ABOUT DO!

Mission

DO! is the centre for entrepreneurship at Ghent University. We are the first point of contact for everyone at the university who is thinking of starting an entrepreneurial journey. We want to offer a stepping stone to additional support services and programmes. The goal of DO! is to inform all students and researchers correctly about the advantages and disadvantages of a carreer as entrepreneur, and to help them gain as many entrepreneurial competences as possible. We also want to help the official student-entrepreneurs in the best way possible and support them in the development of their business.

Vision

We want to give each student or researcher an entrepreneurial experience and plant an entrepreneurial seed during their time at Ghent University. If that seed develops into more, then we applaud this and offer additional support where possible. Within the university, we form collaborations where possible to help support the entrepreneurial message we want to bring. Our intense collaboration with TechTransfer and the DO! Talent Scouts are just 2 examples.
DO! - 3 Jolien Coenraets
Jolien Coenraets
DO! - 4 Tom Van Damme
Tom Van Damme
Entrepreneurship Growth Coach

Hey you!
I'm Tom Van Damme, entrepreneur for as long as I can remember, art lover and musician but first and foremost: coach, mentor, motivator and networker at DO! Ghent University. I have the honour to be able to share my experiences with motivated students and researchers who are taking their first and further steps towards entrepreneurship.

When booking a coaching expect a no-nonsense, hands-on, to the point, pragmatic and stimulating approach in which we try to broaden your view at your own pace,  in order for you to take new steps. I also do coachings for The Company (by Gentrepreneur). See you soon!

DO! - 5 Gerlinde Van Hauwermeiren
Gerlinde Van Hauwermeiren
Communications & Events

Hello, I'm Gerlinde and take care of anything communications or events related for DO! You'll also find me behind my Wacom drawing tablet creating new graphics or DO! images. Throughout the years I've also worked on my own self-employed graphic projects.

So do you have any specific plans to turn your dream into a startup and are left with questions regarding branding or communications/marketing? Come talk to me in our online Discord community or look for in the green jungle that is The Foundry.

DO! - 6 Lobke Van Damme
Lobke Van Damme
Educational Instructor Entrepreneurship

Hey!
I'm Lobke and I'm Educational Instructor at DO! Before I joined the team I worked at Gentrepreneur. There I planned quite some events and worked on entrepreneurial projects to support students in their journey towards entrepreneurship. It is my professional mission to make education at the university as entrepreneurial as possible to ensure that in the future each student has an entrepreneurial experience.

My personal mission in life is to be a sunbeam for those who need it. So in need of a great share of enthusiasm? I'm here for you! I also welcome any tips or remarks you might have to make your educational offer more entrepreneurial.

DO! - 7 Ellen Eeckhaut
Ellen Eeckhaut
Start@K Liaison

Hello, I'm Ellen and I'm Business Coach in the Kortrijk ecosystem for young entrepeneurship: Start@K. For Ghent University as well as for my self employed projects applies that I love to help people grow into the best version of themselves: entrepreneurial, resilient and joyful.

I love 1001 things (or no, wait, there's only 1000 of them left) and experience daily how inspiring and challenging it is to combine and balance different interests: between simplicity and abundance, between focus and a broader scope, between choosing and not choosing. Do you want to gain control over your dream? Do you want to feed the entrepreneur in yourself? Do you want to learn how to better implement your strengths and grow your internal leadership? Always welcome for a chat!

DO! - Andreas Wauters e1631978744670
Andreas Wauters
Start for Future project liason

Hello there!
I'm Andreas, within DO! I'm responsible for the international 'Start for Future'-programme. Students look for solutions for 21st century challenges in an international context and through challenge based learning. This year, the focus is on Urban Mobility & Manufacturing, but also on Health & Food. We stimulate participants to further develop their idea, strengthen their team and prepare for a startup track in one of the international incubators within the international network, or just here in Ghent (Expedition DO!).

I have a strong background in engineering and a passion for technique and innovation. I studied Industrial Engineer Electromechanics here in Ghent, and was part of the Formula Electric Belgium project, where the goal was to build a super fast electric race car. In addition, I have 5 years of experience in the automotive sector, and have a love of the newest technological innovations such as electrical and autonomous cars, blockchain, industry 4.0, AI, circular economy ... and so on. So always welcome for a chat about technique, the future or international entrepreneurship. Luckily I'm also a coffee lover, and since the coffee in The Foundry isn't half bad, just drop by and come say hi!

Victoria Buylaert
Victoria Buylaert
Gentrepreneur Liaison

G’day, mate!

I'm Victoria, liaison between DO! and Gentrepreneur. In addition to being the glue between these 2 great organisations, I'm also the Event Manager of Gentrepreneur. I was a student-entrepreneur myself and started 'Captain Creative'. I was self employed for 2 years. Now I'm still a Captain, but as a secondary occupation. What is it that I do exactly? You can come to me if you need visuals (graphic design), content creation (from LinkedIn over Instagram and TikTok) & consultancy for social media and content marketing.

I also like to surf (not on the internet – but real waves). And I'm a passionate traveller. I've lived in California, Illinois, Amsterdam and Nicaragua. ¡Dale pues!