The Katholieke Universiteit LeuvenA ("Catholic University of Leuven"B), abbreviated KU Leuven and also known as the University of Leuven, is a research university in the Dutch-speaking city of Leuven in Flanders, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in the sciences, engineering, humanities, medicine, law, and social sciences.
In addition to its main campus in Leuven, it has satellite campuses in Kortrijk, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Ostend, Geel, Diepenbeek, Aalst, Sint-Katelijne-Waver, and in Belgium's capital Brussels. KU Leuven is the largest university in Belgium and the Low Countries. (In 2014-15, more than 55,000 students were enrolled.) Its primary language of instruction is Dutch, although several programs are taught in English, particularly postgraduate degrees.
KU Leuven consistently ranks among the top 100 universities in the world. As of 2016-2017, It ranks 40th globally according to Times Higher Education, 79th according to QS World University Rankings, and 93rd according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities. According to Thomson Reuters, in 2016 and 2017, KU Leuven researchers have filed more patents than any other university in Europe; its patents are also the most cited by external academics. As such, KU Leuven was ranked first in the publication's annual list of Europe's most innovative universities for both years. A number of its programs rank within the top 100 in the world according to QS World University Rankings by Subject. It is the highest-ranked university from the Low Countries.
The old University of Leuven was founded at the center of the historic town of Leuven in 1425, making it Belgium's first university. After being closed in 1797 during the Napoleonic period, the Catholic University of Leuven was "re-founded" in 1834, and is frequently, but controversially, identified as a continuation of the older institution.C In 1968, the Catholic University of Leuven split into the Dutch-language Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the French-language Université catholique de Louvain, which moved to Louvain-la-Neuve in Wallonia. Historically, KU Leuven has been a major contributor to the development of Catholic theology. It is considered the oldest extant Catholic university. Although Catholic in heritage, it operates independently from the Church. KU Leuven is open to students from different faiths.
Video KU Leuven
Background and History
- For the history of the pre-1970 university see Catholic University of Leuven (1834-1968).
In 1968, tensions between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities led to the splitting of the bilingual Catholic University of Leuven into two "sister" universities, with the Dutch-language university becoming a fully functioning independent institution in Leuven in 1970, and the Université catholique de Louvain departing to a newly built greenfield campus site in the French-speaking part of Belgium. Pieter De Somer became the first rector of the KU Leuven.
In 1972, the KU Leuven set up a separate entity Leuven Research & Development (LRD) to support industrial and commercial applications of university research. It has led to numerous spin-offs, such as the technology company Metris, and manages tens of millions of euros in investments and venture capital.
The university's electronic learning environment, TOLEDO, which started in September 2001, was gradually developed into the central electronic learning environment at the KU Leuven. The word is an acronym for TOetsen en LEren Doeltreffend Ondersteunen (English: "effectively supporting testing and learning"). It is the collective name for a number of commercial software programs and tools, such as Blackboard. The project offers the Question Mark Perception assignment software to all institution members and has implemented the Ariadne KPS to reuse digital learning objects inside the Blackboard environment.
On 11 July 2002, the KU Leuven became the dominant institution in the "KU Leuven Association" (see below).
KU Leuven is a member of the Coimbra Group (a network of leading European universities) as well as of the LERU Group (League of European Research Universities). Since November 2014, KU Leuven's Faculty of Economics and Business is accredited by European Quality Improvement System, which is a leading accreditation system specializing in higher education institutions of management and business administration.
Since August 2017, the university has been led by Luc Sels who replaced former rector Rik Torfs. The Belgian archbishop, André-Joseph Léonard is the current Grand Chancellor and a member of the university board.
KU Leuven is dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus, under her traditional attribute as "Seat of Wisdom", and organizes an annual celebration on 2 February in her honour. On that day, the university also awards its honorary doctorates. The seal used by the university shows the medieval statue Our Lady of Leuven in a vesica piscis shape.
In the academic year of 2012-2013, the university held Erasmus contracts with 434 European establishments. It also had 22 central bilateral agreements in 8 countries: the United States, China, South Africa, Japan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Vietnam, Poland, and the Netherlands. The vast majority of international EU students came from the Netherlands, while most non-EU ones come from China.
Maps KU Leuven
Organization and Academics
Academics at KU Leuven is organized into three groups, each with its own faculties, departments, and schools offering programs up to doctoral level. While most courses are taught in Dutch, many are offered in English, particularly the graduate programs.
Biomedical Sciences Group
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences
- Department of Oral Health Sciences
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences
- Department of Human Genetics
- Department of Imaging and Pathology
- Department of Kinesiology
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
- Department of Neurosciences
- Department of Oncology
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences
- Department of Development and Regeneration
- Department of Public Health and Primary Care
Humanities and Social Sciences Group
- Institute of Philosophy
- Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies
- Faculty of Canon Law
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Economics and Business
- Faculty of Social Sciences
- Faculty of Arts
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
Science, Engineering and Technology Group
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Department of Architecture
- Department of Biology
- Department of Biosystems
- Department of Civil Engineering
- Department of Chemistry
- Department of Chemical Engineering
- Department of Computer Science
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT)
- Department of Materials Engineering
- Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems
- Department of Physics and Astronomy
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Department of Mathematics
Libraries
KU Leuven has 24 libraries and learning centers across its 12 campuses, containing millions of books and other media. Its theology library alone hold 1.3 million volumes, including works dating from the 15th century. The following libraries are found at its Leuven campus:
- 2Bergen - Biomedical Library
- 2Bergen - Campuslibrary Arenberg (exact sciences, engineering sciences, industrial engineering sciences, bio-engineering sciences, architecture and kinesiology and rehabilitation sciences)
- Artes - Ladeuze & Erasmushuis (Humanities & Social Sciences Group and the Faculty of Arts)
- Library of Psychology and Educational Sciences
- Law Library
- Library of Social Sciences
- Library of the Institute of Philosophy
- AGORA Learning Centre
- EBIB Learning Centre
- MATRIX (music and audio recordings library)
- Maurits Sabbe Library (Library of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies)
University Hospital
Universitair ziekenhuis Leuven (UZ Leuven) is the teaching hospital associated with the KU Leuven. Its most well known and largest campus is Gasthuisberg, which also houses the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences and most of the faculty of medicine.
Organisations
Notable divisions of the university include the Higher Institute of Philosophy and the Rega Institute for Medical Research.
The university is a member of the Flanders Interuniversity Institute of Biotechnology. The Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre is a spin-off company of the university.
The students of the university are gathered together in the student's society LOKO. They have representatives in most meetings at the university, including the Board of Directors.
KU Leuven joined the Venice International University on October 29, 2016.
Since July 2002, thirteen higher education institutes have formed the KU Leuven Association. The members are:
- Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel divided into Odisee (Professional) and a KUL Brussels (Academic) as from 2013
- Groep T Hogeschool
- Hogeschool voor Kunsten en Architectuur
- Hogeschool Sint-Lukas Brussel
- Lemmensinstituut
- Media & Design Academie
- Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst
- Katholieke Hogeschool Brugge-Oostende (KHBO)
- Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen
- Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven
- Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg (KHLim)
- Lessius Mechelen
- Katholieke Hogeschool Sint-Lieven (KaHo Sint-Lieven)
- Katholieke Hogeschool Zuid-West-Vlaanderen (KATHO)
- Lessius Hogeschool
- Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Rankings
In 2016, the Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven as the world's 93rd best university, while the Times Higher Education ranked KU Leuven 40th best university and QS World University Rankings ranked KU Leuven 79th overall in the world. KU Leuven ranked first in Thomson Reuters' list of Europe's most innovative universities in 2016 and 2017.
According to QS World University Rankings by Subject in 2017, KU Leuven ranked within the world's top 50 universities in the following fields: Architecture (44), Philosophy (30), Theology (9), Anatomy & Physiology (46), Pharmacy & Pharmacology (29), Psychology (46), Geography (44), Development Studies (40), and Law (40), and Dentistry (9). It also ranks within the top 100 for all QS engineering categories, except minerals engineering. Also according to QS, KU Leuven's Medicine, Biology, Chemistry, Materials Science, Mathematics, Finance, Statistics, Anthropology, Communication, Economics, Education, Politics, Social Policy, Sociology, and Sports Science programs rank within the top 100.
Rectors
Notable alumni
- For pre-1970 alumni see Catholic University of Leuven (1834-1968)#Notable alumni
- Leon Bekaert (b. 1958), economics, businessman
- Paul Bulcke (b. 1954), economics, businessman, CEO of Nestlé
- Jan Callewaert, economics, founder of Option N.V.
- Mathew Chandrankunnel (b. 1958), professor of philosophy of science at Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram
- Mathias Cormann (b. 1970), Belgian-born Australian Senator and Minister for Finance
- Jo Cornu, engineer, since 2013 CEO of the National Railway Company of Belgium
- Joan Daemen (b. 1965), cryptographer, one of the designers of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
- Julien De Wilde (b. 1967), civil engineer, businessman
- Noël Devisch (b. 1943), agriculture
- Gabriel Fehervari (b. 1970) law, businessman
- Willy Geysen, law, head of the Centre for Intellectual Property Rights (CIR)
- Luce Irigaray (b. 1930) philosopher
- Dr. A. Q. Khan (b. 1935), Founder of Pakistan's Nuclear Program
- Koen Lamberts (b. 1964), Vice-Chancellor and President, University of York (United Kingdom)
- Georges Meekers (b. 1965), Belgian-born wine writer and educator
- Simon Mignolet (b. 1988), goalkeeper
- Martin Moors, philosopher
- Chantal Mouffe (b. 1943), philosopher
- Rudi Pauwels (b. 1960), pharmacologist, co-founder of Tibotec and Virco
- Vincent Rijmen (b. 1970), cryptographer, one of the designers of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
- Fulton J. Sheen (b. 1895), Roman Catholic Bishop, open cause for canonization (currently "Venerable")
- Guðmundur Steingrímsson (b. 1972), Icelandic politician
- Francine Swiggers, economics, businesswoman, Arco/Dexia fraudster
- Marc Van Ranst (b. 1965), physician, virologist
- Herman Van Rompuy (b. 1947), Belgian statesman, appointed President of the European Council in November 2009
- Jef Valkeniers, doctor and politician
- Frans Vanistendael, law
- Catherine Verfaillie (b. 1957) physician, stem cell scientist
- Koen Vervaeke (b. 1959), history, diplomat
Honorary doctorates
Notable recipients of honorary doctorates at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven include:
- Baudouin of Belgium (1951), King of the Belgians
- Albert II of Belgium (1961), King of the Belgians
- Timothy Garton Ash (2011), British historian and Professor of European Studies, University of Oxford
- Michelle Bachelet (2015), President of Chile
- Abhijit Banerjee (2014), Indian economist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople (1996)
- Roberto Benigni (2007), Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director of film, theatre and television.
- John Braithwaite (2008), Australian criminologist (application of the idea of restorative justice to business regulation and peacebuilding
- Manuel Castells (2004), Professor of Sociology, Open University of Catalonia, University of Southern California
- Leon O. Chua (2013), professor in the electrical engineering and computer sciences department at the University of California, Berkeley
- Carla Del Ponte (2002), former Chief prosecutor of two United Nations international criminal law tribunals
- Jared Diamond (2008), professor of Geography and Physiology, UCLA
- Jacques Derrida (1989), French philosopher
- John Kenneth Galbraith (1972), Canadian economist
- Nadine Gordimer (1980), South African author, Booker Prize 1974, Nobel Prize in Literature 1991
- Alan Greenspan (1997), economist, former chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve
- Eugène Ionesco (1977), Romanian and French playwright
- Ban Ki-moon (2015), Secretary-General of the United Nations
- Helmut Kohl (1996), former Chancellor of Germany
- Christine Lagarde (2012), Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- Mario Vargas Llosa (2003), Peruvian writer
- Michael Marmot (2014), British epidemiologist, University College London
- Martha Nussbaum (1997), American philosopher, University of Chicago
- Dirk Obbink, Lecturer in Papyrology and Greek Literature at Oxford University and the head of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri Project.
- Roger Penrose (2005), professor in Mathematical Physics, University of Oxford
- Navi Pillay (2012), United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Thomas S. Popkewitz (2004), professor of curriculum theory, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education
- Mary Robinson (2000), former President of Ireland
- Jacques Rogge (2012), President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
- Oscar Arnulfo Romero (1980), archbishop of San Salvador (El Salvador), human rights activist
- Helmut Schmidt (1983), former Chancellor of Germany
- Nate Silver (2013), American author and statistician
- Fiona Stanley (2014), Australian epidemiologist
- Rowan Williams (2011), Archbishop of Canterbury
- Angela Merkel (2017), German politician, Chancellor of Germany
See also
- Academic libraries in Leuven
- Arenberg Research-Park
- Haasrode Research-Park
- List of universities in Belgium
- Science and technology in Flanders
- University Foundation
Footnotes
- A.^ Dutch pronunciation: [kato'lik? yniv?rsi't?it 'lø:v?(n)], listen
- B.^ According to the university's style guidelines, the name of the university should not be translated in publications. See [1] (in Dutch)
- C.^ The Old University of Leuven (1425-1797) is the oldest university in the low countries, and the Catholic University of Leuven (1834) is sometimes, controversially, identified as a continuation of it. In the mid-1800s, Belgium's highest court, the Court of Cassation, ruled that the 1834 "Catholic University of Leuven" was a different institution created under a different charter and thus cannot be regarded as continuing the 1425 "University of Leuven". See also: History of the Old University of Leuven.
References
External links
- Official website
- (in Dutch) KU Leuven: History of KU Leuven / KU Leuven, zes eeuwen geschiedenis
- International Ranking of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (2008)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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