UNIVERSITE LIBRE DE BRUXELLES - ULB
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The history of the Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) is closely linked with that of Belgium itself. When the nine provinces that broke away from the Kingdom of the Netherlands formed the Belgian State in 1830, there were three state universities in the country: Ghent, Liege and Leuven. Even though Brussels had been promoted to the rank of capital, it still had no university. For this reason, in 1831 a group of leading Brussels figures in the fields of the arts, science and education set themselves the objective of creating a university for the city. They had the choice between a state university and, failing that, a private institution, since the Belgian Constitution, the most liberal in Europe, allowed for this possibility.Finding the financial burden of the three existing universities too onerous, the Belgian government showed little enthusiasm for yet another state university. However, when in 1834 the episcopate decided to found the Catholic University at Mechelen, things began to happen very quickly. The liberal professions and Freemasons, who were promoting the Brussels university project, stepped up their efforts, with the result that the Free University of Belgium, as it was originally known, inaugurated its first academic year on 20 November 1834. When it was inaugurated in 1834, the ULB had 96 students, whereas it now has over 18,000. The number of faculties and schools also increased in response to the emergence of new disciplines and an ever greater number of specialities. Today the ULB provides teaching in all the main disciplines. It runs several teaching hospitals and administers research-oriented science parks. The ULB is a university of international standing which has carved out a leading place for itself in the international academic community during its 160 years of existence. It today enjoys a place as one of the leading French-speaking universities in the world. |
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