PhD Winter School 2026 – AI and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG): Friend or Foe? – by KBC

KBC organises a Winter School for a select group of PhD candidates  and postdocs of the Belgian universities.

This edition, which is titled AI and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG): Friend or Foe? has the following to offer:

• Career stories of PhD holders
• 2 participating companies with real-world cases to be tackled in interdisciplinary teams (across research backgrounds and universities): KBC and Cordeel.
• 2 participating companies to present: Monsana and Trevi.

This Winter School targets PhD candidates (≥ 3rd year of their PhD trajectory) and postdocs of the Belgian universities who

1. want to get an inside view of the corporate world, and reflect on labour market trends and challenges, innovation as driver for sustainability, … ;
2. want to learn from PhDs coming from different academic backgrounds why they decided to transfer to the corporate world, which competences they brought to the work floor, and which competences still needed further developing;
3. want to expand their professional network.

Check out the full programme and the biographies of the speakers and the abstracts of the sessions here. 

Why getting involved in the business cases? Because

1. you want to apply your knowledge and ideas to real-world challenges;
2. you want to challenge yourself as part of an interdisciplinary team of PhD candidates and postdocs coming from different fields of expertise and different universities;
3. you want to give your CV a competitive edge.

KBC puts great emphasis on diversity, diverse teams and diverse expertise to solve problems in a sustainable way, and therefore welcome early-stage researchers from all research backgrounds.

The cases

• 2 real-life cases by KBC and Corneel respectively to be solved in teams of 5 PhD candidates and postdocs.
• Cases are the following.
  • Case by KBC -> view here.
  • Case by Cordeel -> view here.
• PhD candidates and postdocs from the Flemish and the Walloon universities will be selected to participate and work in interdisciplinary teams of 5 on 1 of the cases.

What we expect?

• Signing up and motivating your participation by 2 January 2026, including your selection of your preferred cases.
• If your participation is accepted by 7 January, working in teams of 5 on 1 of the 2 cases as of January 2026.
• Handing in the case presentation by 30 January 2026. Please find a style guide for your information - view here.
• Being present at KBC in Brussels on 23 February 2026.

In case of questions, do not hesitate to reach out to the organizing team: phdtalent@vlir.be

For whom?

• This Winter School targets  PhD candidates (≥ 3rd year of their PhD trajectory) and postdocs of the Belgian universities

When and where?

• 23 February 2026
• KBC Brussels

Registration?

• Register via this form until January 2, 2026: 

• Cancellations: Participation in the KBC Winter school is free of charge. However, if you cancel your registration after 12 February 2026, we’ll charge a no-show fee of 150 euros. Only in case of illness, corroborated with a doctor’s note, you will not be charged the no-show fee.

Acknowledged as

For more information regarding acknowledgment in your PhD Portfolio, please contact us via  dsrequirements@uhasselt.be