Koen Borghys is a PhD Fellow at UNU-CRIS within the Economic Interactions Cluster and a PhD researcher at IMEC-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
His applied PhD project, titled “Data-Driven Coaching of Local Communities in Achieving SDG Goals”, is conducted in partnership with IDEA Consult and funded by Innoviris. His work critically assesses the local monitoring of the sustainable development goals within the Brussels Capital Region.
Koen holds a Master of Laws and a Master of Science in General Economics from Ghent University. Before his PhD thesis, he gained academic expertise in the development of smart city strategies and open data policies for local governments and regions. During his PhD Fellowship, Koen will work under the supervision of Glenn Rayp. He aims to contribute to UNU-CRIS’s research on regional economic development, leveraging his experience in local and regional monitoring of sustainable development.