The student population at VUB has no fewer than 148 nationalities, excluding Belgians. The largest group from Europe is from the Netherlands, with 611 students. This is followed by Italy (284), Germany (207), Spain (205) and France (125). Among students from outside Europe, China leads the way with 268, followed by Iran (174), India (137), Turkey (103) and Cameroon (87).
Vice-rector for Internationalisation Professor Romain Meeusen: “The growth rate of international students is even higher than the increase of the total number of students at VUB. Our study offer is clearly very attractive to foreign students. Brussels is a hub of international institutions, such as the European Union and Nato, and the headquarters of many international and European companies. This package is an asset for gaining international academic knowledge.”
Students go on exchanges again
Programmes such as Erasmus and SEMP and other initiatives allow students to study at VUB for a time, or allow VUB students to spend time abroad. Unlike last academic year, VUB students can go on exchange programmes again. This year there are 73 VUB students following an exchange programme abroad. The most popular destination is Germany, followed by Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Finland. The number of incoming exchange students grew by 6.5% last year. There are fewer incoming students this year because of the coronavirus. Most students come from Italy, Spain, Morocco, Poland and Germany.