ULB & VUB: Unique graduation ceremony on the Grand Place in Brussels

Unique graduation ceremony by two Brussels universities ULB and VUB will take place on the Grand Place in Brussels! From September 28 to October 5, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), in collaboration with the City of Brussels, will proclaim their graduates on the Grand Place.

After the City of Brussels realised that the proclamations of the two Brussels universities could not take place on their campuses as usual, it proposed to have the graduation ceremonies on the Grand Place. This proposal was received very positively by the ULB and the VUB. For the first time, most faculties will soon be organizing their solemn proclamation outside the campuses.

The VUB proclamations will take place on 28 and 29 September, the ULB proclamations will follow on 30 September, 1 and 5 October.

On September 30, a joint proclamation will be organized by the engineering courses of the ULB and the VUB (BRUFACE – Faculty of Engineering of Brussels). BRUFACE is an initiative of the two engineering schools of the two universities. These two faculties offer five of their Masters completely jointly and in English, after which the students receive a joint VUB / ULB diploma. This year, nearly 140 BRUFACE students have graduated. The proclamation will take place in the presence of Mayor Philippe Close and both rectors.

In order to guarantee the safety and the smooth running of the proclamations, the ceremony takes place outside. There will be a maximum of 200 graduates for the proclamation in the presence of their professors and deans. For the VUB this means a total of ten proclamations (1,500 students), for the ULB this means fifteen ceremonies for the nine participating faculties (for about 2,000 students). A total of 3,500 students will receive their diplomas on the Brussels’ Grand Place / Grote Markt.

Each graduate can bring up to two guests from their bubble and everyone is required to wear a mouth mask. The seats on the Grote Markt are arranged in such a way that the distance rules can easily be respected. The chairs are sanitized after each ceremony.

The ceremonies can also be followed on a big screen and are also streamed. The link: https://www.vub.be/streaming-graduation-ceremonies

This year there will be no reception, but the City invites recent graduates and their family members to celebrate the event in the many cozy and safely organized cafes and restaurants on and around the Grote Markt.

More info & contacts: VUB Press