VUB rector will not participate in trade mission to the US
Rector Jan Danckaert of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) will not participate in a Belgian royal trade mission to the United States in October. Due to previous statements in the press about academic freedom in the US, he fears that he will no longer be eligible for a visa to the country. Ghent University rector Petra De Sutter and the French-speaking Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) have also indicated that they will not be participating.
The trade mission in October, led by Princess Astrid, will include a delegation of 500 companies, academics and ministers who will travel to San Francisco and Los Angeles for a week. Most Belgian universities will also participate.
However, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and its French-speaking sister university, the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), will not be travelling to the United States. At Ghent University, rector Petra De Sutter also recently announced that she would not be travelling to the US for personal safety reasons. De Sutter will, however, be sending her vice-rector Herwig Reynaert. The two Brussels universities will not be sending anyone, according to BRUZZ.
VUB rector Jan Danckaert fears that he will no longer be eligible for a visa to the US because of previous statements he made in the press. “I have given quite a few interviews to international media in which I pointed out that science and knowledge institutions in the United States are currently under unprecedented pressure,” explained the rector.
In the spring, VUB opened twelve post-doctoral positions for American researchers through a grant programme with a budget of 2.5 million euros. Together with ULB, VUB has made 18 apartments available to these researchers.
#FlandersNewsService | VUB rector Jan Danckaert © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS
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