Science and technology in Flanders, being the Flemish Community and more specifically the northern region of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

(

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

), is well developed with the presence of several

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and research institutes. These are strongly spread over all Flemish cities, from

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

and Bruges in the Western side, over

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

as a major university center alongside

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

to Hasselt and Diepenbeek in the Eastern side.

Institutes of higher education in the Flemish community

Universities

Six Flemish universities issue academic bachelor, master and doctoral degrees on a broad range of disciplines: * University of Antwerp ('UA'),

* Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel ('HUB'),

(former Katholieke Universiteit Brussel) * Vrije Universiteit Brussel, ('VUB')

Ghent University Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

('UGent'),

* Hasselt University, Hasselt *

KU Leuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its mai ...

and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Campus Kortrijk,

As a result of an international treaty between the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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 culture, la ...

, a co-operation between the Universiteit Hasselt (Flanders) and the Maastricht University (the Netherlands) is recognised as the * Transnational University Limburg, Hasselt According to the

Webometrics Ranking of World Universities The Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, also known as Ranking Web of Universities, is a ranking system for the world's universities based on a composite indicator that takes into account both the volume of the Web content (number of web page ...

and the THES - QS World University Rankings,THES - QS World University Rankings 2007
QS Education Trust. Retrieved on January 16, 2007 four Flemish universities (Universiteit Antwerpen, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Universiteit Gent and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) are among the top-150 universities in Europe and top-300 universities worldwide.

University colleges

All recognised Flemish university colleges are associated with a Flemish university. The following colleges, which issue professional bachelor, academic bachelor's and master's degrees, are recognised by the Flemish government: Antwerp University Association: University Colleges associated with the University of Antwerp * Artesis Hogeschool Antwerpen (

, Merksem, Lier,

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen 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 context. T ...

, Turnhout), public * Hogere Zeevaartschool Antwerpen (Antwerp), public * Karel de Grote-Hogeschool (Antwerp), catholic * Plantijn Hogeschool (Antwerpen, Boom), public Ghent University Association: University Colleges associated with

* Arteveldehogeschool (

), catholic * Hogeschool Gent (Ghent, Aalst, Melle), public * Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen ( Bruges,

), public University Association Brussels: University Colleges associated with Vrije Universiteit Brussel * Erasmushogeschool Brussel (

), public KU Leuven Association: University Colleges associated with

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its main camp ...

* Groep T Hogeschool (

), catholic * Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (Brussels), catholic * Hogeschool Sint-Lukas Brussel (Brussels), catholic * Hogeschool voor Kunsten en Architectuur (Brussels, Ghent, Leuven,

Genk Genk () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality comprises only the town of Genk itself. It ...

), catholic * Katholieke Hogeschool Brugge-Oostende (Bruges,

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

), catholic *

Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen The Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen (KH Kempen, KHK) was a university college, university-college where students could obtain a professional bachelor's degree (3 year education) in several domains. There was also the opportunity to study for a master's ...

(

Geel Geel () is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which acquired city status in the 1980s. It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns: Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Furthe ...

, Lier, Turnhout, Vorselaar), catholic * Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven (Leuven, Diest), catholic * Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg ( Diepenbeek, Hasselt, Genk), catholic * Katholieke Hogeschool Mechelen (Mechelen), catholic * Katholieke Hogeschool Sint-Lieven (Ghent, Aalst,

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; , ) is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sin ...

), catholic * Katholieke Hogeschool Zuid-West-Vlaanderen, (Kortrijk,

Roeselare Roeselare (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The name of the city is derived from two ...

Tielt Tielt (; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Tielt proper and the villages of Aarsele, Kanegem, and Schuiferskapelle. History Some traces of Gallo-Roman occupation hav ...

, Torhout), catholic * Lessius Hogeschool (Antwerp, Sint-Katelijne-Waver), catholic Limburg University Association: University Colleges associated with Hasselt University * Provinciale Hogeschool Limburg (Hasselt, Diepenbeek), public * XIOS Hogeschool Limburg (Diepenbeek, Hasselt), public

Registered institutes of higher education

Finally, the Flemish government has recognised a number of "registered" institutes of higher education, which mostly issue specialised degrees or provide education mainly in a foreign language: * College of Europe ( Bruges): postgraduate degree in European studies * Continental Theological Seminary ( Sint-Pieters-Leeuw) * Evangelical Theological Faculty (

): BA, MA and PhD studies on theology * Brussels Faculty for Protestant Theology (

): BA, MA and PhD studies on theology * Flanders Business School (

) * Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine (Antwerp), postgraduate degrees taught in French and English * Vesalius College (Brussels) * Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School (

): MBA and other management degrees taught in English and Dutch.

Technology funding

The following institutions provide various forms of public funding for research and development: * Institute for the promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT) * Flemish Council for Science Policy (VRWB)

Technology institutes

is home to several science and technology institutes. * Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) * Flanders District of Creativity (Flanders DC) * Flanders DRIVE * Flanders Institute for Logistics (VIL) * Flanders' Mechatronics Technology Centre (FMTC) *Flanders Multimedia Valley * Flemish Innovation Center for Graphic Communication * Interdisciplinary institute for BroadBand Technology (IBBT) * Flanders Interuniversity Institute of Biotechnology (VIB) *Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) * Technopolis * Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics * Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde

Science parks

Several science parks associated with the universities are spread over Flanders: * Arenberg Research-Park * Greenbridge science park * Haasrode Research-Park *Innotek *Limburg Science Park *Waterfront Researchpark * Zwijnaarde science park

References

External links

Flemish Science Policy Council

Presentation of R&D policies in Belgium (European Commission website, ERAWATCH)

Presentation of innovation policies in Belgium (European Commission website, ProInno TrendChart for Innovation)

Flanders' Mechatronics Technology Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Science And Technology In Flanders Flanders Science and technology in Belgium Economy of Belgium