Science and technology in Flanders, being the Flemish Community and more specifically the northern region of Belgium ( Europe), is well developed with the presence of several universities and research institutes. These are strongly spread over all Flemish cities, from Kortrijk and Bruges in the Western side, over Ghent as a major university center alongside Antwerp, Brussels and Leuven to Hasselt and Diepenbeek in the Eastern side.
Six Flemish universities issue academic bachelor, master and doctoral degrees on a broad range of disciplines:
As a result of an international treaty between the Netherlands and Flanders, a co-operation between the Universiteit Hasselt (Flanders) and the Maastricht University (the Netherlands) is recognised as the
According to the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities [1] and the THES - QS World University Rankings, [2] four Flemish universities (Universiteit Antwerpen, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Universiteit Gent and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) are among the top-150 universities in Europe and top-300 universities worldwide.
All recognised Flemish university colleges are associated with a Flemish university. The following colleges, which issue professional bachelor, academic bachelor's and master's degrees, are recognised by the Flemish government:
Antwerp University Association: University Colleges associated with the University of Antwerp
Ghent University Association: University Colleges associated with Ghent University
University Association Brussels: University Colleges associated with Vrije Universiteit Brussel
KU Leuven Association: University Colleges associated with Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Limburg University Association: University Colleges associated with Hasselt University
Finally, the Flemish government has recognised a number of "registered" institutes of higher education, which mostly issue specialised degrees or provide education mainly in a foreign language:
The following institutions provide various forms of public funding for research and development:
Flanders is home to several science and technology institutes.
Several science parks associated with the universities are spread over Flanders: