The University of Antwerp is a young university which has its roots in three separate institutions: UFSIA (Universitaire Faculteiten Sint-Ignatius Antwerpen), RUCA (Rijksuniversitair Centrum Antwerpen) and UIA (Universitaire Instelling Antwerpen).
In 1973, these three institutions formed an alliance and began to cooperate under the name ‘University of Antwerp’. The University of Antwerp now has 19 155 students, 16% of whom are international students, and 1247 PhD students supported by 5117 members of staff. Nine faculties, producing 3650 scientific publications per year, led in 2013 to the university’s being ranked 13th in the top 50 World University Ranking for universities under 50 years old. Of the Flemish universities, the University of Antwerp has achieved the largest share of publications in the top 25 journals for the third year in a row (source: SCImago Institutional Ranking) and this lead over the other institutions is still growing. The University of Antwerp’s educational priorities are: the combination of education and research; internationalisation; a focus on competences; and the activation of students.
In 2013, the engineering programmes at Karel de Grote University College and Artesis University College Antwerp merged to form the new Faculty of Applied Engineering. The Faculty of Applied Engineering trains future engineers in four disciplines: construction, chemistry/biochemistry, electromechanics and electronics-ICT. SMEs and large companies are always looking for engineers trained in a multidisciplinary environment. To cater to this demand, students take a combined study programme from the first year onwards. In addition to their own courses, they also learn about the most important aspects of the other disciplines. As a result, all our engineers have a good working knowledge of all fields within applied engineering and will be able to understand the terminology used by fellow engineers from different specialisations in their future careers.
Automotive Engineering, one of the various specialisations available on the Applied Engineering programme, trains students thoroughly using both practical and theoretical course components. It is a guarantee of a successful career in the automotive industry, whether at home in Belgium or abroad.
The Faculty of Applied Engineering places a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship in its programmes. Students are given the opportunity to see things from the entrepreneur’s point of view one half day per week throughout their course, thanks to a module known as ‘The Company’. This module ensures that they have the skills necessary to run a company successfully once they start their own businesses.
