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[anon_expat]

Thoughts on the research environment? Student quality? Support? Reputation?  I see that it shot up into the Times 200 a few years ago, only to disappear again, but I am not sure what would cause such a rapid change in either direction.

Cheers!

[sandgrounder]

The Francophone Universite libre de Bruxelles seems to have a better research reputation than the Flemish speaking equivalent VUB - might it have been ULB in the Times list as it usually features somewhere...?
VUB is OK - staggeringly ugly campus; support, students etc vary a lot depending on the subject but generally it's not the first choice of university for Flemish speakers (Leuven, Ghent and Antwerp are seen as better). However, Flemish schools are excellent so students are generally very well prepared for university work. Belgian universities as a whole are pretty nepotistic and rarely hire outsiders in humanities / sovial sciences - I believe it's considerably better in the sciences but you have to be prepared to play by Belgian rules, some of which can work against future international mobility. There's some sort of American college attached to VUB that is regarded as a bit academically dodgy by the locals (but then again that's the general European opinion on the academic quality of the various colleges accredited in the US scattered around Europe).
Brussels is a great city to live in, if that enters into the equation, but I wouldn't give up a decent job elsewhere for VUB myself unless family matters were involved.

[donstefano]

I have my roots in one of VUB's competitors, so my story may not be entirely neutral...

Overall, Belgian universities are relatively good to excellent (quite many of them rank quite high in the rankings despite the small size of the country and the non-selective and relatively non-international student intake). Students are well-prepared because the country has an excellent secondary school system. VUB has some very strong pockets of excellence, but also very average departments. Belgian universities are quite decentralised to the faculties, so it is easier to say smth about faculties than about the university as a whole.  As a university, I rate Leuven, Louvain and Ghent higher, but this may not be the case for each individual department. Because the number of faculty members is relatively low as compared to other research positions, a department's reputation often depends for years on the reputation of just a handful of people.
While most universities now become more open and international, and recruitment is becoming more and more merit based, several departments (not all!) in VUB have serious problems with nepotism in hiring, as sandgrounder correctly mentions. VUB was founded as the liberal (as in: classic liberalism) response to the catholics, and the liberal party and freemasons are still strong. In some fields close to mine I have seen some very dirty politics and purely political professorial appointments.

Brussels as a city: you love it or you hate it. I quite like it, and housing is relatively affordable.

Changes in the rankings: apart from the top of the Times 200, all other universities are quite close, and minor changes in indicators may cause huge leaps in the ranking.

[anon_expat]

Thank you for the feedback! I know more researchers at Leuven and Louvain, however it sounds like VUB is trying to up its research profile which is interesting.  Plus I also think Brussels is a nice city!

[euro_trash]

The Francophone Universite libre de Bruxelles seems to have a better research reputation than the Flemish speaking equivalent VUB

Says who?

[genevoise]

Me, for one.

[sandgrounder]

While league tables aren't everything, I can't think of any where VUB is above ULB. Certainly ULB is comfortably ahead in those Shanghai University world rankings and the THES/QA ones. Obviously there are subjects where VUB is probably better, but overall, even Flemish speakers seem to say ULB has a better reputation than VUB.

[euro_trash]

Me, for one.

Well, you must obviously be a French speaker.   

[qrypt]

Me, for one.

Well, you must obviously be a French speaker.   

Ooh, a Belgian inter-lingual bust-up.  Good thing these Belgian conflicts don't have a recent history of violence.

[genevoise]

Me, for one.

Well, you must obviously be a French speaker.   

Gee. Did you figure that out all by yourself?

[euro_trash]

Me, for one.

Well, you must obviously be a French speaker.   

Gee. Did you figure that out all by yourself?

I can smell it from here.

[dellaroux]

Cut it out, guys, or I'll send my cousin from Liege out after you...

[donstefano]

Here a Belgian Dutch speaker - I would also generally rate ULB higher than VUB.

But then, most of the big universities are relatively OK. Some departments remain crappy though, but I think the overall level of Belgian universities is pretty good.

[genevoise]

Cut it out, guys, or I'll send my cousin from Liege out after you...

Oh, yeah? Well, I'll bet my cat could take your cousin... ;)

[dellaroux]

Yeah? How big is your cat?

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