Université libre de Bruxelles

The Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), meaning Free University of Brussels, is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium, which emerged from the 1969 split of the Free University of Brussels founded in 1834.布鲁塞尔自由大学（法语：Université libre de Bruxelles，简称 ULB）是位于比利时布鲁塞尔的一所法语研究型大学，由 1834 年创立的布鲁塞尔自由大学于 1969 年拆分而来。

It has four campuses, Solbosch, La Plaine, Erasme in Anderlecht and Gosselies in Charleroi, and its motto is Scientia vincere tenebras, or conquering darkness through science.该校有四个校区：索尔博斯、拉普莱讷、安德莱赫特的埃拉斯姆校区，以及沙勒罗瓦的戈瑟利校区；校训为「Scientia vincere tenebras」，意为「以科学战胜黑暗」。

It is ranked 248th in the QS World University Rankings 2027, joint 252nd in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027, 275th in the U.S. News Best Global Universities 2026-2027 and in the 101-150 band of the Shanghai ARWU 2026.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中列第 248 位，2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名并列第 252 位，《美国新闻与世界报道》2026-2027 最佳全球大学排名第 275 位，2026 年软科世界大学学术排名位列 101-150 区间。

History

• When the Belgian state was formed in 1830 from nine breakaway provinces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, three state universities existed at Ghent, Leuven and Liège, but none in the new capital, Brussels.1830 年，比利时由脱离荷兰王国的九个省份组成，当时根特、鲁汶与列日各有一所国立大学，新首都布鲁塞尔却没有。
• A group of intellectuals, among them the study prefect Auguste Baron and the astronomer and mathematician Adolphe Quetelet, planned a private university in Brussels, which the Belgian Constitution allowed.一批知识分子——其中包括学监奥古斯特·巴龙以及天文学家兼数学家阿道夫·凯特勒——计划在布鲁塞尔创办一所私立大学，比利时宪法对此予以许可。
• In 1834 the Belgian episcopate decided to found a Catholic university at Mechelen, prompting the country's liberals to press for a Brussels university as a counterweight.1834 年，比利时主教团决定在梅赫伦创办一所天主教大学，这促使该国自由派推动在布鲁塞尔建立一所大学以相抗衡。
• Auguste Baron, newly a member of the freemasonic lodge Les Amis Philantropes, persuaded its president Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen to back the scheme, and on 24 June 1834 Verhaegen presented his plan.奥古斯特·巴龙新近加入共济会会所「乐善之友」，说服其主席皮埃尔-泰奥多尔·费尔哈根支持该计划；1834 年 6 月 24 日，费尔哈根提出了他的方案。
• The Université libre de Belgique was inaugurated on 20 November 1834 in the Gothic Room of Brussels Town Hall, and in 1836 it was renamed the Université libre de Bruxelles.这所大学（时称「比利时自由大学」）于 1834 年 11 月 20 日在布鲁塞尔市政厅哥特厅举行开学典礼，1836 年更名为布鲁塞尔自由大学。
• Its establishment date is still commemorated each year by students as the holiday of Saint Verhaegen, often shortened to St V, in honour of its founder.其建校日至今仍由学生以「圣费尔哈根节」（常简称 St V）之名每年纪念，以向其创办人致敬。
• Receiving no government subsidies, the Free University relied on tuition fees and annual fundraising, and its head Verhaegen told King Leopold I that its mission was free inquiry and academic freedom uninfluenced by any political or religious authority.由于得不到政府补助，这所自由大学只能依靠学费与年度募款维持；其主事者费尔哈根向国王利奥波德一世表明，其宗旨是「不受任何政治或宗教权威影响的自由探究与学术自由」。
• In 1858 the Catholic Church established the Saint-Louis Institute in the city, which later grew into a university in its own right.1858 年，天主教会在这座城市创办了圣路易学院，该学院后来自身发展成了一所大学。
• In 1842 the Free University moved to the Granvelle Palace, which it occupied until 1928, expanding the range of subjects it taught.1842 年，这所自由大学迁入格拉恩维尔宫，一直使用至 1928 年，并不断扩大其开设的学科范围。
• In 1880 it became one of the first institutions in Belgium to allow female students to study in some faculties.1880 年，它成为比利时最早允许女生进入部分学院学习的机构之一。
• In 1893 it received large grants from Ernest and Alfred Solvay and Raoul Warocqué, and a dispute over an invitation to the anarchist geographer Élisée Reclus led some liberal and socialist staff to break away and form the New University of Brussels in 1894, which closed in 1919.1893 年，它获得欧内斯特·索尔维、阿尔弗雷德·索尔维与拉乌尔·瓦罗凯的巨额资助；次年因邀请无政府主义地理学家埃利泽·雷克吕斯讲学引发争执，部分自由派与社会主义派教师出走，于 1894 年另立布鲁塞尔新大学，该大学于 1919 年关闭。
• In 1900 the Free University's football team won the bronze medal at the Summer Olympics after Racing Club de Bruxelles declined to take part.1900 年，在布鲁塞尔竞技俱乐部拒绝参赛后，这所自由大学的足球队在夏季奥运会上夺得铜牌。
• The Institute of Sociology was founded in 1902, followed in 1904 by the Solvay School of Commerce, which became the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management.社会学研究所于 1902 年成立，1904 年又创办了索尔维商学院，即后来的索尔维布鲁塞尔经济与管理学院。
• In 1911 the university obtained legal personality under the name Université libre de Bruxelles - Vrije Hogeschool te Brussel.1911 年，该校以「Université libre de Bruxelles - Vrije Hogeschool te Brussel」之名取得法人资格。
• The German occupation of World War I suspended classes from 1914 to 1918, and afterwards the university moved its principal activities to Solbosch in Ixelles, where a purpose-built campus was funded by the Belgian American Educational Foundation.第一次世界大战期间德国的占领使课程于 1914 至 1918 年停办；战后该校将主要活动迁至伊克塞勒的索尔博斯，由比美教育基金会出资建成了专门校区。
• During the World War II occupation the university protested the anti-Jewish ordinances of 28 October 1940, was closed by the German authorities on 25 November 1941, and some of its students joined the resistance network Groupe G.二战占领期间，该校抗议 1940 年 10 月 28 日的反犹法令，于 1941 年 11 月 25 日被德国当局关闭，部分学生加入了抵抗组织「G 组」。
• Courses were taught only in French until the early twentieth century, the Faculty of Law became bilingual in 1935, all faculties followed only in 1963, and the Catholic University of Leuven split along linguistic lines in 1968.该校课程直到 20 世纪初仅以法语授课，法学院于 1935 年起双语教学，各学院直到 1963 年才全面双语，天主教鲁汶大学则于 1968 年按语言分裂。
• Ghent University became the first Belgian institution to teach exclusively in Dutch in 1930, after the Flemish Movement pressed for Dutch-language higher education.在弗拉芒运动推动荷兰语高等教育之后，根特大学于 1930 年成为比利时首个全面以荷兰语授课的机构。
• On 1 October 1969 the French- and Dutch-speaking sections of the Free University separated, and an act of the Belgian Parliament on 28 May 1970 made the Université libre de Bruxelles and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel distinct legal, administrative and scientific entities.1969 年 10 月 1 日，这所自由大学的法语与荷兰语部分分离；1970 年 5 月 28 日比利时议会通过法案，使布鲁塞尔自由大学（ULB）与荷语布鲁塞尔自由大学（VUB）成为各自独立的法人、行政与科研实体。
• The founder Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen, who lived from 1796 to 1862, was a lawyer and liberal politician who served as head of the university.创办人皮埃尔-泰奥多尔·费尔哈根（1796-1862）是一位律师与自由派政治家，曾担任该校的负责人。
• The ULB counted about 24,200 students in 2012, and by 2023-24 it enrolled 37,489 students.2012 年该校约有 24,200 名学生，到 2023-24 学年在校生已达 37,489 人。
• In May 2024, inspired by protests on US campuses, around a hundred ULB students occupied a university building, and the university's suspension of partnership agreements with Israeli universities drew criticism from Jewish organisations and a blacklisting by the US state of Florida.2024 年 5 月，受美国校园抗议启发，约一百名 ULB 学生占领了一栋校舍；该校暂停与以色列各大学的合作协议之举，引来犹太组织批评，并被美国佛罗里达州列入黑名单。

Academics

• The university's faculties and institutes include the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, the Faculty of Sciences, the School of Public Health and the Institute for European Studies.该校的学院与研究所包括索尔维布鲁塞尔经济与管理学院、理学院、公共卫生学院与欧洲研究所。
• Other units are the Faculty of Architecture, the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Pharmacy, the Faculty of Motor Sciences and the Faculty of Law.其他单位还有建筑学院、哲学与文学院、医学院、药学院、运动科学学院与法学院。
• The Interfacultary School of Bio-Engineering, the Institute of Work Sciences, the Institute of Statistics and Operational Research and the Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics add to the university's research structure.跨系生物工程学院、劳动科学研究所、统计与运筹学研究所，以及天文与天体物理研究所共同构成该校的科研架构。
• The High Institute of Physical Education and Kinesiotherapy trains specialists in sport and movement science.高等体育与运动疗法学院培养体育与运动科学方面的专门人才。
• At the heart of the ULB there are at least 2,000 doctoral students and around 3,600 researchers and lecturers working across the exact, applied and human sciences.布鲁塞尔自由大学校内有至少 2,000 名博士生与约 3,600 名研究人员和讲师，活跃于精密科学、应用科学与人文科学各领域。
• Research at the ULB is financed by the European Research Council, the Walloon Region, the Brussels-Capital Region, the National Fund for Scientific Research, the ULB Foundation and the Erasme Funds.该校的科研经费来自欧洲研究委员会、瓦隆大区、布鲁塞尔首都大区、国家科学研究基金、ULB 基金会与埃拉斯姆基金。
• Since the early 2000s the MAPP project has studied how political party membership evolves over time.自 2000 年代初起，MAPP 项目一直研究政党党员人数的长期演变。
• The Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management traces its origin to the Solvay School of Commerce founded in 1904.索尔维布鲁塞尔经济与管理学院可溯源至 1904 年创办的索尔维商学院。
• The Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Pharmacy are based on the La Plaine campus.理学院与药学院设于拉普莱讷校区。
• The Faculty of Medicine, the School of Public Health and the Faculty of Motor Sciences are based at the Erasmus campus.医学院、公共卫生学院与运动科学学院设于埃拉斯姆校区。
• The Institute for European Studies is a leading centre for research on European integration and governance.欧洲研究所是研究欧洲一体化与治理的领先中心。
• The university maintains international partnerships with the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Université de Montréal and Waseda University, among others.该校与加州大学伯克利分校、牛津大学、剑桥大学、蒙特利尔大学、早稻田大学等院校保持国际伙伴关系。
• Among its Asian and Global South partners are BeiHang University in China, the University of São Paulo and the University of Lubumbashi.其亚洲与南半球伙伴包括中国的北京航空航天大学、圣保罗大学与卢本巴希大学。
• The university offers programmes in French and, in some cases, in English, reflecting its bilingual Belgian setting.该校以法语授课，部分项目亦有英语授课，体现了比利时双语环境。
• The large library of social sciences is housed on the Solbosch campus and serves the humanities and social science faculties.大型社会科学图书馆位于索尔博斯校区，服务于人文与社会科学各学院。
• The ULB runs the Solvay Brussels School alongside the Faculty of Sciences and the polytechnic school, covering economics, engineering and the natural sciences.该校的索尔维商学院、理学院与理工学院并列运行，覆盖经济学、工程学与自然科学。
• The École polytechnique de Bruxelles, the university's engineering school, and the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters are both based on the Solbosch campus.该校的布鲁塞尔理工学院（École polytechnique de Bruxelles）与哲学与文学院均设于索尔博斯校区。
• Further international partners include Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris and the universities of Lausanne, Geneva and Ouagadougou.其他国际伙伴还包括巴黎的皮埃尔与玛丽·居里大学，以及洛桑、日内瓦与瓦加杜古的大学。
• The Institut Jules Bordet, a cancer centre named after the Nobel laureate Jules Bordet, is associated with the university.以诺奖得主朱尔·博尔代命名的癌症中心——朱尔·博尔代研究所，也与该校密切相关。

Campus

• The ULB comprises three main campuses, Solbosch on the territory of the City of Brussels and Ixelles, La Plaine in Ixelles, and Erasme in Anderlecht beside the Erasmus Hospital, together with the Gosselies campus.该校有三个主要校区：位于布鲁塞尔市与伊克塞勒境内的索尔博斯校区、伊克塞勒的拉普莱讷校区，以及安德莱赫特、毗邻埃拉斯姆医院的埃拉斯姆校区，另有戈瑟利校区。
• The main and largest campus is Solbosch, which hosts the administration and general services and most of the faculties of the humanities, the polytechnic school and the large social sciences library.主校区也是最大的校区是索尔博斯，设有校行政与总务部门、多数人文学院、理工学院以及大型社会科学图书馆。
• Solbosch also holds the Museum of Zoology and Anthropology, the Allende exhibition room and the Michel de Ghelderode Museum-Library.索尔博斯校区还设有动物学与人类学博物馆、阿连德展厅以及米歇尔·德·盖尔德罗德博物馆-图书馆。
• The La Plaine campus hosts the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Pharmacy, the physics and chemistry Experimentariums, the Museum of Medicinal Plants and Pharmacy and student housing.拉普莱讷校区设有理学院与药学院、物理与化学实验探索馆、药用植物与药学博物馆以及学生宿舍。
• The Erasmus campus houses the Erasmus Hospital and the Pôle Santé, the Faculty of Medicine, the School of Public Health and the Faculty of Motor Sciences, as well as the Museum of Medicine and the Museum of Human Anatomy and Embryology.埃拉斯姆校区设有埃拉斯姆医院与健康中心、医学院、公共卫生学院与运动科学学院，还有医学博物馆与人体解剖与胚胎学博物馆。
• The university also has buildings and activities in Auderghem within Brussels, and outside the city at Gosselies in Charleroi on the Aéropole Science Park and in Nivelles.该校在布鲁塞尔市内的奥德海姆也有建筑与活动，并在市外的沙勒罗瓦戈瑟利（航空航天科技园）与尼韦勒设有设施。
• The Paul-Émile Janson Auditorium is a large lecture hall on the Solbosch campus.保罗-埃米尔·让松阶梯教室是索尔博斯校区的一处大型讲堂。
• The school of nursing is run with the Haute école libre de Bruxelles - Ilya Prigogine at the Erasmus campus.护理学院与「布鲁塞尔自由高等学院——伊利亚·普里高津」在埃拉斯姆校区合作办学。

Reputation

• The QS World University Rankings 2027 places the Université libre de Bruxelles 248th in the world.2027 年 QS 世界大学排名将布鲁塞尔自由大学列为世界第 248 位。
• The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 places it joint 252nd.2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名将其列为并列第 252 位。
• The U.S. News Best Global Universities 2026-2027 ranks it 275th in the world.《美国新闻与世界报道》2026-2027 最佳全球大学排名将其列为世界第 275 位。
• The Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities 2026 places it in the 101-150 band.2026 年软科世界大学学术排名将其列入 101-150 区间。
• The university counts five Nobel laureates among its graduates and faculty, including Henri La Fontaine (Peace 1913), Jules Bordet (Medicine 1919), Albert Claude (Medicine 1974), Ilya Prigogine (Chemistry 1977) and François Englert (Physics 2013).该校的校友与教师中有五位诺贝尔奖得主，包括亨利·拉封丹（1913 年和平奖）、朱尔·博尔代（1919 年医学奖）、阿尔贝·克劳德（1974 年医学奖）、伊利亚·普里高津（1977 年化学奖）与弗朗索瓦·恩格勒（2013 年物理学奖）。
• François Englert, a professor at the ULB from 1964 to 2016, shared the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics with Peter Higgs for the theoretical discovery of the mechanism explaining the origin of mass.该校 1964 至 2016 年的教授弗朗索瓦·恩格勒与彼得·希格斯共同获得 2013 年诺贝尔物理学奖，因理论提出解释质量起源的机制。
• Denis Mukwege, a ULB PhD graduate of 2015, won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.该校 2015 年的博士毕业生德尼·穆克韦格因致力于终止将性暴力作为战争武器而获 2018 年诺贝尔和平奖。
• The OpenAlex database credits the university with 113,535 works and 11,081,806 citations.OpenAlex 数据库收录该校 113,535 篇成果与 11,081,806 次引用。
• The mathematician Jacques Tits, associated with the ULB, won the Wolf Prize in 1993 and the Abel Prize in 2008.与该校渊源深厚的数学家雅克·蒂茨于 1993 年获沃尔夫奖，2008 年获阿贝尔奖。
• The ULB appears in the major world rankings, namely the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the QS World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities.ULB 出现在各大世界排名之中，即泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名、QS 世界大学排名与软科世界大学学术排名。

Student life

• The university's motto is Scientia vincere tenebras, Latin for conquering darkness through science, and it upholds the tradition of libre examen, or free inquiry.该校校训为「Scientia vincere tenebras」，拉丁文意为「以科学战胜黑暗」，并秉持「libre examen」即自由探究的传统。
• Students still celebrate Saint Verhaegen, or St V, each year on the anniversary of the university's founding on 20 November 1834.学生至今仍于每年 11 月 20 日——即 1834 年建校纪念日——庆祝「圣费尔哈根节」。
• Some ULB students belong to the Brussels student folklore tradition centred on the Saint Verhaegen parade through the city.部分 ULB 学生参与了以圣费尔哈根巡游为轴心的布鲁塞尔学生民俗传统。
• The university provides student housing on the La Plaine campus and around the Erasme campus.该校在拉普莱讷校区及埃拉斯姆校区周边提供学生宿舍。
• The 1900 Olympic bronze medal won by the university's football team remains an early chapter of student sporting history.该校足球队在 1900 年奥运会夺得的铜牌，是学生体育史上的一段早期篇章。
• The university's museums and cultural venues on the Solbosch and Erasmus campuses are used for public engagement as well as teaching.该校索尔博斯与埃拉斯姆两校区内的博物馆与文化场所，除教学外也用于公众教育。
• The university's associations and the free-inquiry ethos shape a student culture that spans the humanities, the sciences and the medical faculties.该校各类社团与自由探究精神，塑造了横跨人文、科学与医学各学院的学生文化。
• With 37,489 students enrolled in 2023-24, the ULB is one of the largest universities in French-speaking Belgium.2023-24 学年在校生达 37,489 人，ULB 是比利时法语区规模最大的大学之一。

Notable people

• Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen (1796-1862), a lawyer and liberal politician, founded the Free University of Brussels in 1834 and later headed it.皮埃尔-泰奥多尔·费尔哈根（1796-1862）是律师与自由派政治家，1834 年创办布鲁塞尔自由大学，后来担任该校负责人。
• Auguste Baron, study prefect of the Royal Athenaeum of Brussels, was a leading planner of the new university.奥古斯特·巴龙是布鲁塞尔皇家中学的学监，也是这所新大学的主要筹划者之一。
• Adolphe Quetelet, the astronomer and mathematician, was among the intellectuals who planned the university in the 1830s.天文学家兼数学家阿道夫·凯特勒是 1830 年代筹划该校的知识分子之一。
• Jules Bordet (1870-1961), a professor at the university and a PhD graduate of 1892, won the 1919 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries relating to immunity.朱尔·博尔代（1870-1961）是该校教授、1892 年的博士毕业生，因免疫相关发现获 1919 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。
• Ilya Prigogine (1917-2003), professor at the ULB from 1950 to 2003, won the 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on non-equilibrium thermodynamics and dissipative structures.伊利亚·普里高津（1917-2003）1950 至 2003 年任该校教授，因非平衡热力学与耗散结构研究获 1977 年诺贝尔化学奖。
• François Englert (1932-2026), who took his PhD at the ULB in 1958 and taught there from 1964 to 2016, shared the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics.弗朗索瓦·恩格勒（1932-2026）1958 年在该校获博士学位、1964 至 2016 年在此任教，与他人共享 2013 年诺贝尔物理学奖。
• Denis Mukwege, who received his PhD from the ULB in 2015, won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize.德尼·穆克韦格 2015 年在该校获博士学位，并于 2018 年获诺贝尔和平奖。
• Jacques Tits (1930-2021), a Belgian-French mathematician linked to the ULB, won the 1993 Wolf Prize and the 2008 Abel Prize.雅克·蒂茨（1930-2021）是与该校渊源深厚的比利时-法国数学家，曾获 1993 年沃尔夫奖与 2008 年阿贝尔奖。
• Charles Michel, a ULB law graduate, served as Prime Minister of Belgium and later as President of the European Council.夏尔·米歇尔毕业于该校法学院，曾任比利时首相，后出任欧洲理事会主席。
• Paul Hymans (1865-1941), a professor at the university, was a politician and the first President of the League of Nations.保罗·伊曼斯（1865-1941）曾任该校教授，是一位政治家，并担任国际联盟首任主席。