[1]Principia Cybernetica Web

                            The Free University of Brussels

   In fact, there are two "Free Universities" in [2]Brussels, respectively the
   French-speaking [externallink.GIF] [3]Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the
   Dutch-speaking [externallink.GIF] [4]Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). This page
   provides a short overview of the combined "Free University", in the context of
   the [5]Principia Cybernetica Web.
     ____________________________________________________________________________

   For more detailed information, check the official [externallink.GIF] [6]VUB and
   [externallink.GIF] [7]ULB home pages.

                          [externallink.GIF] [8][ulblogo.gif]

                          [externallink.GIF] [9][logovub.gif]

   The original Free University of Brussels was founded in 1834, as a reaction
   against the catholic domination in higher education (see the [externallink.GIF]
   [10]history of the ULB). Its name refers to the complete [externallink.GIF]
   [11]freedom of inquiry which is the founding principle of the university, and to
   the freedom of domination by either state or religious authorities. Like almost
   every institution in the bilingual [12]Belgium, the Brussels university has been
   split up into a French and a Dutch-speaking part. This led to the creation of VUB
   as a separate institution in 1969 (see the [externallink.GIF] [13]history of the
   VUB, and [externallink.GIF] [14]VUB in perspective).

   Though ULB and VUB are now practically and legally independent, they maintain
   good contacts and continue to share their original philosophy which is liberal
   and progressive, based on the principles of free thinking and humanism. At
   present, VUB has about 9000 students, ULB about 18000. Although registration fees
   for university studies in Belgium are already exceptionally low compared to most
   countries, the Free Universities have always done additional efforts to keep the
   costs of studying minimal, and to provide extensive social services and financial
   support, so that students from even the poorest backgrounds would be able to get
   a degree without discrimination.

   Although in the social sense, VUB/ULB can certainly not be described as elitist,
   many of their researchers and research departments belong to the international
   elite. The ULB has many distinguished alumni, including Jules Bordet, Nobel Prize
   for Medicine in 1919, [externallink.GIF] [15]Albert Claude, Nobel Prize for
   Medicine in 1974, [16]Ilya Prigogine, Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1977, and
   [externallink.GIF] [17]Pierre Deligne, [externallink.GIF] [18]Fields Medal (the
   equivalent of the Nobel prize for Mathematics) in 1978. Especially Ilya
   Prigogine, one of the founders of the "Brussels School" in thermodynamics, has
   gotten world-wide fame for his discovery of dissipative structures, and the books
   ("Order out of Chaos", "From Being to Becoming", etc.) he has written, partly in
   collaboration with the ULB philosopher Isabelle Stengers. Although VUB is a
   smaller university with a much shorter history, it too has already produced
   several internationally famous scientists, including the philosopher Leo Apostel,
   who started his career at ULB under his equally well-known teacher [19]Chaim
   Perelman, but became full professor at VUB, Jean [externallink.GIF] [20]Bourgain,
   [externallink.GIF] [21]Fields Medal in mathematics in 1994, [externallink.GIF]
   [22]Ingrid Daubechies (presently at Princeton), founder of the mathematical
   theory of wavelets, and [externallink.GIF] [23]Pattie Maes (now at MIT), a
   leading researcher in intelligent software agents.

   For people interested in the [24]cybernetics and systems domain, the most
   well-known research laboratories at the ULB may well be the [externallink.GIF]
   [25]Center for Non-Linear Phenomena and Complex Systems, founded by Prigogine,
   but now directed by G. Nicolis, and [externallink.GIF] [26]IRIDIA, the
   interdisciplinary AI institute, directed by Philippe Smets. The most interesting
   centers at the VUB may well be the [externallink.GIF] [27]AI-lab, headed by Luc
   Steels, and the transdisciplinary [28]Center "Leo Apostel". There is more
   detailed info available on other departments and persons working
   [externallink.GIF] [29]at the VUB and at the ULB.

   ULB and VUB share their [externallink.GIF] [30]Computing Center (BFUCC), which
   provides several computing and network services. Moreover, there are many
   departmental servers.

   Apart from its [externallink.GIF] [31]academic hospital, the VUB is concentrated
   on one campus, [externallink.GIF] [32]"Oefenplein" at the Boulevard du Triomphe
   in the South-East of Brussels. The ULB has two main campuses, [externallink.GIF]
   [33]"Plaine" which borders the VUB campus "Oefenplein", and which houses the
   scientific faculties, and [externallink.GIF] [34]"Solbosch", about 10 min.
   walking from there at the Avenue Adolphe Buyl, which houses among others the
   social and human sciences, and engineering. "Plaine" and "Oefenplein" together
   form a horseshoe-shaped region surrounded by large roads, with the ULB section in
   the rounded (South-East) part of the horseshoe (see the map in "
   [externallink.GIF] [35]how to reach the VUB").

   In 1987, the VUB founded an English-language division, [externallink.GIF]
   [36]Vesalius College, in association with Boston University. Vesalius College
   offers a US-style liberal arts education and benefits from the increasing
   international population in the larger Brussels area. In addition, both ULB and
   VUB offer numerous postgraduates (MSc, MBA, PhD, ...) in English.
     ____________________________________________________________________________

   [37]Copyright© 2000 Principia Cybernetica - [38]Referencing this page

   Author
   F. [39]Heylighen,

   Date
   Feb 18, 2000 (modified)
   June 1991 (created)

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                                    [46]Discussion
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     * [47]please help me sir, Confirmation by ramesh kumar
     * [48]please help me sir, Confirmation by ramesh kumar
     * [49]addmissian university, Confirmation by Ab.Hamid Ayubzai

                                  [50]Add comment...

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References

   1. LYNXIMGMAP:http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/VUBULB.html#PCP-header
   2. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/BRUSSEL.html
   3. http://www.ulb.ac.be/
   4. http://www.vub.ac.be/
   5. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/DEFAULT.html
   6. http://www.vub.ac.be/
   7. http://www.ulb.ac.be/
   8. http://www.ulb.ac.be/
   9. http://www.vub.ac.be/
  10. http://www.ulb.ac.be/ulb/docs/ulb_prestige1.html
  11. http://www.vub.ac.be/english/histen.htm
  12. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/BELGCUL.html
  13. http://dinf.vub.ac.be/vub/E/history.html
  14. http://www.vub.ac.be/english/histen.html
  15. http://www.rockefeller.edu/rucal/journey/journey.html
  16. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/CSTHINK.html#Prigogine
  17. http://elib.zib-berlin.de/imu.fields.78
  18. http://elib.zib-berlin.de/0x82496c0b_0x0000af73
  19. http://www.lcc.gatech.edu/gallery/rhetoric/figures/perelman.html
  20. http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Bourgain.html
  21. http://elib.zib-berlin.de/0x82496c0b_0x000495ce.ps
  22. http://www.princeton.edu/~icd/
  23. http://pattie.www.media.mit.edu/people/pattie/
  24. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/CYBSYSTH.html
  25. http://www.ulb.ac.be/cenoliw3/
  26. http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/
  27. http://arti9.vub.ac.be/
  28. http://www.vub.ac.be/CLEA/
  29. http://dinf.vub.ac.be/vub/vub3D.html
  30. http://www.vub.ac.be/BFUCC/BFUCC-home.html
  31. http://www.az.vub.ac.be/l
  32. http://dinf.vub.ac.be/vub/3Detterbeek.html
  33. http://www.ulb.ac.be//sciences/surfcat/campus_p.html
  34. http://www.ulb.ac.be//ulb/doc_plans/campus_solbosch_fr.html
  35. http://dinf.vub.ac.be/vub/where/findvub.html
  36. http://www.vub.ac.be/VECO/VECO-intro.html
  37. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/COPYR.html
  38. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/REFERPCP.html
  39. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
  40. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/DEFAULT.html
  41. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/NAVIG.html
  42. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/NODSTAT.html
  43. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/BRUSSEL.html
  44. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/BRUSSEL.html
  45. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/BELGCUL.html
  46. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MAKANNOT.html
  47. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Annotations/VUBULB.0.html
  48. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Annotations/VUBULB.1.html
  49. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Annotations/To.html
  50. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/hypercard.acgi$annotform?

[USEMAP]
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/VUBULB.html#PCP-header
   1. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/DEFAULT.html
   2. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HOWWEB.html
   3. http://pcp.lanl.gov/VUBULB.html
   4. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/VUBULB.html
   5. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SERVER.html
   6. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/hypercard.acgi$randomlink?searchstring=.html
   7. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/RECENT.html
   8. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/TOC.html#VUBULB
   9. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SEARCH.html