The Belgian University Foundation (French: ''Fondation Universitaire''; Dutch: ''Universitaire Stichting'') was founded in 1920. The goal of the Foundation, as was put forward by

Emile Francqui Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *'' Emil and the Detecti ...

, is to promote scientific activity at Belgian universities.

Goals

# To provide grants and study loans to students from less privileged families. # To help university research centres and laboratories to attract young researchers. # To stimulate contacts and collaboration between the different Belgian research institutions by supporting scientific publications. # To organize a ''Club Universitaire'' as a meeting place for Belgian and foreign academics.

History

The money for the foundation came from the remaining funds from the

Commission for Relief in Belgium The Commission for Relief in Belgium or C.R.B. − known also as just Belgian Relief − was an international (predominantly American) organization that arranged for the supply of food to German-occupied Belgium and northern France during the Wor ...

(CRB) and the National Committee for Help and Food. The help to the Belgian people during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

had been organized by

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

and

On 28 August 1919, Herbert Hoover proposed to Emile Francqui, President of the National Committee for Help and Food, and to

Léon Delacroix Léon Frédéric Gustave Delacroix (27 December 1867 – 15 October 1929) was a Belgian statesman. Before entering politics, he was a renowned lawyer, and served as president of the Belgian Court of Cassation from 1917 to 1918. In the context o ...

, Prime Minister of Belgium, to use the funds, roughly 150 million Belgian francs, to support university education. The Belgian government decided to give twenty million to each of the four universities, and to use 55 million francs to establish the University Foundation. The remaining funds were used to set up the

Belgian American Educational Foundation The Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF) is an educational charity. It supports the exchange of university students, scientists and scholars between the United States and Belgium. The foundation fosters the higher education of deserving ...

(BAEF). The first president of the Foundation was Emile Francqui.

Building

The building is located in Brussels (Rue d'Egmont 11) also houses a club, a hotel and a restaurant. There are other institutions located on the premises of the University Foundation like the

(BAEF), the

Olivaint Conference of Belgium The Royal Olivaint Conference of Belgium NPO is a Belgian independent, multilingual leadership organisation and debating union for students founded in 1954. It is the only student organisation in Belgium operating in both official languages ...

, the

Coimbra Group The Coimbra Group (CG) is an international association of 41 universities in Europe. It was established in 1985. It works for the benefit of its members by promoting "internationalization, academic collaboration, excellence in learning and resear ...

, UNICA, the

Organisation of European Cancer Institutes The Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) is an international non-profit organization with European Economic Interest Grouping status. It was created in 1979 to promote greater cooperation among European cancer centers and institutes ...

(OECI), the

European Nuclear Education Network European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

,...

External links

University Foundation
Scientific organisations based in Belgium Foundations based in Belgium {{sci-org-stub

Goals

History

Building

See also

Other Belgian clubs

External links