howest consists of five campuses situated in Bruges, Kortrijk, and Ostend. Students will find here an open, vibrant, cosmopolitan, and friendly environment that offers a wealth of educational opportunities, emphasizing high quality and practice-oriented courses.
Housing accommodation, specialized libraries, individual study schemes, student counseling, and study-related services at the departmental level stress our student-oriented policy. Our competent teaching and administrative staff form a compact community and are always approachable. All classrooms and auditoria are well equipped to meet the present-day teaching facilities. Internet-accounts are available for all students.
How has a growing international reputation, as are its opportunities for students to do part of their studies abroad? Its links to industry and other outside bodies are also expanding. Howest continues to attract the best available academic staff and modify and develop its curriculum to include new areas of knowledge and meet today's student's changing needs.
Howest welcomes international students and is continually developing its course offer in English. Studying in Bruges or Kortrijk includes having a series of beautiful locations within a stone's throw: the Belgian coast as well as our Flemish art cities like Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent... You can also reach famous European places like Paris, London, Amsterdam, Cologne in a one or two hours train journey.
Howest University College is atypical, creative, en entrepreneurial.
Anticipating the future and exploring each student's talents and motivation, Howest University College coaches its students to become competent, highly employable, team-oriented young professionals.
Howest University College sets the mark for socially relevant, practice-based education and valorization oriented research and community service for the broad regional and international labor market.
Howest University College is an open-minded university college concerning diversity.
Howest University College inspires its staff and students to integrate its core values into their personal and professional life.
Howest aspires to be a learning community that strongly invests in developing and enhancing creativity, innovative thinking, entrepreneurship, and passion in students and staff's diverse intake. Its campuses are a fertile habitat that generates cross-pollination and synergy.
Howest gives preference to staff members that show commitment and who identify with its mission and vision. They disseminate Howest values.
Anticipating new trends and needs, Howest wants to design new profiles. It generates practice-based, state of the art curricula in close collaboration with the labor field. In a multidisciplinary setting, Howest integrates education, research, and community service in each curriculum, thus creating an added value for its students, staff, and society as a whole.
How is convinced that it is of the utmost importance for its staff and students to develop an international mindset and actively participate in international programs.
How strives for a quality culture in which all stakeholders reflect and participate actively. All programs receive maximum support from the facilitating services.
The Howest Foundation has been founded by Howest, the University College West-Flanders, within the Community Foundation West-Flanders (managed by the King Baudouin Foundation). It offers her partners or third parties a financial, legal framework to invest in projects and initiatives which are socially relevant for both Howest and the applicants. In the Howest Foundation, social entrepreneurship ingrained with the Howest genes reaches its climax.
