Nuclear technology plays a crucial role in a wide variety of contexts and sectors in Belgium, including power production, waste management, nuclear fuel production, etc. The Belgian Nuclear Higher Education Network (BNEN) combines the expertise in nuclear education and research of six major Belgian universities (KU Leuven, UGent, VUB, UCL, ULG and ULB) with the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK-CEN.
Nuclear technology plays a crucial role in a wide variety of contexts and sectors in Belgium, including:
The Belgium Nuclear Higher Education Network combines the expertise in nuclear education and research of six major Belgian universities (KU Leuven, UGent, VUB, UCL, ULG and ULB) with the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre.
The current programme can be divided into three core blocks:
The collaboration with SCK*CEN makes it possible to include actual use of facilities in the curriculum, supporting the development of skills and competences in a research environment. All subjects are taught by academics appointed by the partner universities, whereas the practical exercises and laboratory sessions are supervised by the experts of SCK*CEN. The Master’s thesis offers an opportunity for internship in industry or in a research laboratory.
All teaching activities take place on the premises of SCK*CEN. Courses are organised in English and in a modular way; teaching in blocks of one to three weeks for each module allows optimal time management for students and lecturers, facilitates registration for individual modules, and allows easy exchange with international students.
BNEN has served as a role model for the European Nuclear Education Network (ENEN) which now has become an association of over 60 members (universities, industry, regulators, research centres), aiming at facilitating mobility in Europe for students in nuclear engineering.
One particular aspect of the BNEN degree is that it automatically leads to the recognition as Class I Expert by the Federal Agency of Nuclear Control. In order to receive this accreditation the programme must at least offer 24 credits in Nuclear Safety and 12 credits in Radioprotection.
The Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering programme is an internationally oriented, interuniversity programme organised by BNEN in close collaboration with nuclear research centres and industry. The aim of the BNEN programme is to provide students with all the skills and scientific and technical background necessary to carry out duties at a high level of responsibility in order to ensure the safe and economical operation of nuclear power plants, the regulation and control of nuclear installations or to design new nuclear systems.
A major strength of the BNEN programme, as to its sustainability, is that it allows providing high quality academic education by experts from (or appointed by) the main Belgian universities at low individual cost and thus very efficiently harmonised/rationalised. In addition, the participation of the nuclear research centre SCK*CEN in the consortium provides superb realistic experimental facilities in a difficult (radioactive) environment at low cost for the universities.
A further fundamental strength of the programme can be found in the fact that a well-balanced curriculum is offered where the contents and format have been discussed at length with representatives of the major nuclear companies that are the first potential employers of the graduates. Objectives and programme outcomes were defined that encompass in depth disciplinary specific competences as well as, but in a less pronounced way, transferable skills and competences that are needed for an efficient integration of a graduate in a larger engineering team. There is a nearly complete overlap between objectives and realised competences in courses, electives, exercises and Master’s thesis. This can be ascribed to the following contributing factors:
Graduates possess the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out duties at a high level of responsibility in:
In addition, the degree itself is an important part of the legal qualifications necessary to become a safety professional in a major nuclear installation.
KU Leuven is already preparing the next generation of integrated systems - will you be involved? The Electrical Engineering Department (ESAT) is the largest department within the university and was the starting point of imec and many spin-off companies. With such an excellent reputation within an innovative industry, the programme exemplifies the link between education, research and valorisation. The Master in Electrical Engineering programme gives you in-depth training in the software and hardware design of electronic systems, with an emphasis either on circuit design or the design of applications. Your Master's thesis, carried out in close co-operation with the department's on-going research, will expose you to cutting-edge research.
Core education
The core education consists of courses which provide the common hardware and software basis for electronic platforms, analogue and digital circuits, signal processing and telecommunications. It also comprises the finalizing Master’s thesis.
Options
The choice of an option gives you the opportunity to specialise in one of the two approaches to create electronic systems.
Elective courses
The remaining 24 credits are available for elective courses to allow you to personalise your programme. A student can make a programme ranging from much specialised (e.g. following courses from both options) over interdisciplinary (e.g. following courses from other engineering masters) to rather broad (e.g. including many non-engineering courses). It also allows for internships and international courses.
At the Faculty of Engineering Science, students are given the opportunity to complete one or two semesters of their degree within the Erasmus+ programme at a European university, or a university outside Europe.
Students are also encouraged to carry out industrial and research internships abroad under supervision of the departmental Internship Coordinator. These internships take place between the third Bachelor’s year and the first Master’s year, or between the two Master’s years.
Other study abroad opportunities are short summer courses organised by the Board of European Students of Technology (BEST)network or by universities all over the world.
The Faculty of Engineering Science is also member of the international networks CESAER, CLUSTER and ATHENS, offering international opportunities as well.
More information on the international opportunities at the faculty is available on the website.
The Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT) is the university's largest department and was the starting point of imec (a world leader in nanotech research and products) and many spin-off companies. The faculty also has excellent professional connections with industry leaders. Thanks in part to the programme's strong link between education and research, employment perspectives for programme graduates are excellent - not only in Belgium, but also in Europe and the rest of the world. Our graduates are in great demand.
The Master in Human Settlements addresses rapid urbanization in the developing world and contemporary urban transformations within the scope of sustainable development. The programme aims to provide insight into the problems of human settlements as related to rapid change and to the interaction between modernity and tradition, formal and informal city-making.
Architecture, urbanism and spatial planning are the core disciplines of the programme. Contributions from economics, geography and anthropology, among others, complement this core.
The structure is organised around:
Design studios form an important part of the programme, a status reflected in their credit load. They are organized as two full days of work on Mondays and Tuesdays to provide an intensive and immersive working environment, as occurs in most professional practices. They also are courses where a balance between teamwork and individual contribution is developed, since students are subdivided in small but mixed groups from inception.
Core courses are related to the studios themselves, whereas for students selecting a more research-oriented trajectory in line with the programme's profile supporting courses are organized for the elaboration of a research Master's thesis.
Study trips to various destinations are organised throughout the academic year as a compulsory part of the MaHS programme. You will be able to observe and experience the area being studied and will have a unique opportunity to link your theoretical knowledge to daily practice and fieldwork. The trips include visits to sites, lectures by local experts and a range of assignments. Recent study trips in Europe have been made to:
In addition, one-day visits within Belgium (Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent) are organised to support courses and provide an understanding of current trends in Belgian urban transformation. Moreover, as a key feature of the MaHS programme, a study trip and studio-related fieldwork sessions are offered in a non-Western context. You will be given the opportunity to travel for a two-week period to a non-European studio context for fieldwork and visits to best practices sites and other relevant sites.
This is an Advanced Master's programme and can be followed on a full-time or part-time basis.
The programme produces interdisciplinary graduates capable of understanding and managing the complexity of urban development as well as promoting sustainable territorial transformations. Graduates of the MaHS programme find employment in numerous and widespread areas. Many alumni work as civil servants in urban development agencies in cities or national governments. Others are independent professionals in the field of urban design, planning, and community development. Some join private architecture offices or take on in leadership and policymaking positions in regional, national, and international human settlements institutions, such as UNCHS or UEPP. A small number of graduates continue on to an academic career by obtaining a PhD, and some become professors.
The Master of Science in Urbanism and Strategic Planning (MaUSP) is a four-semester academic degree offered within the Faculty of Engineering Science by the Department of Architecture. The programme interacts with research conducted by the research groups active in the department.
The MaUSP programme is part of the European Postgraduate Masters in Urbanism (EMU), and students can apply to attend one or two semesters abroad at one of the partner universities - UPC Barcelona, TU Delft or IUAV Venezia - to obtain the additional European Postgraduate Master of Urbanism.
The joint EMU programme is a collaborative effort bringing together the best components of existing curricula, creating new courses and offering a top-ranking professional degree by combining the specificity and strengths of the participating universities. The consortium functions as a platform for promoting an exchange of knowledge, ideas, and research projects on current urban trends in Europe and the world.
Courses are organised according to the following set up:
Design studios form the heart of the programme, a status reflected in their credit load. They are organised as two full days of work on Mondays and Tuesdays to provide an intensive and immersive working environment, as occurs in most professional practices. They also are courses where a balance between teamwork and individual contribution is developed, since students are subdivided in small but varied groups from inception.
Depending on the track students choose (urbanism or planning), certain optional courses become compulsory.
After successfully completing the programme, you will have acquired a thorough knowledge of urbanisation in different contexts. You will have learned to work on various scale levels, with an understanding of the interferences between scales. You will be able to conduct a critical analysis of spatial phenomena in relation to the social and economic forces driving them. Building upon such analysis, you can design strategic interventions that are politically and economically feasible, and that have a structural impact. You will have developed excellent communication skills, visually as well as textually, and you will be able to function in a research environment.
Graduates will be able to provide professional architectural and/or urban design experience to design offices, consultancy firms, or work as public servants. Urbanism is closely related to current and rapid social transformation and there is a continual need for professionals capable of elaborating new interpretations, strategies and designs in response to emerging trends. MaUSP graduates are highly valued in urban design offices, consultancy firms for urban development and management, real estate agencies that develop public-private partnerships and the public sector.
The Master of Financial and Actuarial Engineering programme provides students with up-to-date, sound and advanced financial, actuarial and statistical skills. It is an intensive, advanced, one-year programme for university graduates interested in a career in risk management, financial and/or actuarial engineering within financial institutions. The discipline focuses on the application of quantitative methods to problems involving risk or uncertainty. You will gain an understanding of current and future problems and solutions in insurance and banking and be equipped with fundamental and conceptual knowledge of the mathematical and economic aspects of financial theory and insurance techniques.
The programme provides advanced insights into the actuarial aspects of life insurance, general insurance and risk theory as well as financial mathematics and the inter-relationship and integration of actuarial sciences and finance. The programme draws on over sixty years of experience and international recognition. The research team for risk theory, finance and statistics has a strong research profile and is ranked among the world top in terms of actuarial research productivity. The programme is jointly offered by the Faculty of Business and Economics and the Faculty of Science at KU Leuven, in collaboration with Université Catholique de Louvain.
The main goal of the programme is to provide the students with an sound knowledge of finance and actuarial science. They develop the capabilities to understand current and future problems and solutions in the actuarial and financial context. They will be equipped with fundamental and conceptual knowledge of the mathematical and economic aspects of financial theory and insurance techniques. Graduates holding both the degree of Master of Financial and Actuarial Engineering and 'Master in de verzekeringen' (Dutch-language initial master at KU Leuven) are eligible for membership in the professional body of actuaries in Belgium (IA|BE), and the international actuarial professional body (IAA).
At the end of the programme students will:
The programme addresses the rapidly-changing needs resulting from the accelerating globalisation of the banking and insurance sector. As such, it provides a sound basis for a career in various areas of risk management, financial and actuarial engineering and insurance. Most graduates find employment in insurance companies, whose financial stability depends on actuarial calculations (e.g. premiums, provisions, capital requirements, reinsurance policy).
As an expert in the field of risk and uncertainty, you can also play an important role in banking and finance. The increasing convergence between the insurance and financial markets as well as the use of mathematically based instruments, such as options and futures, offers excellent career prospects. Graduates are well placed to find employment in banks, pension funds, reinsurance companies, consulting and audit companies.
Some graduates go to work in government, for instance in social security or economic affairs departments. Graduates holding both the degree of Master of Financial and Actuarial Engineering and 'Master in de verzekeringen' (Dutch-language initial Master's programme at KU Leuven) are eligible for membership in the professional body of actuaries in Belgium (IA|BE).
IMAPA is a 2 year (120 credits) Master's programme in partnership between the University of Leuven (KU Leuven, Belgium), the University of Olomouc (UP, Czech Republic), and a number of associate partners across the world. The programme aims at educating students in both a professional orientation (students can choose between education and active lifestyle), and a disciplinary specialization (students choose between biomechanics & exercise physiology, integrity and (dis)ability in sport and motor control-learning & psychology).
IMAPA aims to provide state-of-the-art research and teaching methodology in adapted physical activity (APA) and the social, pedagogical and technical aspects of physical activity adapted to the needs of persons with a disability. The programme combines the expertise of a number of universities throughout the EU and the world, and offers students comprehensive training and expert knowledge in the many aspects of adapted physical activity.
Each year, international expert academics and professionals are invited to conduct teaching and research assignments. The programme promotes the exchange of ideas between professionals and future practitioners from around the world. The multicultural aspects of the Master's programme are a great asset to the programme itself and to the field of adapted physical activity in general.
The first academic year takes place at KU Leuven (Belgium), in the second year the students will follow the first semester at the Palacky University of Olomouc (Czech Republic). The second semester of the second year will be completed at a partner university based on both the interests and specialization areas of the student. As such, IMAPA promotes the international exchange of ideas between professionals and future practitioners in Europe and from around the world, and therefore guarantees a flexible, custom made programme fine-tuned to the interest(s) of every individual student.
IMAPA is a flexible programme, allowing students to custom design the content of their curriculum depending on the competences they wish to acquire. Students can follow the entire programme as KU Leuven students, or fit a number of selected courses within their home university programme, while remaining registered at their home university.
The International Master Programme of Adapted Physical Activity (IMAPA) aims to provide state-of-the-art research and teaching methodology in adapted physical activity (APA) and the social, pedagogical, and technical aspects of physical activity adapted to the needs of persons with a disability. The programme combines the expertise of a number of universities throughout the EU and the world, and offers students comprehensive training and expert knowledge in the many aspects of adapted physical activity. The programme promotes the exchange of ideas between professionals and future practitioners from around the world.
The professional aim of the programme is to educate competent and critical professionals, who are able to design and evaluate adapted physical activity programmes using an evidence-based approach for people with a disability across the life span. Adapted physical activity is a developing field and graduates will be considered as having the key abilities to advance and develop its scope. To address the wide application of the field, IMAPA offers generic tools to use exercise as an intervention, which can be translated into different contexts. To achieve this professional aim, the programme provides specialization options to emphasize the competence to work in educational or active lifestyle settings, catering for students' special professional interest and potential work outflow.
The disciplinary aim of IMAPA is to educate people to conduct research in order to advance the field of APA. In addition, the programme offers scientific discipline specific specialization (Biomechanics, Exercise Physiology, Motor Control/Learning, Integrity and Dis/ability in Sport). As such, IMAPA provides basic scientific skills that will enable graduates to pursue an academic career or undertake further research or doctoral studies.
The global approach to the studies will ensure a critical outlook at national facilities for people with a disability. Given the multidisciplinary nature of adapted physical activity, students will have gained general problem-solving skills rather than those pertaining to a traditional profession.
Professional Outcome
Graduates who successfully completed the course will have acquired the scientific knowledge and critical insights to develop and bring the field of adapted physical activity forward in different national settings. Graduates will have the professional competence to work in a variety of contexts, where they will be able to set up appropriate adapted physical activity programmes and assess the requirements for exercise screening.
Given the wide area of adapted physical activity, as applied in the various countries, graduates will obtain the broad tools to implement and evaluate health, sports and leisure enhancing programs for people with disability.
The most important of these general tools is an evidence-based approach to intervention. Graduates of the IMAPA programme will also have gained sufficient research competence to work in research settings. They will have developed the skills to design innovative research questions in adapted physical activity and to report on scientific findings. Graduates will have gained the analytical ability to highlight the needs of people with a disability in different countries and identify current barriers for implementation of adapted physical activity. Furthermore, they will ensure appropriate intervention programmes and policy statements in the area of exercise and health for people with a disability. Overall, they will have an internationally-oriented spirit and seek out multicultural collaboration. IMAPA graduates will understand the role and meaning of interdisciplinary collaboration and stimulate a multi-professional input in the field. Graduates will be aware of the need of a professional structure and certification in adapted physical activity and have gained the skills to become leaders in their field and take this agenda forward.
Career Options
Students specialized in adapted physical activity at the Master's level often work with persons with an impairment in career domains such as education, coaching, personal training, physical therapy, occupational therapy, medicine or other health care professions. Some seek a research career by acquiring knowledge and expertise in both adapted physical activity and another discipline within kinesiology, and pursue a doctoral degree.
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