Ghent (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – HOGENT will close Ledeganck and Mercator campuses, moving 3,000 students to Schoonmeersen in Ghent. Spokeswoman Isabelle Clays highlights the upgraded facilities, green spaces, and the organisation’s climate-neutral goals by 2050.
As VRT News reported, HOGENT University of Applied Sciences will close 2 campuses in Ghent. The Ledeganck site on Ledeganckstraat will no longer be used. The building first opened as the State Teacher Training College before being acquired by HOGENT, and has been central to teacher education for generations.
The university confirmed that the site will be vacated and may be sold or repurposed. Teacher training courses now based there will move to 2 new buildings on the Schoonmeersen campus along Voskenslaan, which is being expanded to become the university’s main site.
What will HOGENT’s move to Schoonmeersen mean for 3,000 students?
The Mercator campus, where business and organisational management programs are taught, will also be phased out. These programs will relocate to the Schoonmeersen site together with teacher training.
The move will involve about 3,000 students, including part-time students attending day and evening classes. With this transition, HOGENT is concentrating its activities on one large campus, where updated facilities and expanded space are being prepared.
“We won’t be completely leaving the city centre and will retain the Bijloke and Hoogpoort campuses. The other programs will be centralised. This will allow for greater cross-pollination. The new construction project will also enable us to meet the high educational standards of the future,”
emphasises spokeswoman Isabelle Clays.
HOGENT University of Applied Sciences says the move to the Schoonmeersen campus will make life easier for students and staff. Most programs will now be located close together on a single site. This will reduce commuting across the city and make it simpler for students and teachers to attend courses and activities.
“Our ambition is to become climate neutral, and that requires investment,”
Isabelle Clays said.
Existing artificial turf sports fields between the buildings will be transformed into a green park. Parking facilities will be moved underground. A new sports hall will also be built to replace the lost sports capacity.
In addition, a cyclist bridge will be constructed over the Ringvaart canal, linking the campus to student housing still under development on the other side. Construction is expected to begin within 7 years. Most of the project should be completed by 2035, with final works expected by 2050. The total cost of the redevelopment has not yet been disclosed.
HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts was created in 1995 through the merger of 16 higher education institutions in Belgium. The Ledeganck campus in Ghent has been a centre for teacher training for nearly 150 years, originally opening as the State Teacher Training College.
The Mercator campus has long hosted business and organisational programs. In recent years, HOGENT began modernising its facilities, including the completion of Building on the Schoonmeersen campus in 2020, designed by SADAR+VUGA and LENS°ASS Architecten.
