Nowé studied mathematics with a minor in computer science at Ghent University, earning a master's degree in 1987. She completed a Ph.D. in 1994 through Vrije Universiteit Brussel, after two years as a visiting student at Queen Mary and Westfield College in London.[1] Her dissertation, The synthesis of 'safe' fuzzy controllers based on reinforcement learning, was promoted by Viviane Jonckers.[2]
After postdoctoral research at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, she became an assistant professor there in 1999, with a split appointment between the Faculty of Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering. She was promoted to associate professor in 2004 and full professor in 2012.[1]