KU Leuven
Catholic research university in Leuven
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| 2025 | Planned celebration of the 600th anniversary of the original Studium Generale Lovaniense established in 1425. |
| 2023 | 18 students were fined 400 Euros and given community service for their involvement in Sanda Dia's death and degrading treatment. |
| 2021 | Enrollment reached over 65,000 students, with 21% being international students. |
| 2019 | KU Leuven ranked 48th in THE and 86th in ARWU world rankings. Reached 15th in European THE rankings and 28th in ARWU. World reputation ranking returned to 51-60. |
| 2019 | Thomson Reuters continues to rank KU Leuven 7th globally and 1st in Europe in the World's Most Innovative Universities ranking for the fourth consecutive time since 2016. |
| 2019 | KU Leuven scientists developed a solar hydrogen panel capable of directly converting 15% of sunlight into hydrogen gas, which was recognized as a world record. This breakthrough represented a significant improvement from the 0.1% efficiency of a decade earlier, as noted by IEEE Spectrum. |
| 2018 | Slight decline to 47th in THE and 90th in ARWU world rankings. Ranked 14th in European THE rankings and 31st in ARWU. World reputation ranking increased to 71-80. |
| 2018 | A student of African origin, Sanda Dia, died during a cruel hazing ritual by the Reuzegom fraternity, leading to significant public criticism of the university's handling of the incident. |
| 2017 | Angela Merkel, German politician and Chancellor of Germany, was awarded an honorary doctorate. |
| 2017 | James P. Allison, Immunologist and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2018 winner, received an honorary doctorate. |
| 2017 | KU Leuven ranked 40th in THE and 93rd in ARWU world rankings. Maintained 12th position in European THE rankings and 32nd in ARWU. Sustained world reputation ranking of 51-60. |
| 2017 | The world's largest banana genebank, the Bioversity International Musa Germplasm Transit Centre, celebrated its 30th anniversary and was visited by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. |
| August 2017 | Luc Sels became the new rector, replacing former rector Rik Torfs. |
| 2016 | Significant improvement to 35th in THE world rankings and 90th in ARWU. Reached 12th in European THE rankings and maintained 32nd in ARWU. World reputation ranking improved to 51-60. |
| 2016 | Thomson Reuters first establishes its World's Most Innovative Universities ranking, in which KU Leuven is placed 7th globally and 1st in Europe. |
| 2015 | Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, was awarded an honorary doctorate. |
| 2015 | Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile, received an honorary doctorate. |
| 2015 | KU Leuven improved to 55th in THE and 96th in ARWU world rankings. Maintained 13th position in European THE rankings and ranked 32nd in ARWU European rankings. World reputation ranking remained 71-80. |
| 2014 | Fiona Stanley, Australian epidemiologist, was awarded an honorary doctorate. |
| 2014 | Michael Marmot, British epidemiologist from University College London, received an honorary doctorate. |
| 2014 | Abhijit Banerjee, Indian economist from MIT, was awarded an honorary doctorate. |
| 2014 | KU Leuven ranked 61st globally and 17th in Europe in THE rankings, with world reputation ranking dropping slightly to 71-80. |
| 2013 | Nate Silver, American author and statistician, received an honorary doctorate. |
| 2013 | Leon O. Chua, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley, was awarded an honorary doctorate. |
| 2013 | Rik Torfs becomes the sixth rector of KU Leuven, with a background in Canon Law, serving until 2017. |
| 2013 | KU Leuven further advanced to 58th globally and 13th in Europe in THE rankings, maintaining world reputation ranking of 81-90. |
| 2012 | Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), received an honorary doctorate. |
| 2012 | Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), received an honorary doctorate. |
| 2012 | Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, was awarded an honorary doctorate. |
| 2012 | KU Leuven improved its world ranking to 67th and European ranking to 17th in THE rankings. World reputation ranking placed between 81-90. |
| 2011 | Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, was awarded an honorary doctorate. |
| 2011 | Timothy Garton Ash, British historian and Professor of European Studies, received an honorary doctorate. |
| 2011 | KU Leuven ranked 119th in Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings and 37th in European University Rankings. |
| December 2011 | The university changed its official name to KU Leuven in all communications and branding, emphasizing its academic freedom and independence from the Church. |
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