KU Leuven
The KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, law, canon law, business, 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 2017–18, more than 58,000 students were enrolled. Its primary language of instruction is Dutch, although  several programs are taught in English, particularly graduate degrees. KU Leuven consistently ranks among the top 100 universities in the world by major ranking tables. As of 2021, it ranks 42nd in the "Times Higher Education" rankings, 70th according QS World University Rankings, 87th according to the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities. For four consecutive years starting in 2016, Thomson Reuters ranked KU Leuven as Europe's most innovative university, with its researchers having filed more patents than any other university in Europe; its patents are also the most cited by external academics. Although Catholic in theology and heritage , KU Leuven operates independently from the church. KU Leuven who previously only accepted baptized Catholics, now is open to students from different faiths or life-stances. The university's legal name is "Katholieke Universiteit Leuven", officially Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven, which translates in English as Catholic University of Leuven. However, it is not translated in official communications, like its similarly named French-language sister university Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain). History. Previous universities in Leuven. The city of Leuven has been the seat of three different universities. The old University of Leuven (or Studium Generale Lovaniense), founded in 1425 by  the civil authorities of Brabant duke John IV of Brabant, as well as the municipal administration of the city of Leuven, despite the initial opposition of the chapter of Sint-Pieter, was formally integrated into the French Republic when the Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I, ceded the South Netherlands to France by the Treaty of Campo Formio signed on 17 October 1797. A law dating to 1793, which mandated that all universities in France be closed, came into effect. The old University of Leuven was abolished by decree of the Département of the Dyle on October 25, 1797. A few  years after French rule came to an end, when Belgium was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, king William I of the Netherlands founded in 1817 a secular university in Leuven, the State university of Leuven, where many professors of the old University of Leuven have taught. This university was also abolished in 1835. Present university. The Catholic University of Leuven was founded in 1834 in Mechelen by the bishops of Belgium, after an official Papal Brief of Pope Gregory XVI. This new Catholic university stayed only briefly in Mechelen, as the bishops already moved the university headquarters  to Leuven on 1 December 1835, where it took the name Catholic University of Leuven. This occurred after the closure of the State university of Leuven in 1835, where many professors of the old University of Leuven have taught. KU Leuven is generally (but controversially) identified as a continuation of the older institution; controversy lays in the fact that the continuation is mainly of a sociocultural and ecclesiastical nature, but cannot be maintained from a purely juridical perspective as the old University was suppressed under French rule. In its statutes, KU Leuven officially declares to be the continuation of  the Studium Generale Lovaniense established in 1425, and it sets out to celebrate its 600th anniversary in 2025. 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. KU Leuven's first rector after the split was Pieter De Somer. In 1972, the KUL 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 KUL. 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. As of 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. KU Leuven is financially independent from the Catholic Church. Although a representative from the Church sits in its Board of Governors, their function is observational and has no voting power. Its management and academic decisions  are similarly autonomous. In December 2011, the university changed its official name to KU Leuven in all official communications and branding. While its legal name remains to be Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the university uses KU Leuven in all communications, including academic research publications. The long name is only used in legally binding documents such as contracts and only on the first instance, according to university's communication guidelines. According to its then rector, the change is intended as a way to emphasize its history of freedom of academic inquiry and its independence from the Church, without erasure of its Catholic  heritage. 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 hosts the world's largest banana genebank, the Bioversity International "Musa" Germplasm Transit Centre, that celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2017 and was visited by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Development Cooperation, Alexander De Croo. In 2018, a student of African origin died during a cruel hazing ritual to enter the Reuzegom fraternity. The perpetrators, whose parents mostly belong to the  upper class, are being prosecuted, but were so far only lightly sanctioned by the university authorities. As a consequence of these events, which attracted international media coverage, the institution received criticism as to how it handled the matter. Historically, the Catholic University of Leuven has been a major contributor to the development of Catholic theology. The university 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 neo-Gothic seal created in  1909 and used by the university shows the medieval statue Our Lady of Leuven in a vesica piscis shape. The version used by KU Leuven dates from the 1990s and features the date 1425 in Times New Roman. Campus. KU Leuven's main campus is in Leuven where school faculties, libraries, institutes, residence halls, the university hospital UZ Leuven, and other facilities are interspersed throughout the city proper, as well as just outside its ring road in Heverlee borough. Its intercultural meeting center Pangaea is located in the city center. The University Sports Centre is located in Heverlee, including Univ -Fit gym. In addition, the UNESCO World Heritage Site Groot Begijnhof, a historic beguinage in the south of city, is owned by the university and functions as one of its many residence halls. Public transport within the city is primarily served by the De Lijn bus system. Leuven is a main hub in Belgium's and nearby country's train network. Leuven station is located in the northeast edge of the city. KU Leuven has campuses in Kortrijk, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Ostend, Geel, Diepenbeek, Aalst, Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Brussels. 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. Notable divisions of the university include the Higher Institute of Philosophy and the Rega Institute for Medical Research. The students of the university are gathered together in the student's council Studentenraad KU Leuven. They have representatives in most meetings at the university, including the board of directors. It was separated from in 2012-2013 when the different locations outside of Leuven became part of the university. LOKO remained  the overarching student organisation for all students in the city of Leuven. Biomedical Sciences Group Humanities and Social Sciences Group Science, Engineering and Technology Group Science, Engineering and Technology Group 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: 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. Breakthrough and notable research. KU Leuven scientists have managed to produce a solar hydrogen panel, which is able to directly convert no less than 15 per cent of sunlight into hydrogen gas, which according to them is a world record. In the solar hydrogen panel the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions are performed in the gas phase in cathode and anode compartments separated by a membrane. Anion exchange membranes provide an alkaline environment enabling the use of earth abundant materials as electrocatalysts. According to IEEE Spectrum  in 2019 this is a giant leap from 0.1% efficiency 10 years earlier. This technology bypasses the conversion losses of the classical solar–hydrogen energy cycle where solar power is first harvested via a solar panel and only then to converted to hydrogen with electrolysis plants. Affiliations. Since July 2002, thirteen higher education institutes have formed the KU Leuven Association. Members include: KU Leuven is a member of a number of international university affiliations including the League of European Research Universities, Coimbra Group, UNA Europa, Universitas 21, and Venice International University, among others. The university is a member of the  Flanders Interuniversity Institute of Biotechnology. The Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre is a spin-off company of the university. Rankings. As of 2021, KU Leuven ranks in the world 45th in the Times Higher Education rankings, 84th according QS World University Rankings, 97th according to the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities. KU Leuven ranked first in Thomson Reuters' list of Europe's most innovative universities four times in a row since it began in 2016. As of 2019, also ranks 52nd according to the CWTS Leiden Ranking and 56th according U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking. According to QS World  University Rankings by Subject in 2019, KU Leuven ranked within the world's top 50 universities in the following fields: Sports-related Subjects (11), Theology (14), Dentistry (17), Classics and Ancient History (22), Library and Information Management (23), Psychology (24), Statistics and Operational Research (26), Mechanical Engineering (30), Philosophy (31), Geography (34), Pharmacy & Pharmacology (35), Education and Training (36), Law (37), Social Policy and Administration (39), Development Studies (43), Materials sciences (45), Chemical Engineering (46), Politics (49), Sociology (50), Life Sciences and Medicine (56), Social Sciences and Management (60), Arts and Humanities (61), Engineering and Technology (61). Also according to  QS, many other KU Leuven programs rank within the top 100 in the world, including Linguistics, English Language and Literature, History, Anatomy and Physiology, Architecture, Anthropology, Computer Science and Information System, Biological Sciences, Civil and Structural Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Business and Management Studies, Mathematics, Economics and Econometrics, Chemistry, Accounting and Finance . Honorary doctorates. Notable recipients of honorary doctorates at the KU Leuven include: