The Confucius Institutes of VUB and ULB were founded in 2016 with the cooperation of the Chinese Ministry of Education. These institutions are presented as places of discovery and learning of the Chinese language and culture, and as a pole of exchange and meeting between China and Belgium. However, the State Security has always worried that it could also be a huge Trojan horse inside the two universities.

In fact, now the director of the site of the Flemish university is suspected of having used his network for espionage purposes, and of having recruited students and people from the business world for the Chinese secret service. The man denies the facts. The management of the ULB site has nothing to do with this case. Contacted however this Tuesday afternoon for a comment, it was unreachable.

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For the development of batteries for electric vehicles, the MOBI research group of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is investing in a high-tech pilot line for the production of new battery technologies. This pilot line will be equipped with an ultramodern dry room. The precise climate control (moisture content and temperature) of the dry room allows researchers to develop the next generation of batteries from innovative materials.

With the investment, MOBI wants to force groundbreaking developments in the capacity of the batteries in the short term. MOBI strives to increase the battery capacity so that longer distances can be driven with electric cars, up to even 800 km. Furthermore, the innovations must also reduce the battery costs so that the electric cars become cheap.

The project is under construction at the VUB campus in Etterbeek.

Prof. Joeri Van Mierlo, head of MOBI: “Our research within the Battery Innovation Center is constantly growing and has already provided excellent, expert knowledge. With the installation of the dry room and our expertise, it will be possible to realize further developments within the battery technology.  »

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The European Union has allocated 3.5 million euros in total for research on new anti-inflammatory drugs as part of their new program « Future and Emerging Technologies ». The team from VUB received 1.7 million of that total.

The team of international scientists is being lead by Professor Mathieu Vinken, who is a Pharmacist-Toxicologist at the department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences at VUB. The team will be focusing on drugs for inflammatory diseases of the liver, cardiovascular system and joints.

“We naturally hope to have taken major steps forward in four years and to have developed more effective anti-inflammatory drugs. After all, they are commonly used medicines that can be found in just about every medicine cabinet, ” adds Prof. Dr. Mathieu Vinken.

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The course is organised by the Centrum Leo Apostel (CLEA), an interdisciplinary and transfaculatory research centre created under the initiative of the Belgian philosopher Leo Apostel.

“We often talk about thinking ‘outside the box’, but the boxes remain very present in our minds and slow down free thinking without us being really aware of it. We want to provide methods that allow us to put aside preconceived ideas. To find creative solutions to complex problems, we must dare to cross the boundaries of frameworks and disciplines, while remaining critical enough to distinguish good ideas from bad,” explains Professor Francis Heylighe.

The new curriculum is expected to attract prospective entrepreneurs, business leaders, politicians, and consultants.

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