While the world has momentarily been slowed down by the current pandemic, fire however has not been deterred. According to the European Commission, Europe is still reporting an average of 65,000 wildfires all over the continent, especially in the European Mediterranean region. The message is clear: continue honing and developing the next generation of engineers to take on fire-related challenges. Thus in 2021, Ghent University welcomed a new set of passionate fire safety engineers from all over the world to study in the International Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering (IMFSE).
Before we start 2022, it is fitting for us to look back at the beginning of the journey of these young fire safety engineers. They were warmly welcomed into the master’s programme with a guided tour of Ghent’s tourist sites, food spots, and local culture by resident Belgians, Lies Decroos and Silke Van Parys.
L-R: Budmika Chamath from Sri Lanka, Alfred El Haddad from Lebanon, Alperen Gürer from Turkey, and Martin Sturdy from Italy
In focus: Muhammad Muneeb Khalid and Ahab Zahoor from Pakistan
The tour kicked off in front of the Campus Boekentoren building in Jozef Plateaustraat. The building serves also as the main location for most classes of the IMFSE students.
While Campus Boekentoren houses some of the Engineering and Architecture classes, Ghent University also has some twenty other campuses spread across the Ghent area. Campus Aula adds to the charm of Ghent with its large ceremonial doors and ancient stone columns. This campus has witnessed special University occasions. Artists have even used Campus Aula as a site for some art pieces. A local Belgian artist named Jan Fabre covered the stone columns with slices of ham and aptly named the installation as “Over the Edges”.
Speaking of food, Belgium is famous to the world for its beer, waffles, and fries. But unknown to many, Ghent was awarded the title “veggie capital of Europe”, with the city observing “Thursday veggie day”. It is no surprise that restaurants such as Pacha Mama and Greenway, vegetarian and vegan restaurants, dot the street of Nederkouter. We headed to Nederkouter to visit a part of Ghent’s food scene and learn about the local cuisine. But if like me, you need the carbs and meat, Silke and Lies suggest eating at Bavet. It serves pasta dishes and is extremely popular to students who love spaghetti.
Ghent is indeed thriving with a lot of food spots and restaurants that can fulfill any foodie’s fantasy, but Ghent also excites visitors with its architecture and amazing city views. The students walked from Nederkouter to the city center to visit the renowned churches and impressive buildings.
The view of the Leie river while we were traversing the bridge to the city center looked like a scene straight out of a postcard.
The city center was bustling with tourists, locals, people on bikes, and trams when we arrived there. Ghent supports cleaner and better air quality, hence the city center is included in the low emission zone and is a bike-friendly area. Inside the city center, you can have front-row seats to the famous Ghent skyline of the three towers: Sint-Niklaaskerk, Belfort, and Sint-Baasfskathedral. Silke and Lies pointed out famous restaurants and shops in the area such as Amadeus for eat-all-you-can ribs, Leonidas for extra-special chocolates (though supermarket chocolates in Belgium are also excellent), and Frituur Tartaar for a taste of Belgium’s famous fries.
Fancy a treat other than chocolates? Cuberdon, a popular Belgian delicacy, is for folks with a sweet tooth. These delectable gummy candies are said to be native in Ghent and are also called as Ghent noses because of the shape. The Flemish government has recognized these as an official regional product.
We ended the tour with cold beers and wine at the Kunstzentrum Vooruit modern terrace. Thank you again to Lies and Silke as they have made us feel welcomed in Ghent. We loved the East-West Flanders banter between them!
IMFSE 