Situated in the heart of Western Europe, KU Leuven has been a centre of learning for nearly six centuries. Today, it is Belgium’s largest university and, founded in 1425, one of the oldest and most renowned universities in Europe. As a leading European research university and co-founder of the LERU, KU Leuven offers bachelor’s and master’s programmes across all disciplines to over 50.000 students every year. These are all supported by high-quality, innovative, and interdisciplinary research. KU Leuven is consistently ranked in the top 100 of various worldwide university rankings, and tops the Reuters ranking of most innovative European universities. The department of Literary Studies of the KU Leuven Faculty of Arts has a longstanding expertise on various European literary traditions. Its members work on different strands of textual, comparative, intertextual and historical research. Two areas of expertise are particularly relevant to this project: short fiction studies and literature instruction. On various topics related to short fiction, the department has organised international conferences (in 2012, 2013 and 2017) and obtained funding for doctoral research projects. Modules on literary short forms in literature are offered on BA, MA and advanced MA level. The department also co-organises the master of Education in languages and literatures, a teacher training programme for the final years of secondary school. In this programme, the study of literature (in the mother tongue and for classical literatures) and the use of literature in the study of foreign languages are important components. Further, the department organises an annual training day for teachers on the topic of literature instruction.