COVID-19 updates
For future students
Faculty of Engineering: As you are currently in the process of planning your academic career, we realize that many of you wonder how the start of the next academic year will look like at the Faculty of Engineering at VUB. At this stage, we cannot foresee when travel and mobility restrictions will be lifted. However, rest assured that we are continuously working to find and to implement solutions for international students who may not be able to attend classes on campus as of the first week of the academic year in September 2020. We understand that this may be due to travel restrictions, embassy closures or visa delays, or sanitary and safety reasons.
Our primary goal is to open for the autumn term 2020-2021 for full-degree and mobility students. This might cause changes to the teaching and student environment due to required compliance with sanitary guidelines and social distancing on campus. For international students who are not able to travel to Brussels in September, we will offer online teaching and blended learning to ensure optimal study experience and to avoid disruptions in their study programme. Faculty and teaching staff will offer full support. In addition, and for those courses where this is found relevant and implementable (e.g. laboratory-based courses), peer guidance by fellow students that will be on campus will be available to those who will start with studying remotely.
The safety of our community is of key importance, and we hope that by offering this flexible approach we will be able to offer all students an excellent study experience at the VUB Faculty of Engineering for the year to come.
We will keep updating you on the progress of our efforts and policies, and we remain available to answer any further questions or concerns at short notice (ir.mobility@vub.be).
Should you have any further questions regarding the programme you have applied for, please feel free to attend one of our online info sessions. Following such a session is a unique opportunity to have a one-to-one conversation with a professor who is deeply involved in the programme and to gain a comprehensive view of your programme at the Faculty of Engineering.
Finally, we would like to thank you for your patience and understanding, and we wish you all the best during these challenging times.
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I would like to enroll. What are the next steps?
Firstly, we would like to ask you to contact your school so they may directly confirm your diploma at admissions@vub.be. This will allow us to verify your information and allow you to sign the online enrolment contract. The Student Administration team will further follow up with you to arrange the enrolment once they have received news from you or your school.
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The embassy remains closed and I cannot start the application yet for a visa/ I am not allowed to travel yet. What should I do?
Please note you are not alone in this situation. The Belgian embassies and consular posts are no longer issuing visas for an unknown period of time. Many countries are also still closing their borders, which makes travel impossible. Rest assured: you will be able to enroll online without needing a visa into Belgium if you are still abroad. Please be reminded that classes will be organised both on-campus and online, allowing it for you to not miss any important classes or updates. However, if you are in the position to travel and the embassy has reopened again, we expect you on campus and you will be asked to have a visa. Secondly, you will not need to show proof of having Belgian health insurance until you arrive. You will be able to request this when you arrive on campus.
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What are the deadlines?
The enrolment procedure opens on 1 July 2020 and closes on 8 October 2020. Please note the deadline is very strict, we do not accept any late enrolments.
Still have questions?
Please read the latest information, FAQs and news here:
Contact us if you need more help!
For current students
We do realize that many of you wonder about how the start of the next academic year will look like. At this stage we cannot foresee when travel and mobility restrictions will be lifted. However, rest assured that we are continuously working to find and to implement solutions for international students who may not be able to attend classes on campus as of the first week of the academic year in September 2020.
Our primary goal is to open for the autumn term 2020-2021 for full-degree and mobility students. This might cause changes to the teaching and student environment due to required compliance with sanitary guidelines and social distancing on campus. For international students who are not able to travel to Brussels in September due to international travel restrictions, we will offer online teaching and blended learning to ensure optimal study experience and to avoid disruptions in their study programme.
Faculty and teaching staff will offer full support. In addition, and for those courses where this is found relevant and implementable (e.g. laboratory-based courses), peer guidance by fellow students that will be on campus will be available to
those who will start with studying remotely. The safety of our community is of key importance, and we hope that by offering this flexible approach we will be able to offer all students an excellent study experience at the VUB Faculty of Engineering for the year to come.
We will keep updating you on the progress of our efforts and policies, and we remain available to answer any further questions or concerns at short notice (ir.mobility@vub.be).
Finally, we would like to thank you for your patience and understanding, and we wish you all the best during these difficult times.
How do we get back to work?
Questions? Contact us.