UniSey hires Belgian star professor to boost its growth |18 October 2017

As of October, Ralf Caers has joined the University of Seychelles at Anse Royale as a senior lecturer.

Dr Caers (36), PhD in Applied Economic Sciences, until recently worked as an assistant professor in Human Resource Management (HR) for the renowned Catholic University of Leuven, number 71 in the QS World University Ranking. He published over 20 articles in important scientific journals, two popular handbooks in HR (used in more than 10 institutions of higher education) and was repeatedly awarded for excellent teaching by his university.

Moreover, he appeared weekly in Belgian newspaper interviews and occasional television interviews and is the author of his own column in the most respected Belgian magazine for HR-professionals.

Having done many seminars for the business sector and working on projects with companies for years, he seems just as much a scientist as he is a business professional.

Now, he is in our country working as a senior lecturer for UniSey.

“It’s great to be back,” Dr Caers says. Having been to Seychelles in 2013 and 2016, it is now his third time in our country.

“And this time, I’m here to stay,” he says.

He makes it clear that he does not consider himself an expat but rather an immigrant willing to build a new life in Seychelles, helping the country to prosper over the next decennia.

“I joined UniSey because this country felt like a new home from the first time my wife and I came on holiday here, and I strongly believe in the university’s ability to thrive as a knowledge hub in the Indian Ocean. There are so many extraordinary people here and the past eight years have established strong foundations for the future growth of the university. I’m honored to be part of that,” says Dr Caers.

Dr Caers has a clear view on the future of UniSey, which he describes as threefold. His first aim is to teach students in the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) programme.

“I think it’s highly important to teach our students the most recent techniques in HR and in management science, so that they can apply them in our local businesses when they graduate. It is also important that they learn to act based on scientific knowledge and not only assumptions or popular ideas, which will improve their careers as managers and the jobs of their subordinates. I’m not only going to teach them the science, but also the reality of today’s business and current practices, so that they are well prepared when they start to work”.

The second aim of Dr Caers’ objectives is to increase the number of research projects and academic publications.

“It is important for every university to contribute to the global academic work. It is our way of shaping the world and make it a better one, and to open up our knowledge to the rest of the world. Collaboration on research projects by UniSey professors and lecturers and internal sharing of knowledge, will make us all even better in what we do and strengthen the courses that we teach. Moreover, more scientific publications will allow the university to present itself better to the international public, attracting more high quality professors and also more international students. It can stimulate a positive spiral and help the university to grow quickly and strategically”.

All of this is fine, but what do the Seychellois get from that, besides good education?

“That is the third aim of my master plan,” explains Dr Caers. “Like I was already doing in Belgium, I will try to bring UniSey even closer to the business world and share its knowledge with the local entrepreneurs through seminars and courses for business professionals. If tax and business funds are used to have a university, it is our duty to give a lot back to society. I hereby do not aim to focus on business professionals only, but on every single Seychellois. Because if you’re employed or want to be employed in the near future, the university can teach you a lot about healthy life style, job crafting, stress reduction programmes, etc. It will also be an aim to have the UniSey lecturers and professors become more active in the public debate, providing clarification on news facts that concern the public and to help solve current issues that hamper our society. Also that way, we can be of service to the public. I hope UniSey will be a strong knowledge hub in the Indian Ocean, open for the Seychellois people and for the entire world.”

Contributed