Science in Belgium

Many discoveries and new technologies that radically changed our everyday lives and how we view the world originated in the work done by Belgian scientists:

The dynamo
Zénobe Gramme
The soda
Ernest Solvay
The Bakelite
Leo Baekeland
The Big Bang
theory
Georges Lemaitre
The research into cell division
Edouard Van Beneden

Belgian research has focused on such areas as medicine, biochemistry, statistics (Quetelet) and astronomy. Our researchers have received prestigious international scientific prizes for their work in these areas.

Belgium is active in space research, North Sea research and climate research in Antarctica. It is also involved in ambitious research projects focusing on sustainable development.

Many Belgian scientists are currently at leading foreign universities. Conversely, the high scientific standard of our universities and the quality of life in Belgium attract many foreign students and researchers to our scientific institutions.

In Belgium, science has traditionally been linked to education and the public sector. But for some time now, industry has also been heavily involved in scientific research, focusing on space travel, biochemistry, medicine, pharmaceuticals and IT.

Belgium is a federal state. As such, it is mainly the communities and regions that are responsible for scientific research, although the federal level does have some powers in this domain too.