The Vrije Universiteit Brussel and its researchers have achieved great things: the VUB is now among the top 20 universities for Horizon Europe funding. KU Leuven and UGent are also in the top 20. Rector Jan Danckaert calls the achievements of Belgian universities in gaining EU funding very special. “Could there be any better proof of our excellence in research?”
Horizon Europe is the European Commission’s ambitious research and innovation programme for the period 2021-2027, and has a total budget of €95.5 billion. The main goals of the programme are to address climate change, help achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals and promote EU competitiveness and growth. It encourages cooperation across borders and strengthens the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting and implementing EU policies while addressing global challenges. It creates jobs, engages the EU’s entire talent pool, stimulates economic growth, promotes industrial competitiveness and optimises the impact of investments within a strengthened European Research Area.
Researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel secured a total of nearly €37 million in research funding from the Horizon Europe programme for 2023. That puts the VUB in the top 20 European universities. UGent and KU Leuven secured significantly more European money in absolute numbers in 2023 (€75 million and €91 million respectively), but the VUB appears to be the smallest university with a full curriculum in the top 20. So VUB, as a pioneering university with limited scale, still appears to take a leading role in the European research and innovation landscape.
“The VUB managed to achieve another increase over 2022.”
A report by Flanders’ department of Economy, Science and Innovation, Analysis of Framework Programmes 2023, shows that when looking at European income per researcher, the VUB scores highest of all Flemish universities for the second time in a row, underlining the excellence of its researchers.
Earlier it was confirmed that the VUB does very well year after year in international rankings such as the Times Higher Education (THE, top 2% worldwide). Vice-rector of Innovation Hugo Thienpont agrees with the figures. “The THE’s report is based on parameters from four domains: education, research, internationalisation and valorisation. The VUB managed to achieve another increase compared to 2022.” Vice-rector for Research Pieter Ballon adds: “The success in this European funding puts the VUB on the international map, in terms of both fundamental and applied research. Excellence attracts excellence, and so we are doing all we can to continue the trend in 2024.”