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2014
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Higher education and Brussels

Notes de la rédaction

This is the press release related to the article from Joost Vaesen and Benjamin Wayens, published on April 23, 2014

This synopsis is the first attempt until now to make a global assessment of the role and importance of higher education in Brussels in its interactions with the city and urban development.

Why has it taken so long to conduct such a study, when an abundance of academic research on various aspects of Brussels has existed for many years ? The answer to this question is probably related to the fact that the “encounter” between the concerns of the Brussels regional authorities and those of higher education institutions (HEIs) is a relatively recent phenomenon, with the delay probably related to the fact that the Brussels-Capital Region (BCR) is not competent for education. In recent years, the context has changed greatly, and in light of the demographic boom, all of the regional stakeholders have gradually become aware of the scope of the challenge represented by education in Brussels, from basic education to higher education.

This awareness has gone well beyond the framework of education in the strict sense, to include the recognition of the role of higher education as a major stakeholder in urban development (for example in the Regional Sustainable Development Plan). HEIs have also become aware of the fact that their fragmentation does not facilitate a true consideration of their role in the city, their specific difficulties and the enormous potential they represent for the BCR. The creation of the Brussels Studies Institute (BSI) – an inter-university collaboration platform for research on Brussels – is a good illustration of the new will of HEIs (and in particular Brussels universities) to speak with a single voice to the regional authorities.

Today there are 51 HEIs in the BCR territory. Just over half (27) – representing most of the students registered – are officially recognised and financed mainly (except for two of them) by the French Community (Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles) or by the Flemish Community (Vlaamse Overheid). But – as part of a recent phenomenon – more than 20 international and/or private HEIs have been added, which is proof of the international appeal of Brussels.

One of the main priorities of this synopsis is simply to consolidate the figures related to the number of students who attend HEIs. In this area, very different information exists without it ever being possible to verify the data precisely. Our study shows that if we consider only the recognised (subsidised) HEIs, there are more than 86 000 students in higher education in Brussels (2010-11 figures), which represents almost a quarter of the students in Belgium for this level of education, making Brussels by far the biggest student city in the country.

What do we know about these 86 000 students? The statistics show that their numbers have increased by 20 % over the past ten years, which of course has created a major financing problem (in the French-language system, the budget has been fixed for 20 years). Furthermore, our figures show that 28 % of them attend a Dutch-language institution and 72 %, a French-language institution. 51 % of them attend university and 49 %, a college or art college. Students in Brussels are above all female (57 % of students registered), even if major differences exist according to programme. 23 % of them are not of Belgian nationality and 7 % are not European Union nationals, which does not mean that they all come from abroad, as Brussels is an international city, with 33 % of its population being of foreign nationality. In addition, a large number of students (900 for ULB, VUB and USL-B) participate in Erasmus exchange programme each year in Brussels, which is slightly higher than the number of students who leave on an exchange programme. Students in Brussels HEIs have very different pathways, with a marked dominance of the humanities in the broad sense, which have absorbed most of the increase in student numbers due to widened access to higher education since the 1960s. The significance of creative programmes (art, architecture, etc.) is explained by the presence of many art colleges and three schools of architecture. As regards the social situation of students, it must be pointed out that almost 20 % of them receive grants, which is insufficient, as approximately 1500 students are forced to turn to the CPAS for assistance.

Higher education of course goes beyond the training of students and – especially at university level – is constantly irrigated by research. In this respect, it should be noted that the Brussels Region has a very low level of investment in research and development (R&D) with respect to European objectives, the European average, other regions in Belgium and even certain European capital regions. In 2011, this percentage reached 1,4 % of the GDP for the Brussels Region compared with slightly more than 2,4 % in Flanders and 2,5 % in Wallonia. In Brussels, this under-investment is linked mainly to the low level of R&D expenses in the private sector, which represent only 50 % of investments, compared with 57 % in Flanders and 75 % in Wallonia. The private under-investment is mainly due to the relative weakness of the industrial fabric of high or medium-high technology, which is understandable given the cramped and urbanised character of the Brussels territory and its status of international city with a strong link to administrative functions. A large part of the pharmaceutical industry in the metropolitan area is located in Walloon Brabant, for example. As private R&D expenses are often made by big industrial companies, the limited decision-making power in the economic sphere of Brussels and the decline of Belgian capitalism to the benefit of transnational companies also play a role. As R&D is a strategic sector, it is often associated with the head offices of international companies, which are seen less and less in Belgium.

Both the lack of private investment and the density of higher education institutions have resulted in the fact that, in the Brussels Region, the majority (59 %) of the 15 288 workers (64 % of researchers) in the R&D sector work in the academic sector. Most of them work at universities. The colleges are not totally absent in this niche (especially those which offer master’s degrees in technological fields), but their method of financing and operating procedures mean that their contribution remains marginal.

European funding is becoming increasingly important in the financing of research with respect to Belgian and regional funding. It is, however, interesting to note the special role of Brussels in European funding. In the Seventh Framework Programme, 29 % of the budget allocated to Belgium has been assigned to institutions located in the Brussels-Capital Region. The region benefits from the fact that it is where the main seats are located for many institutions and international research coordination organisations which receive a large share of this budget. The “Belgian” (strictly speaking) stakeholders in Brussels obtain 15 % of the financing for Belgium, which is significant. With 233 projects, the universities, university hospitals and colleges are the most active stakeholders.

In terms of publications, Brussels is once again doing well. Publication activity per 10 000 inhabitants is much higher than in the rest of the country and in the EU-28. Some 70 % of the publications in the Brussels-Capital Region are realised by HEIs, the remaining 30 % by public institutions and organisations and enterprises in the economic and industrial sectors. Only a small fraction are co-publications between both groups.

Finally, the analysis of sources of research funding at ULB, VUB and USL-B shows that 30 % of researchers who benefit from exterior funds have received financing in the framework of projects defined by sponsors (among whom BCR).

The health sector in Brussels is a good example of the integration of the different missions of HEIs: teaching, research and services to the community. Three university hospitals and three general hospitals with an academic character are active in the regional territory. Together they represent 4 200 beds, i.e. 52,3 % of beds in the Brussels Region and 7,8 % of those in Belgium. They therefore treat approximately 61 % of hospitalised patients in Brussels. With 12 018 staff (2012), they are a major employer. These institutions also treat highly specific pathologies (multiple traumas, cancer research, etc.), which means that their reach extends well beyond the regional framework: 55 % of patients hospitalised in a university hospital in Brussels are residents of Brussels, 23 % come from Flanders, 20 % from Wallonia and 2 % are residents of a foreign country.

Universities and colleges are also important economic stakeholders, if only through the magnitude of their spending. In 2012, the combined income of just the four large universities which are presently active in Brussels (ULB, VUB, USL-B and UCL20) amounted to some 617 million euros (the equivalent of 23 % of the Brussels-Capital Region's budget).

In 2011, HEIs employed more than 16 000 people. If we include the people who work in university hospitals, the total amounts to more than 28 000 people, i.e. 4,5 % of employment in BCR. To this we must add student jobs. The ADT-ATO survey indicates that 33 % of university students interviewed are employed during their studies. Most of them (63 % of the 33 %) work throughout the year and 67 % of the jobs are located in the Brussels Region.

The scale of this presence is evident in several domains and directly concerns more than 115 000 people (students and workers).

The aim of this synopsis was to review the main debates regarding the role of higher education institutions in a city-region.

References
Vaesen, Joost, Wayens, Benjamin, “Higher education and Brussels”, Brussels Studies [Online], BSI synopsis, No 76, 23 april 2014. URL: https://journals.openedition.org/brussels/1215/
Contact
Benjamin Wayens, Senior Editor: bwayens[at]brusselsstudies.be

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