Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is a Dutch-speaking university situated in Brussels, Belgium. The university title means "Free University of Brussels". However, there is another Free University of Brussels, namely, the French-speaking Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Partly because of this, the school officially does not translate its name.
This is an excerpt from the VUB website:
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel covers two parkland campusses in the Brussels Capital Region (the main campus in Etterbeek & a medical campus in Jette) and provides a wide range of teaching: 33 first-degree programmes, 42 programmes leading to a second degree and 58 postgraduate specialisations, many of which are taught in English. Since its separation from the French-speaking Université Libre de Bruxelles in 1970, the VUB has grown to become a medium-sized Dutch-speaking university, with over 9,000 students and some 2,450 members of staff (including 600 faculty teaching staff and 800 research workers), occupying a major position in Brussels, in Flanders and beyond.
As well as the students of the Dutch-speaking VUB, the university also includes almost 400 students attending its undergraduate Vesalius College, where classes are taught in English and degrees are accredited by the British Open University. There are also more than 5,000 students attending evening classes in languages and computer science run by the Brussels Centre for Adult Education (CVO) on the main Etterbeek campus.
The university's social impact in the region is also strengthened by its well known university hospital with more than 2,700 members of staff.
The VUB intends to make its presence felt even more by consciously working to transcend existing barriers and contradictions so as to constitute an important Brussels hub for research and information. Part of this project involves working closer together with the Erasmus Institute of Higher Education (Erasmushogeschool Brussel), with the French-speaking Université Libre de Bruxelles and with the universities of the European capitals through the UNICA network. In its research too, the VUB is intensifying its collaboration with European and other international partners.
