Found
ed in 1425, UCLouvain is one of the oldest universities in Europe. Erasmus, Mercator, Vesalius are some of the personalities who frequented it. Georges Lema卯tre formulated his theory of the Big Bang there and Christian de Duve won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1974.
The university welcomes听苍别补谤濒测听40.000听students in 别颈驳丑迟听濒辞肠补迟颈辞苍蝉 in Brussels and Wallonia. Its main campus is in the pedestrianised city of Louvain-la-Neuve. Our university offers courses in all disciplines, from bachelor鈥檚 degree to doctoral degree level, as well as many lifelong learning programmes. It is also a pioneer in the creation of massive open online courses (MOOCs), and the first French-speaking university in Europe to offer online courses on the edX platform (43听courses available in 2023).
Education and research
With a Nobel Prize, 21 Prix Francqui (the 鈥楤elgian Nobel鈥�) and many other honours, UCLouvain offers an education fuelled by solid research. The university鈥檚 drive to innovate is clear: nearly 鈧�300听million in annual research investment, 415听projects funded by European framework programmes (as of 2023) and close relationships with the commercial world, particularly with the 279听companies in the university鈥檚 two science parks. Meanwhile, UCLouvain鈥檚 research development efforts are currently responsible for 68听active spin-offs.
Open to the world
Since its creation, UCLouvain has not only been open to the world; it has reached out to the world and invited it in: 25% of its teaching staff and 40% of its scientific staff are international.听Moreover, 20% of its student body is international. This openness is also reflected in its many exchange partnerships with universities worldwide, active participation in international networks and long-held tradition of cooperation with developing countries.
Top-ranked Belgian francophone university
Placing 170th in the 2023听Times Higher Education ranking of the world鈥檚 universities, UCLouvain is ranked first among Belgian francophone universities. It is also one of Europe鈥檚 most well established universities,
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