Hasselt University opened its doors and welcomed its first students in 1973. Over the past 40 years the university has grown into a dynamic institution with 2 campuses (Diepenbeek and Hasselt). Academic and scientific freedom, social commitment, attention for ethical norms and interpretation – without ideological distinction – are basic principles of its education and research policy. True to its baseline ‘Knowledge in action’, Hasselt University has grown into an innovative and dynamic university – an institution which provides for a qualified workforce, locally adapted research, appropriate services and technologies for the region. The university has seven faculties (Law, Sciences, Business Economics, Medicine & Life Sciences, Architecture & Arts, Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering Technology), three schools (School for Educational Sciences, School of Social Sciences & School for Transportation Sciences) and four research institutes and three research centers (which cover a wide range of research areas: biomedical, environmental, material, data sciences, transportation research and media technology research). Hasselt University is a university which chooses for top research in spearhead fields, and for entrepreneurship and innovation through its role as an academic think tank and through a pronounced international orientation.