Educational quality of the programme

At VUB the quality of the education takes centre stage. This isn't something we say lightly: we scrutinise our programmes regularly to align them with changing student needs in a rapidly changing society. Additionally, the engineering programmes in Flanders are audited by an external commission: Commission des Titres d’Ingénieur (CTI, France).

This public information is part of VUB’s quality assurance system and was ratified by the Academic Council on 19/06/2023.

Strenghts of the programme

  • Broad-based education: the combination of expertise of VUB and ULB leads to a comprehensive understanding of advanced topics related to omnipresent systems and devices, such as smartphones, medical imagers, solar farms, the ‘Internet of Things’.
  • Reciprocity with industry: several lecturers of the programme are stakeholders in industry. By integrating their professional experience in education they provide the latest insights in the work field.
  • Spin-offs: the programme offers various opportunities to learn more about entrepreneurship and business opportunities and as a result, several spin-offs have been created by graduates of the programme.

 

Opportunities

  • Increasing the visibility of the social impact of electrical engineers can enhance the attractiveness of the programme and therefore increase recruitment.
  • Communication between lecturers and students would improve if a common learning platform would be found for the interuniversity programmes.

 

Current developments

  • Following up on recent changes in the curriculum based on input from the work field and students, the programme is now evaluating the impact of these changes and making adjustments when needed.
  • The programme will organise regular events where students, alumni and representatives of the work field can interact. The aim is to receive more structural input from all the stakeholders and to bring students in closer contact with the industry.
  • The programme will reinforce the ethical aspects treated in the programme to mirror the importance of ethical issues for (electrical) engineers in today’s society.

Where do we get this information from?

As institution we routinely ask our students to give their honest opinion about the study programme during their academic career. We also consult our professors and assistants and gauge the expectations in the future field of work. We receive structured feedback from our former students and compare our programmes with others at home and abroad. Through a Peer Review every six years an expert panel endorses the programme’s assets and can recommend some actions. Lastly, the Education Quality Council takes a formal decision about the quality and functioning of a programme.

 

Quality Cycle

Each programme follows a six-year quality cycle. The timeline below shows the schedule for this particular programme.

Quality cycle