Our university is growing, changing and reaching out to the city and its people. According to Ann Van Driessche, Director of MarCom, that growth brought some unexpected side-effects. One remedy has been the campaigns that put the VUB’s identity as a ‘Free’ university centre stage.
“Because of our rapid growth we realised that not everyone understood what ‘Vrije Universiteit Brussel’ stands for,” she says. “In ten years, our student population has doubled and this year we’re growing again by more than 3 per cent. That evolution brought greater diversity, but also misunderstandings. Some people read ‘Vrije’ as ‘free education’ in a religious sense. We had to make it clear that our freedom stands for openness, pluralism and reason. Not to exclude anyone, but to share our values.”
“Because of our rapid growth we noticed that not everyone grasped what the V in VUB really stands for”
Free To … more than a slogan
That clarity took shape in the ‘Free To …’ campaign. The university highlighted themes closely connected to its values, such as the right to decide over your own body, the right to change your mind and the right to speak freely. Only afterwards did topics like gender equality and LGBTQI+ rights follow. “It wasn’t a classic campaign,” says Van Driessche. “We didn’t want to invent a new story, but show what’s already rooted in our culture. That’s why we brought everything together in the Festival of the Free Mind. It celebrated what we try to put into practice every day. With the campaign ‘Think Freely. Anytime.’, we kept that line going. Including the text ‘Free as a VUB’er’, which shows how free-thinking values guide rules and policy choices.”
Critical thinking: not claimed, but shown
Critical thinking doesn’t stop at the campus gates. Through the PACT School Tour, VUB professors and researchers visit secondary schools with guest lessons that open up scientific ways of working, open debate and questioning assumptions. “For many pupils it’s their first real meeting with academic thinking. And they give us feedback too. That exchange matters. We bring something in, but we get just as much back.”
“Critical thinking doesn’t stop at the campus gates”
The community speaks, also online
“On our social channels, we let students, researchers and professors speak for themselves,” says Van Driessche. “That’s essential to feeling where the heart of the university beats. We can say a lot as an organisation, but our people show what the VUB truly is. We invest heavily in these channels. Not just for visibility, but to show what’s alive here. Students share experiences, researchers explain current topics and professors add context to public debates. That mix of voices makes us authentic.”
Media work as a window to society
Alongside social media, the university’s press work has also grown. “It does more than share research results. It explains why that research matters for society. Our scientists are often right in the middle of public debates. By bringing their expertise actively to the media, we don’t just show the value of our research. We also strengthen trust in independent science.” Press work gains an extra dimension through VUB Tomorrow, the online platform that translates research into accessible stories. “VUB Tomorrow is the cherry on the cake. We don’t just show what we study, but why it matters.”
Brussels as a classroom
For years, VUB’s urban connection took shape through weKONEKT.brussels, sending students and researchers into the city. They taught in theatres, museums and social organisations and worked together on urban themes.
“weKONEKT taught us how powerful Brussels is as a learning environment,” says Van Driessche. “It made the city tangible and meaningful to thousands of students.”
Today, the VUB chooses long-term collaborations with De Munt, Bozar, Passa Porta and deBuren. The university also reaches out to regions where many students come from: Halle, Mechelen, Vilvoorde, Aalst and soon Ostend. “Visibility alone isn’t the goal. We want genuine reciprocity. We share knowledge, but we also bring insights back. That strengthens both the city and our university.”
“We want students to end up in the right place”
Growing with care
The VUB’s spectacular growth is a success, but it brings responsibility. “We want students to land where they truly fit,” says Van Driessche. “Some young people need extra preparation. That’s not a weakness. It’s a starting point. We must help them make a realistic and hopeful choice.”
In that spirit, the VUB also wants to balance the current dominance of the humanities—today 75 per cent of students—with the need for science and technology profiles in Flanders. “We don’t promote STEM because it’s ‘better’. We want to show young people how relevant and creative science can be. Through school outreach, hands-on projects and regional partnerships we show that STEM isn’t a technical niche. It’s a way to help build the future.”
Hugo Thienpont gives STEM a voice
In the municipality of Pajottegem, Professor Hugo Thienpont set up the STEAM Academy with one clear aim: guiding young people towards STEM studies at the VUB.
“The STEAM Academy is a project we’ve been working on for years. Interest in science, technology and medical studies is dropping, and that’s alarming. Not just for our faculties, but for Flanders and Europe. We see a lot of young talent slip away, even though I’m convinced that young people can be genuinely drawn in. If they want a career in STEM, you need to coach them from early on.”
It’s more than putting on a spectacular show during Science Day. You need constant engagement: workshops in holidays and weekends, linking what happens outside school to what happens inside, and involving teachers. The VUB is researching why young people are or aren’t interested in science and technology, and why many don’t realise these fields offer strong career paths.
That research is done by Professor Valerie Thomas and Christophe Kegels, funded by the Helios Foundation. The money the Flemish government provides for STEM is a drop in the ocean. Especially when the industry faces a huge shortage of technically and scientifically trained people. Companies outbid each other to recruit the best. Flanders and Europe depend on the only resource we have: our brains, and that pool is shrinking. We’re already feeling the impact: we lose competitiveness, technological independence and production capacity.
Together with the VUB we recently bought a house to run workshops for children. They’re incredibly focused. We work with all ages—those over 14 are already building their own electric bike. We partner with companies like Colruyt, and together we organise the annual Photonics Challenge that draws young people from across Flanders. Now we want to scale up, because thirty children isn’t enough.
That’s why we’re launching a new initiative in the Pajottenland, where many VUB students come from. We’ll convert an old school into a digital classroom of the future, a FabLab and a biohack lab. Together with the municipality we’ll house the library and art academy in the same building. That academy is the A in STEAM—art. It creates a vibrant mix between technology, science, arts and letters.
In Essenbeek near Halle we can also use a building. Halle is the biggest secondary school hub in Flanders, with more than 6,000 pupils—essential for VUB recruitment. A part of that building will also focus on STEM. Along with nearby companies, we’re trying to build an ecosystem to slowly turn the tide. It’s long-term work. We think we know how to approach it, and we’re trying to give it a strong scientific base within the VUB. If companies invest, we’ll see more technicians, engineers and scientists. And also more skilled technical workers, who are just as desperately needed. It’s not about producing an elite, but sparking broad interest in technology.”
“It’s the oldest cliché in the book, but young people are the future”
One of our outreach initiatives aims to inspire young people to study at the VUB through our values. The Prize for Critical Thinking is one of those efforts. In the 2024 edition, VUB guest professor Fons Van Dyck gave the winners his book The Future Is Back. How does he see today’s young people—the ones who will help shape tomorrow?
“The Prize for Critical Thinking is admirable and necessary. It’s the oldest cliché in the book, but young people are the future. We’re not living in a time of change, but in a change of era. Anxiety and uncertainty about the future take the upper hand. We’re slowly leaving behind a period shaped by the fall of the Wall, the rise of the internet and social media, the euro, open borders, civic engagement and awareness of climate warming. That era—defined by exploration and connection—is fading. Teenagers, especially final-year pupils, stand right on that hinge. We’re moving into a time in which scientific research is doubted and conspiracy theories flourish.”
In The Future Is Back, Van Dyck looks to four forces: exploring, connecting, conquering and defending. Which of those prevails will shape the future. “Where connection weakens, conquering and defending rise. Conquering means fighting for political, military or economic power. Defending shows up as tribalism, nationalism and a return to traditional values—often putting women’s rights back under pressure.”
“Critical people must do two things in such an era. First, face reality without naïvety. Critical thinking is swimming against the current. It reminds me of ‘Up the Down Escalator’ by The Chameleons—walking up a descending escalator. Belgian and Dutch scientists working in the US now only dare to criticise government policy anonymously. That fear culture also appears in companies. Plenty of reasons to teach young people to think critically—and to keep doing so.”
“You can also see the pressure on connection in the growing belief that success only comes at someone else’s expense. Career success starts to look like a lottery. It’s a pessimistic view of broken dreams. For years a university degree was a launchpad; now that idea is shaken. My generation saw the same in the 1980s. The hopeful side is the rise of a counter-movement. This generation of teenagers will shape the course of history. They will decide whether we strengthen conquering and defending—or go Up the Down Escalator.”
