HEC Liège celebrates its 125th anniversary !

April, 2023

HEC Liège celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. Happy Birthday !

We are in the midst of our institution's anniversary period and are pleased to present some of the events we are offering as part of this.

"For 125 years, we have been able to develop and rely on an active community around the project of education, research and service to the environment in the field of economics and management in Liege. I am confident that this will also be the case in the future, so that together we will continue to be important actors of change in our society. There are many challenges, but that will not stop us from acting."

Wilfried NIESSEN
Director General and Dean

125 years : retrospective

The inauguration on May 19, 2022 of its new, expanded campus marked an important milestone in the history of HEC Liège - University of Liège School of Management, since the first appearance of management sciences at the University of Liège in 1896, the creation of HEC Liège by companies in 1898, the establishment of the School on the Beauregard site in 1993, and the merger of the University of Liège School of Business Administration (EAA) and HEC in 2005.

The history of HEC Liège, the Faculty of Economics and Management of the University of Liège, goes back to the 19th century. As soon as the University of Liege was founded in 1817, a Chair of Political Economy was created within the Faculty of Law. In 1893, the Superior Council of Industry and Commerce, seized by the Belgian government of the question of the reorganization of the consular corps, decided to create a degree of licentiate in commercial sciences. The objective was to develop, according to rigorously scientific principles, all the fields related to commercial relations, at a time when the world was experiencing upheavals on a global scale: major inventions, intensification of means of transport, economic and social evolution, improvement of machines, etc. Thus, in 1896, management sciences appeared at ULiège, under the name of commercial sciences, then housed in the Faculty of Law.

At the same time, two years later, in 1898, in the midst of an industrial boom, the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales et Consulaires (HEC) was founded on the initiative of the Union des Charbonnages, Mines et Usines Métallurgiques de la Province de Liège (Union of Coal Mines and Metallurgical Plants of the Province of Liège) and under the patronage of the Federation of Commercial and Industrial Associations of Liège. It is a private initiative whose teaching must benefit from the business experience of the people who manage it, with a particular characteristic: to bring a practical collaboration to the industrial and commercial development of the country.

Over the years, the organization and the offer of programs and degrees were enriched, both at the University (creation of specialized bachelor's degrees in commercial sciences, commercial and consular sciences, commercial and colonial sciences and a doctorate in commercial sciences in 1906; creation of the Ecole supérieure des Sciences commerciales et économiques in 1934; creation of bachelor's degrees in economic and financial sciences and in economic and fiscal sciences and a doctorate in economic sciences in 1949; replacement of the Ecole supérieure de Sciences commerciales et économiques by the Ecole d'Administration des Affaires - EAA - in 1965; creation of the Faculté d'Economie, de Gestion et de Sciences sociales in 1987, ..) and at HEC (accreditation as a Higher Institute of Commerce in 1934, accreditation to deliver the degree of Commercial Engineer in 1967, etc.).

In 1998, HEC Liège celebrated its centenary in style, with a series of scientific and festive events, culminating in the royal visit of H.M. Albert II.

In January 2005, HEC Liège merged with the Departments of Economics and Management (School of Business Administration) of the University of Liège, and became HEC Liège - School of Management of the University of Liège.

In 2016 and 2018, the School obtained the European and American international accreditations, EQUIS and AACSB, rewarding the excellence of its teaching and research, its international openness and its work of cohesion, both internal and external.

HEC Liège - School of Management of the University of Liège becomes the first complete Belgian business school (from bachelor to doctorate, including executive education) to be doubly accredited EQUIS - AACSB and thus joins the restricted circle of 1% of reference business schools at the global level.

Activities organized for the 125th anniversary of HEC Liège

While most of the events are organized in May 2023, the festivities really started one year ago, on May 19, 2022, with the inauguration of our new building.

On that date, we also launched our own beer, KELFAK? which has become the signature drink of the school's 125th anniversary celebrations.

Past events

Opening of the new building

Launch of KELFAK? - the beer made in HEC Liège

GRASFI - Sustainable Finance Workshop

Upcoming events

Inaugural lesson of the Francqui Chair 2023
Tuesday, May 2, 2023 - Salle Académique of the University of Liege

The inaugural session of the Francqui 2023 Chair will focus on the theme: Marketing for transition: imperative or sham?

This conference will be given by Valérie SWAEN, Doctor in Management Sciences (UCLouvain) and Professor of Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at the Louvain School of Management and at the IESEG School of Management (France)

Infos & Registration

Beautiful Careers of HEC Liege Alumni
Wednesday May 3, 2023 - HEC Liège

4 alumni will talk about their career path, their perception of HEC Liège in relation to the evolution of its research mission and its international visibility. This event is aimed at HEC Liège researchers, students in their final year of a master's degree interested in an academic career, and alumni.

Infos & registration

Research Day
Thursday, May 4th 2023 - HEC Liège

In the morning, 5 of our PhD students will present their research. For the second part of the day, 5 former students will share their experiences on how to get a job in the academic world.

INFO & REGISTRATION

General Assembly of the HERMES network
Thursday 11 and Friday 12 May 2023 - HEC Liège

Program: workshop, cocktail reception and general assembly.

The member universities of the HERMES network work closely together to define their curricula, exchange professors and organize joint research projects. Each year, the network organizes an annual conference in one of the partner universities, where common progress margins are defined and the achievements of previous projects are analyzed.

Smart Inspiration Day
Tuesday 16 May 2023 - Blue Point Liège

Join us for new inspiring conferences and discussions, placed under the sign of the complementarity between circular territories and sustainable and intelligent transition.

Info & Registration

HEC Digital Lab annual event
Wednesday, May 24th 2023 - HEC Liège

Theme of this new edition: "Cybersecurity issues for Walloon companies

More information

37th Conference of the Belgian Operational Research Society (ORBEL 37)
Thursday 25 and Friday 26 May 2023 - HEC Liège

ORBEL lectures are given by leading foreign scholars and practitioners on topics of general interest. More specialized contributions are presented in parallel sessions by young researchers. More than 100 researchers participate each year. The winner of the ORBEL award for the best master's thesis in operations research is also announced at the conference and invited to present his or her work.

More information

ESHET Conference
June 1 to 3, 2023 - HEC Liège

The European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET) organizes each year a conference on a specific theme in the history of economic thought.

The theme of the 26th annual conference will be: Fifteen years after the Global Financial Crisis: Recessions and Business Cycles in the History of Economic Thought

Participation in the conference is restricted to ESHET members.

For more information

HEC Liege Gala
Friday, June 2, 2023 - Country Hall Liège

The great economic meeting of HEC Liège gathering more than 700 company representatives is back. A unique opportunity for networking!

Infos & Registration

Methods Summer School - 2nd Edition
Monday 11 and Tuesday 12 September 2023 - HEC Liège

This second edition is based on the theme of "Text Analytics". This event, organized with IAE Lille is open to all researchers in the field of management.

Speakers: Prof. Ashwin Ittoo, PhD (HEC Liège) and Prof. Kristof Coussement (IÉSEG School of Management Lille).