KU Leuven will train the brewers of the future

The postgraduate program is organised by the KU Leuven and will start in September 2020. With the program, the university aims to attract local, national and international students with a master's degree in (bio)engineering or exact sciences. The English taught program lasts one year and consists of 10 courses, each taught by experts from CU Leuven, supplemented by an expert from the industry. "We want to give students the opportunity to link in-depth theory with practical experience and knowledge on an industrial scale. The latter is particularly unique in Europe," says Professor Christophe Courtin, chair holder and one of the academic managers of the new postgraduate program.

Centuries of shared heritage

AB InBev's brewing tradition dates back to 1366 in bar “den Hoorn” in the Leuvense Vaartkom. KU Leuvenhas a very long tradition in brewing education and research in Leuven. This tradition started with the establishment of a brewing school in 1887 and is continued today in various research groups, including those of Professor Christophe Courtin and Professor Kevin Verstrepen, both chair holders of this new AB InBev Chair in Malting and Brewing.

Moreover, AB InBev and KU Leuvenhave been collaborating intensively for more than 10 years on research into yeast and fermentation technology, and more recently in other fields such as cereals and membrane technology.

 "With this chair, we can further strengthen our long tradition in brewery education," says Professor Christophe Courtin. "The postgraduate course will be based on our research into yeasts, grains and processing within the context of malting and brewing, which is highly regarded both nationally and internationally. By giving students a solid scientific and practical knowledge of the entire malting and brewing process, the postgraduate program will further strengthen the research and ensure its international appeal," adds Professor Kevin Verstrepen.

Professor Kevin Verstrepen's group (VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology) recently developed a large-scale, free online course or MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on the science behind beer brewing. This course starts on 24 February 2020 and is compulsory for all postgraduate students. This way, all students will start the postgraduate course in September 2020 with the same basic knowledge. More information can be found on https://www.edx.org/course/beer-the-science-of-brewing.

Interaction with students

Both partners want to invest in young people who continue to innovate and excel. "This is an investment in the future of Belgian brewing expertise and the Belgian beer culture recognised by UNESCO. Interaction with young people is crucial. The fresh mindset of the youth challenges us to make our brewing processes green and put our co-products such as residual alcohol to good use," says Bart Grieten, VP Supply - head of all 32 AB InBev breweries in Europe. "The training has one goal: to guarantee the heritage and the future of high quality Belgian beer".

GITEC

AB InBev has always kept its global innovation center, GITEC for Global Innovation and Technology Center, in Leuven. If somewhere in the world a new AB InBev beer is brewed or a more sustainable packaging is launched, it is very likely that it has been developed in Leuven. So the centuries of beer expertise is bundled in Leuven. GITEC employs no less than 22 different nationalities, 24 PhDs from a total of around 150 researchers.

Practical Information

The postgraduate program starts in September 2020 and is open to students with a relevant master's degree in (bio)engineering or exact sciences. Interested students can find more information via https://www.biw.kuleuven.be/maltingandbrewing/.