Since its creation the University Foundation has developed initiatives to support scientific research in Belgium. These activities have evolved over time, because the University Foundation aims to be complementary to other bodies (government agencies, FWO/FNRS …).
Our main initiatives are currently:
- financial support for the publication of scientific works (books, journals, papers),
- the organization of scientific meetings (Ethical Forum, Rebel),
- providing facilities for the organization of scientific and academic activities by external organizations.
The bi-annual English Fernand Collin Prize for Law aims at stimulating junior researchers in Flemish academic institutions in the area of law. The award was established in honour of Fernand Collin (1897-1990), who was chairman of Kredietbank from 1938 to 1973.
The Fernand Collin Prize for 2025 is awarded to Hannelore THIJS for her work Solidarity in Acquisitions Regimes (720 p.). This is the dissertation with which Ms. THIJS obtained her doctorate in law from KU Leuven on 5 December 2024. Professor Alain-Laurent Verbeke was the supervisor of this dissertation.
The Prize will be presented on Monday, 8 December 2025, at 6:00 p.m. during an academic session at the University Foundation (Egmontstraat 11, 1000 Brussels).Read more
The Ethical Forum 2025 of the University Foundation will be devoted to an exchange of views on the internal restrictions on the academic freedom, with the title
ACADEMIC FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK - ALSO FROM WITHIN?
The Ethical Forum 2025 is organised in a new format, an early evening event from 5 to 7 pm, on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at the University Foundation.
For more information the reader is referred to the EF website.
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Two books which received subsidy for publication from ten the University Foundarion, have received an award.
The book « À la recherche de l’écologie temporelle. Vivre des temps libérés dans les collectifs néo-paysans autogérés : une analyse anthropologique » (author Madeleine Sallustio) was awarded the First Prize as "livre d'écologie politique". For more information on the award click here. For more information on the book, click here.
The book "Le jardin anglais. Evolution du goût et passion botanique" (author Nathalie de Harlez) received the Prize Pierre-Joseph Redouté / Histoire 2023, a Prize awarded every year to the best book on gardens. For more information on the award click here. For more information on the book, click here.
The University Foundation is proud to have contributed to these awards. Read more
The Ethical Forum of the University Foundation took place on December 7, 2017. The theme was: "What place (if any) for academics in our post-truth era?".
For downloading the presentations and the concluding remarks the reader is referred to the website of the Ethical Forum. The concluding remarks by Philippe Van Parijs have been published as "Reaction and Debate" in Ethical Perspectives, vol. 25, n° 1, pp. 143-148, 2018. This paper can also be downloaded from the downloads section of the Ethical Forum 2017.Read more
To stimulate publication of scientific papers in international journals, of which the language is mostly English, the Commission for Subsidies and Publications of the University Foundation has the possibility of giving financial support for linguistic editing of the manuscipt. Read more
The University Foundation provides financial support for various scientific publications (books, journals, papers), to promote the research carried out in Belgium.
A list of the recently sponsored publications with the relevant bibliographic references is available : books, papers, journals. A list of previously supported publications is also available .Read more