Sels won the elections for new rector in the first round on Tuesday 9 May 2017 by beating Rik Torfs with 51.12% to 48.88%.
[1] Luc Sels obtained a master's degree in Sociology of KU Leuven summa cum laude in 1989.
As of 2010 he is part-time professor in the Rochester-Bern Executive MBA Program at the Simon Business School of the University of Rochester.
Primary research interests are estimates and projections of labour market indictors (e.g. employment-to-population ratio, labour turnover, replacement demand, occupational projections), active ageing, strategic human resource planning and talent management.
[3] He serves on the Belgian High Council for Employment (Hoge Raad voor de Werkgelegenheid) as a representative of the Federal Minister of Employment and is director of the Policy Research Centre for Work and Social Economy (Steunpunt Werk en Sociale Economie) that gives advice to the Flemish Government on labour market policies.