About the School
The Brussels School of Governance (BSoG) carries out interdisciplinary research, organises fully accredited higher education programmes and delivers a broad range of academic services in various policy-relevant fields, including energy & environment, security & diplomacy, migration & diversity, and digitalisation & democracy. The School is an alliance between the Institute for European Studies (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), which has a long-standing reputation in postgraduate education & research, and Vesalius College, which has a solid undergraduate & graduate education offering. Download our School's brochure here (PDF file).
By means of this alliance, one of the largest EU and global governance knowledge hubs in Europe is formed. In aggregate, the BSoG has an international staff of more than 200 people. From its location in Brussels, its stakeholders benefit from a unique proximity to several national and international policy communities. Its in-house expertise is further strengthened by a close collaboration with an international network of partners, such as UNU-CRIS, the University of Warwick, and the EUtopia European university network.
Vesalius College is home to a thriving international community and was established in 1987. It offers students a truly unique educational experience, focusing on Bachelor and Master programmes. The College’s teaching methods are characterised by small, interactive classes, flexibility in course selection and continuous assessment. With a student body of approximately 300 and a low student-to-professor ratio, the faculty is accessible and able to take a personal interest in the success of students to help them achieve their potential.
The Institute for European Studies is a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and provides research, education and academic services focused on the EU in an international setting. The disciplines applied include law, social/political sciences, economics and communication sciences. The IES has a strong research focus and has built up a long-standing PhD track record. It also organises several postgraduate programmes.
Research centres
Academic work at the BSoG is organised in four research centres, but is also pursued through horizontal activities cutting across them. Check out the Research section of this website for more information.
- Centre on Digitalisation, Democracy and Innovation (C2DI)
- Centre on Environment, Economy and Energy (C3E)
- Centre on Migration, Diversity and Justice (CMDJ)
- Centre on Security, Diplomacy, and Strategy (CSDS)
Team
Below you can discover the Brussels School of Governance's rich human potential of researchers, teachers and support staff.
Select a team
Board & Management
The Brussels School of Governance is an alliance between the Institute for European Studies (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and Vesalius College, two entities that have separate Boards and Executive Committees, which have the same members.
Board
Eddy Bonne - Caroline Buts - Karel De Gucht - Karen Donders - Sarah Engels - Sandra Galina -
Frank Hoffmeister - Tony Joris - Christoph Lhotka - Trisha Meyer - Leo Van Audenhove - Nic Van Craen - Freddy Van Den Spiegel
Executive Committee
Luc Soete (Dean) - Alexander Mattelaer (Vice-Dean for Research) - Sven Van Kerckhoven
(Vice-Dean for Education) - Anthony Antoine (Executive Director) - Jacintha Liem (Head of Secretariat)
Mission statement
As an alliance between the VUB's Institute for European Studies and Vesalius College, the Brussels School of Governance delivers state-of-the-art research, higher education and academic services focusing on the most urgent challenges confronting policy-makers in Europe and the wider world.
With the role and position of Europe in the world as an overarching theme, our research aims to provide science-based arguments and where possible evidence in the policy areas we are active in, for the redesign and optimisation of governance models across different levels.
As regards education, our ambition is to become the hub for teaching on governance in Europe and beyond by offering a strong, coherent and innovative programme portfolio spanning all levels of tertiary education, to allow students to benefit fully from our research expertise.
Finally, we also strive towards an optimum outreach of our research findings, by publishing output in leading international journals, contributing to academic and policy conferences and regularly providing expertise to national governments, European institutions, other international organisations, as well as the general public and other relevant stakeholders.
Interested in working at the Brussels School of Governance? Check out our vacancies.
