Koen in the Spotlight

Studying Law was a deliberate choice

“Since high school, I was determined to study Law. My grandfather, with whom I had a good relationship, was a practising lawyer, and he partly inspired me to pursue the same degree. Although, I cannot say for certain how I came about the idea of studying Law. For some, Law is seen as the degree for those who do not know what else to choose or the ‘easy degree’.  For me, however, going to law school was a very deliberate choice.

As a student, I was not the stereotypical party animal, but I certainly did enjoy student life and the large number of pubs and restaurants that can be found in Brussels and Leuven. I am still in contact with the group of friends I made as a student, and we meet up regularly and occasionally even travel together.”

Student of the world

“I studied for two years at the (former) Catholic University of Brussels and three years at the Catholic University of Leuven. During my time in law school, I also went on an exchange to New York for six months, which was an amazing and fruitful experience. After which, I started my PhD research in Property and Insolvency Law back in Leuven. During my research, I travelled to the Stellenbosch University (South Africa).

Although my research did not include South African Law, it allowed me to meet many inspiring people, and I was able to find the time and calmness to figure out and write down my research outline properly. I highly recommend all PhD candidates to step out of their daily routine and solely focus on their writing. When you can do this in such an inspiring environment like Stellenbosch, surrounded by mountains and vineyards, close to the coast and Cape Town, you are very fortunate.”

Fighting for a place in the world of academia

“I have always wanted to continue in the academic world, but the vacancies in Flanders are scarce because of the limited number of universities. Unfortunately, after completing my PhD, I could not immediately find a job because others already filled the available vacancies within my field of expertise. Sitting around waiting for a job was never an option for me; thus, I decided to go abroad for a year and work as a visiting researcher at Harvard Law School. There I researched covenants and servitudes and worked with Professor Henry Smith, famous within the world of Property Law.

During my time at Harvard, I applied for several positions, including a teaching job in English Property Law at the Queen Mary University in London. I came in second in the selection process. After my year in the United States, I started working as a lawyer in Belgium for a year, hoping that at some point a vacancy in the academic world would come available.”

Golden ticket from my mother

“My mum told me about a vacancy at the Department of Property and Insolvency Law at Erasmus School of Law in Rotterdam. I did not have high expectations because Property and Insolvency Law differs greatly between countries, and I studied Belgian Law. It does show some similarities with Dutch Law, but there are also a lot of differences.

The night before the interview, I returned quite late and tired from a trip to Stockholm. I even contemplated not going to the interview. Eventually, after the encouragement of my fiancé, I did go, but without much preparation or expectations. That same evening, I received a call with the request to start on 1 September 2015. It was unexpected but a very welcome phone call.”

Teaching Law to soldiers

“Simultaneously with my appointment at Erasmus School of Law, I started working at the Royal Belgian Military School, where I taught Contract Law to soldiers looking to enter the higher ranks in the Military. There, I got my first teaching experience, and I enjoyed it. Currently, I focus on my work at Erasmus School of Law because working in Rotterdam en Brussels at the same time turned out to be quite the challenge.”

(Innovative) education

“During the weeks of my courses, I mostly focus on my teaching: preparing lectures, weekly meetings with the tutors, drafting exams, answer questions of students, and, of course, grading the exams afterwards. When I am not teaching a course, I am involved in several projects and faculty entities.

For example, I am the Vice Director of Erasmus Graduate School of Law (EGSL). In the past few years, we have successfully digitalised our training programme within EGSL. This way, so-called external researchers – who are not (able to be) on campus – can participate in a programme of the same quality as our on-campus programme. In addition to that, I have recently worked on developing a whole new elective course (Assurances and Insolvency) with my colleague Erik de Kloe. This course is currently offered to students of the master programmes ‘Private Law’ and ‘Corporate Law’. The remaining time, I spend on research, preferably focused on internationalisation and recent societal evolutions, such as data.”

Who owns data?

“Data plays a continuously growing part in all aspects of our society, but one question usually remains unanswered: “who owns the data?’ That is what I am currently researching. This question, together with the trends of sharing economy and circular economy, is the most urgent challenge in the field of Property Law – and Law in general – for the next few years.

Before thinking about the legal statute of data, one has to understand this complex matter as much as possible. That is why I am trying to set up a cooperation with IT specialists, who can explain to me (amongst other things) what data actually are, what happens when you share a file, copy, delete, save them and so on.”

Rotterdam has become my home

“The decision to move to the Netherlands was not without its challenges, and I am proud of myself for taking that step because now I feel at home in Rotterdam. Ofcourse, my accent usually gives away that I was not born and raised in Rotterdam, and it will probably continue to do so. At the start of my first lecture, students look up and start to chuckle or look surprised because of this every year.

Ever since I was a kid, I have been a fan of the Netherlands, so my parents were not too surprised that I ended up across the border. I think that the Dutch people are usually very positive about us ‘Flemings’, especially at Erasmus School of Law, and more positive than vice versa sometimes.”

Inspiration around me

“I am not someone who looks up to certain people or idols. What inspires me the most is the people around me: my friends, family and fiancé. I am proud of the fact that I have become an Associate Professor at Erasmus School of law in only a couple of years, and I hope to become a full professor in the future, preferably in Rotterdam.”