Applications for the position of Rector could come spontaneously from UNamur professors. They could also be prompted, inside or outside the Institution, by members of the General Assembly or by the delegate of the Jesuit Father Provincial. The candidate to have come forward is the current Rector, Annick Castiaux.

In her nomination paper, Annick Castiaux took up a condensed statement of her vision of the University's future and her strategic objectives for the 4-year term of office.

The candidate also briefly introduced herself:

"I began as a physics researcher at the Laboratoire de Physique du Solide, under the direction of Jean-Paul Vigneron and thanks to the FNRS, before joining the private sector in 1998. As an information management consultant at I.R.I.S. SA, I discovered the workings of both public and private organizations. After a few years, I missed the world of research. I was lucky enough, despite (or thanks to) an atypical career, to be hired as a lecturer in the Management Department at UNamur to develop research and teaching in innovation management. Since 2002, I have been teaching technology and innovation management, increasingly integrating a critical questioning of societal responsibility and sustainable development. In 2015, together with a few colleagues, I founded the Creativity and Innovation Research Center, one of the components of the Namur Digital Institute. Our research leads us to study innovation ecosystems."

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Annick Castiaux

I have always been involved in service missions within the university, until I became Rector in 2021. The 4 years of my mandate, including a year and a half without a deputy head, have given me a better understanding of the components of the university and higher education, which I wish to make available to the university again in a second mandate.

Annick Castiaux Rector of the University of Namur

The election process and next steps

The election of the Rector or Rectoress of UNamur is a democratic process where all students and staff can vote. Voting will take place electronically on April 14 and 15.

If, at the end of it, the candidate obtains an absolute majority (if the percentage of votes awarded to her is strictly greater than 50%), she will be presented to the General Assembly for rectoral appointment. If the candidate does not obtain an absolute majority, the General Assembly may refer the matter to the Electoral Commission for a new election procedure. If the General Assembly decides not to hold a new election, the sole candidate will be proposed to it for appointment.

The entire electoral process is overseen by a commission chaired by Philippe Olivier, honorary magistrate in Namur, and bringing together the presidents of the various staff bodies (academic, scientific and administrative, technical and management staff), the president of the General Assembly of Students and a representative of the Society of Jesus. This commission has drafted the electoral regulations endorsed by the General Assembly and ensures all management and control of the electoral procedure.

At the end of the ballot, the result will be validated by the General Assembly. The election will be publicly announced by Philippe Olivier, president of the electoral commission, and Father Thierry Dobbelstein sj, Provincial of the Jesuits of French-speaking Western Europe.