Promotion of academic success

At ULB, your success is our priority. Not only do academic studies involve an entirely new way to learn, but they also cover more material than secondary school, and require that you become self-disciplined. All these factors, and others, could make your work as a student somewhat more challenging that what you were used to.

Each Faculty has developed a number of tools to support you, and you will find – both within the Faculties and at the ULB level – services and people who can help you navigate the various ways in which the University can assist you in your studies:

  • an information and guidance service;
  • key people and Faculty coaches;
  • remedial courses;
  • guidance;
  • the Academic Methodology Centre (CMU);
  • online assignments to review what you have learned in secondary school;
  • information retrieval training (Sherpa project) and support for your research and projects (EUREKA service) in the ULB libraries (see below);
  • language tutoring at F9 Languages in Brussels (see below, ‘The Language Plan’);

Do not hesitate to contact your Faculty office or the InfOR-études service to learn more about these opportunities for support.

Before your enrolment: Off to a great start

It takes preparation to get off to a good start! University studies begin before the first day of classes. Prepare yourself well, get informed and get oriented to facilitate your transition to university education.

Preparatory courses

Engineering Sciences
More info
Medical Sciences and dentistry

More info

Maths and Sciences

More info

Summer language courses


Other courses are available, but taught in French. More info. 

Summer courses aids

ULB offers several grants to help you attend the August and September preparatory courses under optimum conditions.

  • Students living outside the Brussels Region can, under certain conditions, benefit from an intervention in their public transport costs. Finally, students with special needs can benefit from reasonable accommodations in order to study as serenely as possible.
  • Students wishing to receive assistance during preparatory courses must submit an application to the Student Welfare Services (SSE) between June 3 and 28, 2020. All the information on how to do this can be found on the dedicated page.

For more information on these aids, send an email to aidecoursprepa@ulb.be.

Aids, services and support

Being informed... means being prepared

Information, orientation, advice and personalized workshops, the Infor-Études service welcomes you all year long, guides you and advises you on your choice of studies.

During your curriculum, the Service d'accompagnement aux apprentissages is there for you

Studying at the university is a learned profession. The Service d'accompagnement aux apprentissages (SAA), as well as several support services, are there to help you become more self-reliant.

What does the Service d'accompagnement aux apprentissages do?

Getting to know how you learn

The SAA helps you understand your learning style and profile.

How

  • Workshops on motivation and perseverance strategies
  • Individual coaching
  • Tutoring
  • Teachers or a learning coach on duty, e.g. when exam papers are consulted
     

Develop your methodological skills

The SAA helps you in taking notes, cross-referencing different course materials, synthesising, managing your blocus (study period) and your time throughout the academic year, solving complex problems and carrying out a project from A to Z.

How

  • Seminars on university methodology
  • Documentary research workshop
  • Assisted blocus
  • Mock exams
  • Tutoring
  • Seminars to learn to work in a group

Foster your curriculum-related knowledge

The SAA helps you link new content to what you already know, make sense of your classes, develop scientific knowledge, navigate the culture of the discipline you are studying, make links between theory and between theory and practice, understanding and concepts and reasoning, etc.

How

  • Subject-related preparatory courses
  • Formative and pre-requisite tests
  • Self-assessment
  • Subject-related guidance
  • Mock examination
  •  Permanence with teachers and/or teaching assistants
  •  Tutoring
  •  Seminar and exercise sessions

Improve your linguistic skills, with an academic twist

From understanding a scientific paper to structuring your answers during an exam, through the acquisition of special academia stylistic automatism, the SAA helps you become fully versed in academic language!

How

  • Preparatory courses of the Centre for university methodology and didactics of French
  • Written expression seminars (scientific writing)
  • Individualised tutoring
  • Tutoring
  • Language Plan

Improve your technological skillset

The SAA helps you find your way in the many IT/ICT tools that will become part of your daily routine as a ULB  student: the UV, TimeEdit, Cible+ or even Faculty intranets.

How

  • Virtual university tutorial
  • Seminars on the use of digital tools or podcasting
  • Individual coaching
  • Tutoring

Discover the SAA toolbox

Where can I find a study and learning coach in my Faculty?

At ULB, each Faculty has a learning coach. This person coordinates the activities related to learning strategies, and it is mainly with this person that students will be able to obtain individual interviews. 
SAA - Faculté d'Architecture La Cambre Horta
  • Mathilde Vankerkhoven - saa.archi@ulb.be (Solbosch/Flagey)
SAA - Faculté de Lettres, Traduction et Communication
  • Alexandre Hanon - alexandre.hanon@ulb.be
  • Nathalie Lemaire - nathalie.lemaire@ulb.be (Translation and interpreting students)
SAA - Faculté des Sciences psychologiques et de l'éducation
  • Manon Haedren - manon.haerden@ulb.be
SAA - Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management
  • Manon Haedren - manon.haerden@ulb.be
SAA - Faculté de Droit et Criminologie
  • Eve Delvosal - eve.delvosal@ulb.be
SAA - Faculté de Philosophie et de Sciences sociales
  • Antoine Daratos (Solbosch) - Antonios.Daratos@ulb.be
  • Emilie Jacquy (Charleroi) - emilie.jacquy@ulb.be
SAA - Faculté des Sciences
  • Olivier Lambrette and Felipe Barros Solana (Plaine) - saasciences@ulb.be
  • Emilie Jacquy (Charleroi) - emilie.jacquy@ulb.be
SAA - Faculté de Pharmarcie
  • Olivier Lambrette and Felipe Barros Solana - saapharma@ulb.be
SAA - Ecole de Santé publique
  •  Felipe Barros Solana -  saaesp@ulb.be
SAA - Faculté de Médecine
  • Lise Delvosal - saamed@ulb.be
SAA - Faculté des Sciences de la motricité
  • Lise Delvosal - saamed@ulb.be
SAA - École polytechnique de Bruxelles
  • Aline Degreef (Solbosch) - aline.de.greef@ulb.be
  • Alexis Prickartz (Solbosch) - alexis.prickartz@ulb.be
  • Emilie Jacquy (Charleroi) - emilie.jacquy@ulb.be
SAA - Disciplinary tutoring in mathematics
  • Nezar Bennala - Nezar.bennala@ulb.ac.be
SAA - Disciplinary tutoring in Physics
  • Maxime Stapelle - maxime.stapelle@ulb.be
SAA - Disciplinary tutoring in Biology
  • Laura Tampieri - Laura.tampieri@ulb.be
SAA -Disciplinary tutoring in Chemistry
Pedagogical Assistants

SAA members work in partnership with pedagogical assistants. The latter aim to make the transition to university education more accessible. Their workload is entirely dedicated to the pedagogical supervision (including guiding) of BA1 core courses.

Facilitation of seminars, practical work, exercise sessions and remediation in ....

Resources and services

Libraries & learning centres

Based on an assessment of its students’ learning needs, ULB is currently deploying Library and Learning Centres on its campuses.

Read more

Get help with French

ULB aims to improve the language skills of its international students and offers a wide range of French courses during the academic year and before it starts.

Read more

InfOR-études

Having trouble paying your tuition fees? Issues with your CPAS? Want to know more about funding your studies? Looking for a student job? Need help navigating the administrative processes?

Read more
Updated on January 11, 2022