Science and technology in Flanders


Science and technology in Flanders, being the Flemish Community and more specifically the northern region of Belgium, is well developed with the presence of several universities and research institutes. These are strongly spread over all Flemish cities, from Kortrijk and Bruges in the Western side, over Ghent as a major university center alongside Antwerp, Brussels and Leuven 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:
As a result of an international treaty between the Netherlands and Flanders, a co-operation between the Universiteit Hasselt and the Maastricht University is recognised as the
According to the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities and the THES - QS World University Rankings, four Flemish universities 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
Ghent University Association: University Colleges associated with Ghent University
University Association Brussels: University Colleges associated with Vrije Universiteit Brussel
KU Leuven Association: University Colleges associated with Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Limburg University Association: University Colleges associated with Hasselt University
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:
The following institutions provide various forms of public funding for research and development:
is home to several science and technology institutes.
  • Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre
  • Flanders District of Creativity
  • Flanders DRIVE
  • Flanders Institute for Logistics
  • Flanders' Mechatronics Technology Centre
  • Flanders Multimedia Valley
  • Flemish Innovation Center for Graphic Communication
  • Interdisciplinary institute for BroadBand Technology
  • Flanders Interuniversity Institute of Biotechnology
  • Flemish Institute for Technological Research
  • 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