Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (BCECC)

Overview of Belgium

Belgium (officially the Kingdom of Belgium) is a country in West Europe. The Netherlands borders it to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. Thanks to its geographic location, Paris, London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam are only hours away from Belgium.

Belgium has an area of 30,689 km2 (as a comparison, it has almost twice the area of Beijing, with almost half of the population).

Belgium has a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. It means that the King of the Belgians is the head of state, the Prime Minister of Belgium is the head of government. The deration consists of language-based communities and regions.

Belgium has two major linguistic communities: the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community (around 60% of the population) and the French-speaking Community (around 40%). There is also a small German-speaking Community.

As the second European country to undergo the Industrial Revolution, Belgium is famous for its high living standard, technology, and education. Belgium has a service-oriented economy. Major sectors include services (74% of GDP), industry (24.7% of GDP) and agriculture (1.3% of GDP). Industries include engineering, machinery, metals, automotive, chemicals, food/beverages, textiles, and petroleum.

The capital Brussels is the headquarters of the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In addition, more than 200 international administrative centers and more than 1,000 official organizations set up offices here. It is therefore de factor capital of Europe. The “Brussels First Citizen” le Petit Julien (French) or Manneken Pis (Dutch) is even more popular among people all over the world.

Antwerp is the second largest city in Belgium, the second largest port in Europe, the fourth largest port in the world, and the world’s largest diamond processing and trading center. 84% of the rough stones and 50% of the polished diamonds are traded in Antwerp. Antwerp is also Europe’s largest petrochemical cluster. It also has the world’s oldest stock exchange building, originally built in 1531 and re-built in 1872. With a population of 500,000, it is the most densely populated area in Belgium and one of the richest places in Europe. More than 60% of European purchasing power is located within a 500 km radium of Antwerp.

Antwerp is not only economically developed, but also in terms of humanities and arts. The well-preserved medieval buildings in the city center, Rubens, one of the three great Renaissance masters, and the now famous fashion designers “Antwerp Six” all add extraordinary charm to the city. As a fun fact, Antwerp was also the host of the 1920 Summer Olympics.

Higher Education

The System

The Belgian education system is divided into four general levels: preschool education for ages 2.5 to 6, compulsory primary education for ages 6 to 12, compulsory secondary education for ages 12 to 18, and tertiary education in university and non-university format averaging four years.

Universities in Belgium follow the agreements of the Bologna Process to ensure comparability in the standards and quality of higher-education qualifications. According to the Bologna Process, Belgium higher education is composed of three cycles:

Except for a few bachelor’s programs, most of them are taught by the official language of the Flemish Community (Dutch) and the French Community (French).

Universities

Higher education in Belgium is organized mainly by the Flemish Community and the French Community.

In the Flemish Community, five universities issue academic bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees:

In the French Community, there are six universities:

Belgian universities are known for their research in a while range of disciplines, such as medicine, veterinary medicine, physics, chemistry, and so on. In recent years, breakthroughs have been made by Belgian universities in the fields of microelectronics, nuclear energy, biomedicine, materials, environment etc.

Since 2016, KU Leuven has been named by the Reuters as Europe’s most innovative university four years in a row. University of Antwerp is ranked No. 5 by Times Higher Education Millennials 2020.

Other Higher Education Institutes

Besides universities, there are also a number of registered educational institutions that issue specialized degrees or provide education mainly in a foreign language. Many of these institutes are international recognized by their high quality, such as Antwerp Management School and Vlerick Business School.

Here is a list of some institutes (sorted alphabetically):

Note:

International accreditations:

AACSB: the association to Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business
AMBA: the association of MBAs
EQUIS: the European Quality Improvement System

Regional accreditations:

NVAO: the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders
NECHE: the New England Commission of Higher Education in the United States

Admission

In Belgium, anybody with a high school diploma can enroll at any institute of higher education of their choosing, with a few exceptions. Therefore, the admission process is different from the Chinese higher education system.

The National Higher Education Entrance Examination (高考) is the primary factor used in the admission process in China. As the university admission quotas in China are not based on the area’s population but the university’s enrollment plan, competition in some provinces in China can be extremely fierce. Sometimes even if a student is admitted by their dream university, it remains whether they can study the major in mind for some popular majors such as computer science or finance.

Anyone with a bachelor’s diploma issued within the same community can register for a master’s program in Belgium. For example, students with a bachelor’s diploma issued within the Flemish Community can register for a master’s program in KU Leuven. For international students, an application is required.

Most programs do require students with a relevant bachelor’s diploma for admission.

The application procedure of an advanced master’s program varies from program to program. Usually, international students must provide proof of language proficiency, application form, motivation letter, and possibly GMAT/GRE results. In some programs, students may also need to take an admission test.

Advantage of Advanced Master’s programs

Advanced master’s programs in Belgium are equivalent to postgraduate programs in China. After four years of bachelor study, for Chinese students, applying for an advanced master’s program in Belgium has several benefits.

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