The French and Dutch-speaking Universities of Brussels decided to offer, from the academic year 2005-2006 onwards, a variant of their French and Dutch programmes "Ingénieur de Gestion" / "Handelsingenieur", taught totally in English. Initially called "International Master in Management Science", the programme has now been renamed "Master of Business and Technology" in order to better reflect the unique combination of economics and technology (see objectives).

Through this co-organised English programme, international undergraduate students with the right profile have the opportunity to benefit from the expertise of the Solvay Business School without having to speak French or Dutch.  Students thus have the unique possibility of experiencing high-level European and internationally-oriented management studies whilst living and studying in the capital of Europe.

Studying at the "University of Brussels"

Although there is no official translation, both the Dutch-speaking “Vrije Universiteit Brussel” (VUB) and the French-speaking “Université Libre de Bruxelles” (ULB) are often referred to in English as the “University of Brussels”.

The history of these universities cannot be understood without reference to the creation of Belgium in 1830. The idea for a new university was conceived by a group of key figures in Brussels, who were Freemasons and liberal thinkers, for whom it was unthinkable that a European capital should be without a university. The ULB was inaugurated in 1834. Later, in 1970, the university was split up into two separate institutions, the Dutch-speaking “Vrije Universiteit Brussel” (VUB) and the French-speaking “Université Libre de Bruxelles” (ULB). Both universities remain true to the “libre-examen” philosophy of the founder, Théodore Verhaegen (openness and independence of mind, and the objective examination of facts in the service of action). Today more than 27,000 students are enrolled at the ULB and VUB.

Physically, the universities are within a stone's throw of each other and on an organisational level the VUB and ULB work closely together, allowing students from one university to follow courses or semesters at the other one. With this new common English programme, the ties between the two institutions are further strengthened.