dr. Elke VAN HELLEMONT

About Me

I am a dedicated and internationally experienced academic professional with a strong passion for international collaboration, strategic governance, and policy development within higher education. Since August 2022, I have served as the European University Alliance Manager at Hasselt University, leading the implementation of EURECA-PRO across the institution. In this role, I coordinate UHasselt’s membership within the alliance, coordinate the EURECA-PRO UHasselt team (HEERA), and together we facilitate engagement between the UHasselt community and our partnering universities. Through this work, I help drive interdisciplinary collaboration, international networking, and strategic policy development in the Alliance and Hasselt University.

Prior to joining Hasselt University, I spent six years as an Associate Professor in Criminology at the University of Kent (UK), where I taught and convened undergraduate and postgraduate modules on topics such as cybercrime, crime and media, qualitative research methods, and cultural criminology. In 2019, I was appointed Director of Studies for Criminology, leading the Kent Criminology Group while implementing reforms, integrating research and teaching across campuses, and securing research funding.

My academic background is rooted in criminology and social and cultural anthropology. I earned my PhD in Criminology from KU Leuven in 2015, following master’s degrees in Criminology (2006) and Social and Cultural Anthropology (2007), also at KU Leuven. I was a visiting researcher at UCLA in 2014 and have spent over 15 years conducting research on gang dynamics, with my work published in various peer-reviewed journals.

Throughout my career, I have built and led international networks, collaborated across disciplines, and worked with individuals from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. My transition from academia to a professional staff role was driven by my commitment to internationalisation, intercultural collaboration, and strategic university governance. Encouraging universities to grow through global partnerships and academic engagement is my true passion, making my current role a perfect fit.

Research

Discipline codes: Sociology of deviance (05099904)

Projects

1 research projects have been found

Knowledge transfer and Innovation

Science communication

'Biso: The Black Gangs of Brussels', a documentary (French/Dutch- Subtitles) exploring Black African gangs in Brussels was created as part of my FWO research project and PhD (KU Leuven). It was in collaboration with gang members, offering an insider perspective on their experiences and challenges. The documentary was developed with Frank Kazadi, the film’s director, whose expertise in the subject matter shaped its narrative. The documentary has been broadcasted on Panorama, VRT.

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