The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kn ...

located in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the

Flemish government The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, ...

.
list
of all official institutes of higher education in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

is maintained by the Flemish government. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engineering Campus (in Elsene), Brussels Health Campus (in Jette), Brussels Technology Campus (in

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

) and Brussels Photonics Campus (in Gooik). The Vrije Universiteit Brussel was formed in 1970 by the splitting of the Free University of Brussels, which was founded in 1834 by the Flemish-Brussels lawyer

Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen (5 September 1796 – 8 December 1862) was a Belgian lawyer and liberal politician, known as the founder of the Free University of Brussels. He was twice chairman of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives (from 28 June ...

. The founder aimed to establish a university

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

from state and church, where

academic freedom Academic freedom is a moral and legal concept expressing the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy as well as the principles of academia, and that scholars should have freedom to teach ...

would be prevalent. This is today still reflected in the university's

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...

''Scientia vincere tenebras'', or ''Conquering darkness by science'', and in its more recent slogan ''Redelijk eigenzinnig'' , or ''Reasonably opinionated''. Accordingly, the university is pluralistic – it is open to all students on the basis of equality regardless of their ideological, political, cultural or social background – and it is managed using democratic structures, which means that all members – from students to faculty – participate in the decision-making processes.According to the statutes of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel: VUB is a strongly research-oriented institute, which is positioned among the world's Top 200 universities according to the 2021 QS World University Ranking. Its research articles are on average more cited than articles by any other Flemish university. The university is organised into 8 faculties that accomplish the three central missions of the university: education, research, and service to the community. The faculties cover a broad range of fields of knowledge including the

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, life sciences,

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at t ...

, and engineering. The university provides bachelor, master, and doctoral education to about 8,000 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students.Figures from the ''2011–2012 Yearly Report'' of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel:

History

Establishment of a university in Brussels

The history of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is closely linked with that of

itself. At the time of the declaration of independence of Belgium in 1830, two state universities existed in the cities of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

and

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far fro ...

. In Brussels, the capital of the newly established country, a university was lacking. A group of leading

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator o ...

s in the fields of arts, science, and education – amongst whom

Auguste Baron Auguste Alexis Floréal Baron (1794–1862) was a Belgian study prefect of Royal Athenaeum of Brussels and the first secretary of the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. Career Together with Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen and Adolphe Quetelet, he w ...

and the astronomer and mathematician

Adolphe Quetelet Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet FRSF or FRSE (; 22 February 1796 – 17 February 1874) was a Belgian astronomer, mathematician, statistician and sociologist who founded and directed the Brussels Observatory and was influential in intro ...

— pointed out the advantages of a university to the new capital and country. Initially, they sought for the establishment of a state university, but the Belgian government showed little enthusiasm due to the onerous financial burden of yet another state university. In 1834, the Belgian

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

decided to establish a Catholic university in

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

with the aim of regaining the influence of the Catholic Church on the academic scene in Belgium, and the Belgian government had the intent to close the university at Leuven and donate the buildings to the Catholic institution. The liberals in Belgium strongly opposed to this decision, and furthered their ideas for a university in Brussels as a counterbalance to the Catholic institution. At the same time, Auguste Baron had just become a member of the freemasonic lodge "Les Amis Philantropes", as had a large number of other intellectuals with enlightened ideas. Baron was able to convince

, the president of the lodge, to support the idea for a new university. On 24 June 1834, Verhaegen presented his plan to establish a free university. After sufficient funding was collected among advocates, the Université libre de Bruxelles was inaugurated on 20 November 1834, in the Gothic room of the city hall of Brussels. After its establishment, the Université libre de Bruxelles faced difficult times, since it did receive no subsidies or grants from the government; yearly fundraising events and tuition fees provided the only financial means. Verhaegen, who became a professor and later head of the new university, gave it a mission statement which he summarized in a speech to

King Leopold I * nl, Leopold Joris Christiaan Frederik * en, Leopold George Christian Frederick , image = NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg , caption = Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser, 1856 , reign = 21 July 1831 – , predecessor = Erasme Loui ...

: the principle of ''free inquiry'' and academic freedom uninfluenced by any political or religious

authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''T ...

Splitting of the university

In the nineteenth century, courses at the Université libre de Bruxelles were taught exclusively in French, the language of the upper class in Belgium at that time. However, with the Dutch-speaking population asking for more rights in Belgium, some courses were already taught in Dutch at the Faculty of Law as early as 1935. Nevertheless, it was not until 1963 that all faculties offered their courses in Dutch. On 1 October 1969, the university was finally split in two sister institutions: the French-speaking Université libre de Bruxelles and the Dutch-speaking Vrije Universiteit Brussel. This splitting became official by the law of 28 May 1970, of the Belgian parliament, by which the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Université libre de Bruxelles became two separate legal entities.

Organisation

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is an independent institution. The members of all its governing entities are elected by the entire academic community – including faculty staff, researchers, personnel, and students. This system guarantees the democratic process of decision-making and the independence from state and outside organisations. Nevertheless, the university receives significant funding from the Flemish government, although less than other Flemish universities. Other important funding sources are grants for research projects (mostly from Belgian and European funding agencies), scholarships of academic members, revenues from cooperation with industry, and tuition fees to a lesser extent. The main organisational structure of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is its division into faculties:See the *Faculty of Law and Criminology *Faculty of Social Sciences & Solvay Business School *Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences *Faculty of Sciences and Bio-engineering Sciences *Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy *Faculty of Arts and Philosophy *Faculty of Engineering *Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy These faculties benefit a wide

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one' ...

over how they structure their educational programmes and research efforts, although their decisions need to comply with the university's statutes and must be approved by the central administration. The

central administration Central administration is the leading or presiding body or group of people, and the highest administrative department which oversees all lower departments of an organization. Education In most cases, a school or school district will have a lead ...

is formed by the Governing Board, which is currently presided by Eddy Van Gelder. It decides the university's long-term vision and must approve all decisions made by the faculties. The Governing Board is supported by three advising bodies: the Research Council, the Education Council, and the Senate. These bodies provide advice to the Governing Board on all issues regarding research, education, and the academic excellence of faculty staff, and may also propose changes to the university's strategy. The daily management of the university is the responsibility of the Rector and three Vice-Rectors. As of 2022 the rector of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is Prof. Dr. Jan Danckaert, who succeeded Caroline Pauwels (1964-2022), who resigned in 2022 due to health reasons.See the

Education

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel offers

courses Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...

in a large variety of modern disciplines: law, economics,

, management,

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

physical sciences Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Phy ...

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, th ...

medical sciences Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

, pharmaceutical sciences,

, engineering,

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

. About 12,000 students follow one of its 128 educational programmes.According to the All programmes are taught in Dutch, but 59 are also taught in English. In agreement with the Bologna process, the university has implemented the so-called bachelor-master system. It therefore issues four types of degrees: bachelor's, master's, master after master's, and

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' l ...

degrees. Admission to the programmes is generally not restricted; anyone can subscribe to the programme of his/her choice. However, prerequisite degrees may be mandatory for advanced programmes, e.g., a bachelor's degree is required to subscribe to a master's programme, and a master's degree is required to subscribe to a master after master's or doctoral programme. An exception to this is the admission exam to the bachelor in medicine, which is required following ruling of the Flemish government. Tuition fees are low, and even decreased or eliminated for some students with less financial means. The

academic year An academic year or school year is a period of time which schools, colleges and universities use to measure a quantity of study. School holiday School holidays (also referred to as vacations, breaks, and recess) are the periods during which sch ...

is divided into two semesters, each spanning thirteen course weeks: the first semester lasts from October to January, the second semester from February to June. Students take

exams An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered ve ...

in January and June. Apart from the Christmas and Easter holidays (both lasting two weeks) that are normally used to prepare for the exams, students are free the week between both semesters and during the summer vacations from July to September. The university has implemented several

quality control Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach place ...

schemes in order to preserve the high quality of its educational programmes. Each semester, all students

evaluate Evaluation is a systematic determination and assessment of a subject's merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of standards. It can assist an organization, program, design, project or any other intervention or initiative ...

the courses they have followed. All programmes are also regularly assessed by internal panels and by external international visitation committees. Furthermore, all programmes are accredited by the Nederlands-Vlaamse Accreditatie Organisatie, an independent accreditation organisation charged with the accreditation of higher education programmes in both

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

.Accreditation details can be consulted at

Research

Notable faculty: * Diederik Aerts * Kris Deschouwer *

Paul Devroey Paul Devroey is a prominent Belgian researcher and professor specialized in human fertility. He worked more than 30 years in the university hospital of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where he directed the Center for Reproductive Medicine. Toge ...

* Mark Elchardus * Francis Heylighen * Jonathan Holslag * Dave Sinardet * Hugo Soly * Luc Steels * Jean-Paul Van Bendegem * Willy van Ryckeghem * Andre Van Steirteghem * Irina Veretennicoff * Els Witte * Lode Wyns

Basic principles

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel considers itself an open-minded and tolerant university. Its central principles are the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt ...

and in particular the principle of ''free inquiry'' for the progress of humanity. The latter includes the dismissal of any argument of authority and the right of free opinion. The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is the only Flemish university that has incorporated such principle in its statutes. The principle of free inquiry is often described by a quotation of the French

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

and philosopher

Henri Poincaré Jules Henri Poincaré ( S: stress final syllable ; 29 April 1854 – 17 July 1912) was a French mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer, and philosopher of science. He is often described as a polymath, and in mathematics as "Th ...

: This principle is also reflected in the university's

''Scientia vincere tenebras'', or ''Conquering darkness by science'', and in its seal. The seal of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel displays a beggar's wallet and joined hands on the orange-white-blue (the colours of the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The titl ...

) escutcheon in the

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

, referring to the struggle of the Protestant Geuzen and the

against the oppressive Spanish rule and the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

in the sixteenth century. Another basic principle of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel – also incorporated in the university's statutes – is that the institution must be managed according to the model of democracy. Practically, this means that all members of the academic community — faculty staff, researchers, personnel, and students – are represented in all governing bodies. In this way, the university ensures that everyone has a voice in its decision-making processes and participates in its management. This principle must also guarantee the independence of the university and the academic freedom.

Campus and facilities

''Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus''
Most of the faculties are located on the Etterbeek campus (which is actually located on the territory of the neighbouring borough of Elsene). It is the livelier of the two campuses and consists almost entirely of concrete structures, most built in the 1970s. Some are decaying rapidly but at least one, the Rectoraat designed by Renaat Braem, is heritage-listed. Activities take place in numerous auditoriums and labs. In addition, there is a modern sports centre, a football pitch encircled by a running track, and a swimming pool. For eating out, there is a restaurant with subsidies for students and staff, and the bars/cafes 't Complex, Opinio, and KultuurKaffee. The was a full-fledged concert venue during the evening/night, offering the university a cultural scene and organising free concerts and events. It was demolished to make space for the new XY construction project in 2015. Renaat Braem Rectoraat VUB

''Brussels Health Campus''
The campus in Jette is also a fully-fledged campus. The University Hospital () is in the vicinity. All courses and research in the

(medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, the biomedical and paramedical sciences) are located here. ''Brussels Technology Campus''
The campus Kaai in

was established in 2013 and shared with the Erasmushogeschool Brussel. It houses the Industrial Engineering section of the Faculty of Engineering. Among extensive industrial laboratory facilities, the Brussels fablab has grown to the centre of activity on the campus in recent years. ''Brussels Photonics Campus'' in Gooik.

Faculties

*Languages and Humanities *Social Sciences and Solvay Business School *Engineering *Medicine and Pharmacy *Psychology and Educational Sciences *Sciences and Biomedical Sciences *Law and Criminology *Physical Education and Physiotherapy

Institutional cooperation

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel cooperates with several institutions of higher education. They are: * Brussels Chamber of Commerce * Erasmushogeschool Brussel (together with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel they make up the Brussels University Association) * UCLouvain Higher Institute for Re-adaptation Sciences *

Top Industrial Managers for Europe Top International Managers in Engineering (T.I.M.E.), formerly Top Industrial Managers for Europe, is a network of fifty-seven engineering schools, faculties and technical universities. The oldest European network of engineering schools in its f ...

* UCOS, the University Development Cooperation Centre * UNICA, the Institutional Network of the UNIversities from the CApitals of Europe * Université libre de Bruxelles *

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

(Brussels School of International Studies) * Vesalius College, an anglophone institution sharing the VUB campus * XIOS Hogeschool Limburg and Provinciale Hogeschool Limburg * Royal Military Academy * Worldwide, on the international level the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has concluded institutional collaboration agreements with 38 universities all over the world, and student exchange agreements with 160 universities.

Academic Profiles

The university is included in major world university rankings such as

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarel ...

QS World University Rankings ''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for th ...

and

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong Universi ...

Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology

The Heart Rhythm Management Centre started its activities at the University Hospital UZ Brussel during spring 2007. The clinical activities soon rocketed to the #1 position in Belgium, and has been paralleled by important scientific production. Emerging fields of activity are multidisciplinary (clinical) and translational (research) programs in collaboration with the departments of Genetics, Pediatrics, Neonatology, Geriatrics, Neurology, as well as a fundamental research program in Physiology. This Postgraduate course in Cardiac Electrophysiology and Pacing – is offered within the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy – after a specialization in Cardiology, and is supported by the Institute for Postgraduate Training of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (iPAVUB). The core faculty for the Postgraduate program includes Prof. Dr. Pedro Brugada, who directs the EP fellowship training and the Cardiovascular Department, Prof. Dr. Carlo de Asmundis, Director of the Heart rhythm Management Centre, Prof. Dr. Gian Battista Chierchia, Director of Atrial Fibrillation Program, Prof. Dr. Marc La Meir and Prof. Dr. Francis Wellens, Director of Cardiac Surgery Service. Additional faculty who participate in the program includes: Prof. Dr. Bonduelle Mary-Louise and Prof. Dr. Ramon Brugada, who trains fellows in cardiac genetics, Prof. Dr. Joel Smets, University of Nijmegen, Nederland, who trains fellows in electrocardiography and basic electrophysiology.

Student life

The BSG is the umbrella organisation for all other student organizations and acts as the defender of the moral interests of the students. Together with their French-speaking counterparts ACE at the ULB, they organise the annual

St V Saint V is the commonly used name for a holiday for freethinking university students in Brussels, Belgium, celebrating the founding of the Free University of Brussels. The day's long form (french: Saint-Verhaegen, nl, Sint-Verhaegen) differs i ...

memorial. These are some of the student organizations at the VUB: *Studiekring vrij onderzoek: a collective of students from various faculties, promoting free inquiry through the organisation of debates, lectures and more *Letteren-en Wijsbegeertekring (LWK): for students studying at the Arts and Philosophy faculty *Perskring (Pers): for students studying Communication Sciences *Geneeskundige Kring (GK) and Farmaceutische Kring (FK): for students studying at the Medicine and Pharmacy faculty *Polytechnische Kring (PK) for students studying at the Engineering faculty *Psycho-Ped'Agogische Kring (PPK): for students studying at the Psychology and Educational Sciences faculty *Kring der Politieke Economische en Sociale Wetenschappen (KEPS) and Solvay ($); for students studying at the Economics and Political faculty *: for students studying at the faculty of Sciences and Bio-engineering Sciences *Mens Sana in Corpore Sano (Mesacosa or MC): for students studying at the Physical Education and Physiotherapy faculty *Vlaams Rechtsgenootschap (VRG): for students studying at the Law and Criminology faculty *Vrije Universiteit Brussel Model United Nations (VUBMUN): for all students of the VUB. Members of these organizations ''(except VUBMUN)'' wear a '' klak'' (Dutch) or ''penne'' (French). Furthermore, the VUB has student organizations for students with a specific regional background. They are: Antverpia (

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

), Westland ( Westhoek), WUK (

West Flanders West Flanders ( nl, West-Vlaanderen ; vls, West Vloandern; french: (Province de) Flandre-Occidentale ; german: Westflandern ) is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the No ...

), KBS (

and

Flemish Brabant Flemish Brabant ( nl, Vlaams-Brabant ; french: Brabant flamand ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hain ...

), Campina ( Campine), Kinneke Baba (

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

), Limburgia ( Limburg), VSKM (

) and Hesbania ( Haspengouw). VUB students also make up for the largest part of the secretive student club Boves Luci based in Jette. There are also several organizations for specific majors within a faculty, such as Infogroep (computer science), Biotecho (bio-engineering), bru:tecture (previously Pantheon) (architecture) and Promeco, Inisol and Business Club (economics). Last but not least there are organizations centered around a common interest, such as the Society of Weird And Mad People (SWAMP, for all kinds of games), BierKultuur (based on the rich beer culture in Belgium) and ZWK (on emancipation of women), Liberaal Vlaams Studentenverbond (LVSV, students interested in classic liberalism).

Notable alumni

Scientists and academics

Antoon Van den Braembussche Antoon A.A. Van den Braembussche (born 9 July 1946 in Eeklo) is a Flemish Philosopher of Culture, Emeritus Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and a poet. He started as a poet, became a professor in the philosophy of history, and late ...

(1946-). * Patrick Baert (1961–) * Willy Gepts (1922–1991) * Leo Apostel (1925–1995) * Clement Hiel (1952–) *

Christine Van Den Wyngaert Christine, Baroness Van den Wyngaert (born 2 April 1952) is a Belgian jurist and judge. She served as international and comparative criminal law expert from 2009 to 2018 as a judge on the International Criminal Court. She served in the Trial Div ...

(1952–), former Judge of

the International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individu ...

. * Jean Bourgain (1954–2018) *

Ingrid Daubechies Baroness Ingrid Daubechies ( ; ; born 17 August 1954) is a Belgian physicist and mathematician. She is best known for her work with wavelets in image compression. Daubechies is recognized for her study of the mathematical methods that enhance ...

(1954–), Belgian physicist and mathematician and Professor at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...

. * Peter Rousseeuw (1956-), Belgian statistician and professor at KU Leuven. * Sophie de Schaepdrijver (1961–) * Pattie Maes (1961-), Professor of Media Technology at Media Lab MIT * Sathyabhama Das Biju (1963-), Indian amphibian biologist and wildlife conservationist. * Frank Pattyn (1966-), Belgian glaciologist and professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles. * Bob Coecke (1968-), Belgian theoretical physicist and logician and professor of Quantum Foundations, Logics and Structures at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. * Kris Deschouwer * Raymond Hamers, Discoverer of 'single-chain antibodies' or nanobodies. *

Steven Laureys Steven Laureys (born 24 December 1968 in Leuven) is a Belgian neurologist. He is principally known as a clinician and researcher in the field of neurology of consciousness. Career Prof. Laureys graduated as a Medical Doctor from the Vrije Uni ...

* Wim Leemans * Helena Van Swygenhoven * Els Witte * Guido Geerts * Johan Schoukens * Ram Lakhan Ray (1968-) * Kieran Moore,

Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario The Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who is supposed to be responsible for the public health of Ontario residents. The office has existed since prior to 1990. List of Incumb ...

Canada.

Artists

André Delvaux André Albert Auguste Delvaux (; 21 March 1926 – 4 October 2002) was a Belgian film director. He co-founded the film school INSAS in 1962 and is regarded as the founder of the Belgian national cinema. Adapting works by writers such as Johan ...

(1926–2002), Belgian film director. *

Jef Geeraerts Jozef Adriaan Anna Geeraerts (23 February 1930 – 11 May 2015), better known as Jef Geeraerts, was a Belgian writer. Geeraerts was born in Antwerp. After his studies in political and administrative sciences at the Colonial University of Belgiu ...

(1930–), Belgian writer. *

Claude Coppens Claude Coppens (born 23 December 1936, Schaerbeek, commune of Brussels) is a Belgian pianist and composer. Coppens studied at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels with Marcel Maas and in Paris with Marguerite Long. He is a Laureate of the Marg ...

(1936-), Belgian pianist and composer. * Erik Pevernagie (1939), Belgian painter and writer. * Marcel Vanthilt (1957-), Belgian singer and television presenter. * Fabienne Demal (

Axelle Red Fabienne Demal (born 15 February 1968), better known by her stage name Axelle Red, is a Belgian singer-songwriter. She has released 11 albums, including '' Sans plus attendre'', '' À Tâtons'', '' Toujours Moi'' and '' Jardin Secret''; she is b ...

) (1968–), Belgian singer and songwriter. *

Stéphane Ginsburgh Stéphane Ginsburgh (born 27 November 1969) is a Belgian pianist of Austrian origin. He is a piano professor at the Geneva University of Music. Biography Ginsburgh was born in Brussels. After graduating from the Royal Music Conservatories of ...

(1969-), Belgian pianist.

Businesspeople

* Pieter De Leenheer *

Tony Mary Tony Mary (born 1950) is a Belgian businessman. Education He received a master's degree in economics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 1973. Career He started his career at IBM, where he became Country General Manager for IBM Belgium and Lu ...

(1950–) *Felix Van de Maele

Politicians

* Marco Formentini (1930-2021), Italian Politician & former mayor of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

. * Willy Claes (1938–), former Minister of Foreign Affair and former Secretary General of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

. *

Louis Tobback Louis Marie Joseph Tobback (born 3 May 1938) is a Belgian politician. Tobback is a Flemish social democrat and member of the political party SP.A. He was the mayor of Leuven (1995–2018) He graduated in Romance philology at the Vrije Universit ...

(1938–), former mayor of

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

and former Minister of the Interior - Belgium. *

Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck Anne-Marie Cécile J. Neyts-Uyttebroeck (; born 17 June 1944) is a Belgian politician and was a Member of the European Parliament for Flanders with the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats, member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Eu ...

(1944-) * Norbert De Batselier (1947–), *

Marc Verwilghen Marc Ernest Elisabeth Robert Juliette Verwilghen, born 21 September 1952 in Dendermonde, is a Belgian politician. Verwilghen studied law at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the University of Ghent and is the holder of an honorary doctorate fr ...

(1952-), former Minister of Justice - Belgium. * Karel De Gucht (1954–), former Minister of Foreign Affair - Belgium. *

Christian Leysen Christian Leysen (born 1954) is a Belgian businessman, and Chairman of the International Advisory board of Antwerp Management School, who developed several Belgian ventures to large international companies. Biography Born in Wilrijk as son of ...

(1954–) * Patrick Dewael (1955–), former Minister of the interior - Belgium. * Frank Vanhecke (1959–) *

Bert Anciaux Bert Jozef Herman Vic Anciaux (born 11 September 1959) is a Belgian politician and Vooruit faction leader in the Belgian Senate. He was one of the founders of Spirit (later known as the Flemish Progressives, then the Social Liberal Party, or S ...

(1959–) * Gunther Sleeuwagen (1958–) *

Jan Jambon Jan Jambon (born 26 April 1960 in Genk) is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) who has been serving as Minister-President of Flanders since 2019. He replaced Kris Peeters as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representative ...

(1960–) * Maggie De Block (1962–), former Minister of Health - Belgium. * Hans Bonte (1962-) *

Florika Fink-Hooijer Florika Fink-Hooijer is a European civil servant at the European Commission. She leads the Directorate General for the Environment, which holds large responsibilities under the European Green Deal. She joined the European Commission in 1990 an ...

(1962-) * Zoran Milanović (1966–),

President of Croatia The president of Croatia, officially the President of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Predsjednik Republike Hrvatske), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within t ...

. * Bruno Tobback (1969-) *

Wouter Beke Wouter Beke (born 9 August 1974) is a Belgian politician and a member of the CD&V. He was reelected as a member of the Belgian Senate in 2007. In 2014 he became a member of the Belgian Federal House of Representatives and was reelected in 2019. ...

(1974-) *

Alexander De Croo Alexander De Croo (born 3 November 1975) is a Belgian politician and businessman who has served as the prime minister of Belgium since October 2020. De Croo was born in Vilvoorde, Flemish Brabant, and studied business engineering at the Vrije ...

(1975–), Prime Minister of Belgium * Tinne Van der Straeten (1978-), Minister of Energy - Belgium. *

Zuhal Demir Zuhal Demir (born 2 March 1980 in Genk) is a Belgian lawyer and politician affiliated to the N-VA. Demir was elected as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2010. She is currently the Flemish minister for Justice and Enforcement ...

(1980-) * Nadia Sminate (1981-) * Sammy Mahdi (1988-)

Athletes

* Sébastien Godefroid (1971–), Olympic sailor. * Emma Meesseman, Belgian professional basketball player. * Dirk Van Tichelt, Olympic judoka. *

Jürgen Roelandts Jürgen Roelandts (born 2 July 1985) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2020, for the , and squads. He now works as a directeur sportif for his final professional team, . Career In 20 ...

, Belgian professional road bicycle racer. *

Kathleen Smet Kathleen Smet (born 19 January 1970, in Beveren) is an athlete from Belgium who competes in triathlon, becoming European champion in 2000 and 2002. She competes in Olympic and Long Distance Triathlons. Smet competed at the first Olympic triathl ...

, Olympic triathlon.

Journalists

* Yves Desmet * Jean Mentens * Danira Boukhriss, Flemish television presenter and newscaster. * Tim Trachet, Belgian writer, publicist and journalist.

Honorary doctorates

Notable recipients of honorary doctorates (doctor ''honoris causa'') at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel include: *

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...

Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA ( self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). T ...

* Hans Blix *

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...

* Dario Fo,

Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi (''née'' Maino; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest serving president of the Indian National Congress, a social democratic political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independen ...

* Natan Ramet *

Richard Stallman Richard Matthew Stallman (; born March 16, 1953), also known by his initials, rms, is an American free software movement activist and programmer. He campaigns for software to be distributed in such a manner that its users have the freedom to ...

* Johann Olav Koss * Herman van Veen *

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ...

* Kim Clijsters * Rom Harré *

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

Notes and references

External links

Official website
of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel *
Official website
of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Find an officially recognised programme of this institution in the Higher Education Register

V.Ir.Br. – VUB Engineering Alumni Association

{{Coord, 50.82242, N, 4.39573, E, source:placeopedia, display=title Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Research institutes in Belgium Education in Brussels Educational institutions established in 1970 Business schools in Belgium Engineering universities and colleges in Belgium English as a global language Information schools 1970 establishments in Belgium