CenEka vzw

What CenEka vzw does

CenEka vzw is a Belgian non-profit student association (vereniging zonder winstoogmerk, registered as BE 0682.969.773) founded in 2007 by Killian De Smedt and Matthias De Maré at Universiteit Gent, where it received official recognition in 2008. It serves as the official student association for computer science and electrical engineering students at UGent and operates as the IEEE Student Branch Ghent. The organization is governed entirely by volunteer student boards that have historically ranged from 8 to 14 members, with current leadership held by chairman August Adams and vice-chairman Kobe Vlemings.

CenEka's product portfolio centers on three signature programs supported by an in-house web platform: EMECS, an annual job fair connecting engineering students with corporate recruiters; TechTrip, an annual international technology excursion that has visited London (2019), Amsterdam (2021), and Berlin (2022); and CeneBotBattle, an online programming competition launched in 2023 by the Web&ICT team that received the DSAward Prestatie van het Jaar from UGent in 2024. The technical backbone is a custom website (ceneka.be) handling event registration, member management, and an administrative panel, maintained by an internal Web&ICT function. A limited-edition LEGO merchandise set (€40, 400 bricks, featuring UGent Plateau and Auditorium A) extends the product surface into branded goods.

The association's business model relies on five corporate sponsorship tiers (Basic €800/year, Promo €1,200/year, Activity €1,500/year, Promo+Activity €1,800/year, and CeneBotBattle €1,500) that provide logo placement, member email access, social media promotion, and priority EMECS participation. LEGO merchandise sales provide secondary income. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. CenEka has co-founded two cross-disciplinary student engineering teams with PKarus — UGent Racing (2020, 50+ students) and UGent Sailing (2025, for the Monaco Boat Challenge) — diversifying the association's footprint beyond traditional student association activities.

Name

CenEka vzw

Legal name

CenEka vzw

Website

https://ceneka.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CenEka vzw is a Belgian non-profit student association serving computer science and electrical engineering students at Universiteit Gent, organizing the annual EMECS job fair, TechTrip excursions, and CeneBotBattle programming competition, funded through corporate sponsorship packages and merchandise sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Association Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAHABAE

Technology & Innovation Expos Organizers

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Exhibition & Trade Show Organizers

SECONDARYMPAGAOAC

Hybrid Conferences & Conventions (In-Person + Streamed)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Live Entertainment & Events (Concerts, Theater, Festivals)/Virtual & Hybrid Events

SECONDARYMPAGAOAA

Virtual Conferences & Summits (Webinars, Keynotes)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Live Entertainment & Events (Concerts, Theater, Festivals)/Virtual & Hybrid Events

Keywords

• Student association services
• University job fair
• Corporate sponsorship packages
• Engineering student events
• Technology trip programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Gent

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Corporate Partnership Packages: CenEka generates revenue through corporate partnership packages (Basic €800, Promo €1200, Activity €1500, Promo+Activity €1800, CeneBotBattle €1500) that provide companies with recruitment visibility, logo placement, email access to members, and event participation.
2. LEGO Set Sales: Sale of limited edition CenEka LEGO sets featuring iconic UGent Plateau and Auditorium A buildings, including a Hennie De Schepper minifigure, priced at €40 per unit.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CenEka vzw is a non-profit student association at Universiteit Gent that organizes events connecting computer science and electrical engineering students with industry. Its core offerings are the annual EMECS job fair, recurring TechTrip international excursions, the CeneBotBattle online programming competition, weekly activities, company visits, and technical workshops. Corporate partners access students via tiered sponsorship packages, and the association also sells limited edition merchandise such as a custom LEGO set.

Product overview

CenEka vzw is the official student association for computer science and electrical engineering students at Universiteit Gent, organizing events and providing services to enhance student life and facilitate career transitions. The organization operates a platform-based event management system for activity registration, and offers a portfolio of signature events including EMECS (annual job fair), TechTrip (technology-focused company visits), and CeneBotBattle (programming competition). Merchandise offerings include the Plateau Memories LEGO-set featuring iconic campus buildings. Corporate partners can engage through sponsorship packages that provide recruitment access and visibility among engineering students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EMECS Job Fair Annual in-person job fair held at Universiteit Gent that connects computer science and electrical engineering students with corporate recruiters and provides visibility for graduating engineers.
• TechTrip Annual international technology-focused excursion for CenEka students, with prior editions in London (2019), Amsterdam (2021), and Berlin (2022), visiting prominent tech companies and cultural destinations.
• CeneBotBattle Online programming competition for computer science students, featuring a custom web portal and unique game developed by CenEka's Web&ICT team, with an exclusive sponsor package for corporate partners.
• Plateau Memories LEGO Set Limited edition custom LEGO set featuring the iconic UGent Plateau and Auditorium A buildings plus a Hennie De Schepper minifigure, priced at €40, sold via Microsoft Forms order link to students, alumni, professors, and collectors.
• Corporate Partner Packages Annual tiered sponsorship offerings for companies seeking visibility among UGent engineering students, including logo placement, email access to members, social media exposure, EMECS participation, and company activity hosting.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• UGent SailingminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025In 2025, CenEka partnered again with PKarus to establish UGent Sailing, a student team working on an electric, autonomous solar-powered boat for the annual Monaco Boat Challenge.
• UGent RacingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUGent Racing was founded in 2020 as a collaboration between CenEka and PKarus, bringing together over 50 students from various disciplines to work on racing vehicle development. CenEka co-founded and supports this student engineering team.
• IEEE Student Branch GhentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCenEka serves as the official IEEE Student Branch Ghent, connecting to an international network of professionals and students in electrical engineering and computer science. This enables CenEka to organize lectures, workshops, and company visits.
• Zeus WPIminorOthersCenEka maintains positive relations with Zeus WPI, another student association at Universiteit Gent.
• VVNminorOthersCenEka maintains positive relations with VVN student association.
• VTKminorOthersCenEka maintains positive relations with VTK student association.
• PKaruscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCenEka collaborates with PKarus on multiple student engineering projects including UGent Racing (founded 2020) and UGent Sailing (founded 2025).
• Werkgroepen en Verenigingen KonventminorOthersCenEka is part of the Werkgroepen en Verenigingen Konvent at Universiteit Gent, maintaining good relationships with other student associations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• BEST (Board of European Students of Technology): European network of local student groups at technical universities. Operates at greater geographic scale than CenEka but follows the same volunteer-led model focused on connecting engineering students with industry across multiple countries, making it the closest international-scale comparable.
• AEGEE (European Students' Forum): Pan-European student association network running cross-border events and exchange programs. Comparable to CenEka in its non-profit student-run structure, transnational activity (TechTrip parallels), and reliance on corporate partnerships, though broader than CenEka's engineering-specific scope.

Direct peers

• VTK (Vlaamse Technische Kring): Belgian engineering student association explicitly cited in CenEka's data as a peer organization. Operates with the same volunteer-board structure and delivers overlapping functionality (company visits, social events, recruitment networking) to Flemish engineering students, making it the closest direct comparable.
• PKArus: UGent student engineering association that co-founded both UGent Racing (2020) and UGent Sailing (2025) with CenEka. Operates with a comparable volunteer-board model and pursues similar corporate-sponsored engineering initiatives on the same campus.
• VVN: Student association at Universiteit Gent listed as a peer in CenEka's data, providing overlapping services to students and competing for limited corporate sponsorship budgets at the same institution.
• Zeus WPI: Student association at Universiteit Gent explicitly named in CenEka's data as a peer organization. Competes for the same engineering-student mindshare and corporate partner attention on the UGent campus.

Broad incumbents

• IEEE Student Branches (global network): CenEka itself serves as the IEEE Student Branch Ghent. The broader IEEE student branch network is the global institutional analog: officially recognized, faculty-supported student units at universities worldwide running lectures, workshops, and industry events for EE/CS students.
• Web Summit: Large-scale tech conference that operates in the same recruitment-meets-tech-event category as EMECS. Not a direct competitor (Web Summit is consumer-priced and global; EMECS is free and university-scoped) but a useful benchmark for how corporate recruiting events can scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CenEkaGent
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ceneka-vzw
• Instagraminstagram.com/cenekagent

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CenEka vzw