Every month we will be introducing a public figure whose work and commitment are seen by others as a source of inspiration. We are pleased to present prominent individuals from the world of culture, politics and science whose activity and creativity are an invitation to others to be active and to take action. These are people who contribute to changing the shape of the reality in which we live.

For the EESC info October edition, we have invited Professor Caroline Pauwels, who is the rector of Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She discusses the impact of the pandemic on young people and the university environment and offers three post-pandemic lessons that could affect the future of students.

Prof. Caroline Pauwels started her second term as rector of Vrije Universiteit Brussel in September 2020. She studied philosophy and communication sciences and has been a member of the communication sciences department since 1989 and its head in recent years. She gained a doctorate in 1995 with a dissertation on the audiovisual policy of the European Union. From 2000 to 2016, Prof. Pauwels directed the SMIT research centre, which specialises in information and communication technologies and became part of iMinds (now IMEC) in 2004. Within iMinds, she was head of the Digital Society Department, which brings together research groups from the universities of Ghent, Leuven and Brussels. The University of Ghent awarded her the Francqui Chair from 2012 to 2014. She has been a member of several boards of directors, a government commissioner for broadcaster VRT and is a member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts. (ehp)