Johan De Graeve was born in Leuven , Belgium on January 16, 1943. He studied classics, ‘Grieks-Latijnse humaniora’, at Sint-Pieterscollege in Leuven from 1954 to 1960. Following his secondary education he completed the one-year “Cours Supérieur Scientifique” at the Saint-Michel Jesuit College in Brussels . In the same year he also received an award for Best Essay in the European Dissertation Contest organized by the Belgian Council of the European Movement.
Embracing sciences and technology, he combined a Bachelor of Science in Physics with one in Mechanical Engineering at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. Upon graduating with a Master in Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1966, he went on to study at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands , where he earned a Master in Science in Applied Physics Engineering in 1970. During his studies in the Netherlands he became Research Fellow in Irreversible Thermodynamics at Delft University of Technology and also took up an Associate Professorship in Thermodynamics at the Faculty of Applied Sciences in Leuven .
Work and study have gone hand in hand ever since. Although his position as President of Group T since 1970 has taken up most of his time, he has found time to continue studying. From 1976 to 1983, he studied Medicine at the Université Catholique de Louvain, and from 1988 to 1990 he studied Strategic Management at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam , the Netherlands .
In 1998 Johan De Graeve enrolled in the doctoral program at Beijing Normal University in the College of Educational Administration and Management. As the topic of his doctoral dissertation he chose the enterprising of engineering education. Under the guidance of his advisor Prof. Zhang Xing, he successfully defended his dissertation, entitled “Paradox-based Strategy for Innovative Engineering Education,” in 2002 before a committee chaired by Prof. Gu Mingyuan. Thus, in 2003 he was granted a PhD in Education from Beijing Normal University .
His choice of a Chinese university for conducting advanced research attests to the distinctly Asian course that Johan De Graeve has pursued with Group T in the past years. Under his leadership Group T has already signed agreements with some of the leading universities in engineering and education in China , including Beijing Jiaotong University , University of Science & Technology Beijing, Huazhong University of Science & Technology in Wuhan , Zhejiang University of Technology in Hangzhou , and Beijing Normal University . These agreements have led to several joint research and exchange programs in the fields of engineering education and distance learning.
Currently Johan De Graeve has been working to initiate cooperation programs for Group T across Southeast Asia , including one of the leading partners in the Greater Mekong Subregion Virtual University project. Bilateral relations have also been established with a number of universities in Thailand , including Thammasat University , Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Chulalongkorn University and Asian Institute of Technology. In order to tie in these efforts with the higher purposes of UNESCO, Johan De Graeve has taken the lead in a concerted effort with partner universities in Beijing , Bangkok , and Brussels to establish a UNITWIN network on the synergies between engineering, enterprising and educating.
Johan De Graeve was appointed Guest Professor at the School of Management of the University of Science & Technology Beijing in 2000, and has been a regular consultant to UNESCO Bangkok for a joint innovation project that focuses on the continuing relevance of Delors' four pillars of education.
His executive and academic responsibilities enable Johan De Graeve to shuttle between practice and theory in his on-going search for optimal educational and organizational models. In this process he has often cooperated with some of the most renowned management consultants, including McKinsey & Co.
Johan De Graeve has published various articles about physics and strategic management. He is also founder member, member of the board, or regular member of various organizations in the areas of engineering, educating, and enterprising.
Johan De Graeve
Group T
Leuven Engineering College
Leuven Education College
Anticipative Continuing Education
Vesaliusstraat 13
3000 Leuven, Belgium
johan.de.graeve@groupt.be
