Université Libre de Bruxelles/Solvay Business School
Maren S. Løken, Hege Ø. Berg, Kari Reisvang og Cecilie Brein
Fall 2008
1.
ACADEMIC INFORMATION
General Information about the School
Solvay Business School of Economics and Management is a part of the SOCO (social science, political
science and economics) Faculty at the Free University of Brussels. The university has a highly
multicultural environment and 27% of the 20,250 students are non-Belgians (17% European and 10%
from outside Europe). About 6000 of the students are enrolled in graduate programs. The University
is located about 20 minutes outside the city centre and is connected with bus and tram lines.
The disciplines range from seven different faculties (Philosophy and Literature, Law, Social Sciences,
Politics and Economics - Solvay Business School, Psychological and Educational Sciences, Science,
Medicine, Applied Sciences / Engineering School) and four schools and institutes. The University has
a reputation of excellence in economics, political science and in European studies, and the Solvay
Business School branch is well known. ULB’s international scope and location in Brussels, the seat of
the European institutions, enables many different courses given by professors from other universities
within the framework of various international agreements.
The structure is the same as in Norway, a BA takes 3 years and there is two more years in a master
program. The SOCO Faculty offers 11 different master programs, ranging from Government
Administration, economics, business, international relation, development studies and HR
management. However, if you go on exchange as a master student, you can also take MBA courses.
The Teaching situation
The majority of the courses are thought in French, so students with a high level of French have a lot
of courses to choose from. However, there is a good offer of English though courses in the Solvay
Business School, in economics and in European studies. Most of the courses offered in English are at
the master level. It is possible to study at the ULB without knowledge in French, but since some
information only is offered in French, it will be helpful to know the basics. The university offers a free
intensive summer course in French, but this course is not for beginners. The aim of the course is to
develop academic French.
The level of study is quite comparable to BI Oslo. The courses differ in structure, from courses that
are only theoretical to courses with a lot of group work, presentations and case-solving. Some of the
courses are lecture based, while some requires dialogues and discussions.
The timing of the courses can be different than at home. Some courses are of a 1-2 month duration
with classes two days a week, while some are of 2-3 hours one day a week during the whole term.
Some courses ends with a term paper in December, while other courses have an oral or written exam
in January.
Required Literature
The language in the literature is the same as the language of the course. The level of the literature
depends on type of course. In some courses it is only slides given from the Professor, while some
have a broad set of articles and books. In most of the courses you buy compendiums in the
surrounding copy shops, so the required literature is quite cheap. The exams are in a large extent
based on lectures, and in some courses there is compulsory to be in class to pass.
Exams
The exams can be term papers, written or oral – or combinations of these. In fields of business or
economics there is usually a three hour written exam, while marketing, development studies, and
European studies use more term papers and class presentations. The grades given are on the scale 0
to 20, where you need 10 points to pass. Students from BI should have little difficulties passing the
exams, the level required is similar. The examination period is normally in January. We were told that
there were no exceptions to the rule of taking the exams in January, but it was possible in late
December if you had special excuses, and the BI did send a confirmation, for why you could not have
your exams in January.
Other
The library is situated in the middle of the campus and is place for studying and internet connections.
The process for getting access is quite bureaucratic, but the desks are helpful if there are problems.
There are computers in the library and also wireless connection. However, printing is difficult in the
library. The students usually use the nearby copy shops. The library is open from 08 until 20 in the
weekdays and at Saturdays.
Description of Courses
GEST-D-504-T0 Corporate restructuring (Professor Marco Becht)
ECTS: 5 Theory: 24h, Master course: 2nd year, 1st semester
Language: English
Exam: 3 hour written exam
Prerequisites: None officially, but you should have some finance knowledge.
Objectives: This course will provide an introduction to the analysis of mergers, acquisitions,
divestitures and the "market for corporate control" from a corporate finance perspective. After
introducing the salient theories and the event study technique in finance the program looks at the
empirical evidence on the impact of horizontal and vertical mergers. It then moves on to consider
special transactions that are particularly relevant from the restructuring and control perspective:
conglomerate mergers, spin-offs and divestitures, leveraged buyouts and hostile takeovers.
ECON-D-419 Topics in International Macroeconomics (Prof. Robert KOLLMANN)
ECTS: 6 (Master course 2nd year, 1st semester)
Language: English
Exam: 20 min oral exam (20 min of preparations)
Prerequisites: Intermediate macroeconomics and microeconomics
Objectives: This course gives an introduction to modern dynamic international macroeconomics
themes as intertemporal trade, current account balances and the Mundell-Flemming model.
Macroeconomic papers are discussed and analysed. The goal is to get the ability to analyze key issues
in international macroeconomics, using the tools of modern dynamic economics.
ECON-O-502 Industrial Economics and Antitrust (Prof Jan BOUCKAERT)
ECTS: 6 (Master course 2nd year, 1st semester)
Exam: 2 hour written, open book + a 20 min oral exam (same day)
Prerequisites: intermediate microeconomics
Objectives: Modeling competition from monopoly and oligopoly competition, market power,
structure and collusion, price discrimination (bundling and tying), vertical and horizontal restraints,
product differentiation, entry and exit, markets and mergers, network externalities and two-sided
markets. Policies given from the European Commission and the European Court of Justice are also
analyzed given the different models.
STAT-D-402 Advanced Quantitative Methods for Business Strategies (Prof Bertrand MARECHAL)
ECTS: 5 (Theory, exercises and two projects)
Language: English
Exam: 3 hour written, open book
Prerequisites: intermediate statistics
Objectives: The main objective of the course is to give students a good theoretical and practical
knowledge of quantitative methods applied to management. The course covers the main aspects of
management science; statistical methods, optimization and decision aid. Case studies are used to
emphasize the practical aspects of applying management science techniques in actual situations.
ECON-O-403 Finances Communautaires (Prof. Gaëtan NICODEME)
ECTS: 5
Language: English
Exam: 3 hour written, combination of multiple choice and essay (If you take the pre-exam in
December, the exam will be oral)
Prerequisites: none
Objectives: The course treat subjects as the EU budget, the effects of tax systems and tax
competition in the European Union, VAT, fiscal federalism and the most recent research in these
areas.
GEST-D-536 – Topics in International Trade and Sustainable Development (Prof. Daniel TRACA)
ECTS: 5
Exam: There is no written exam but one case study (counts for 50% of the grade, 4 persons – 15
pages) and individual write-up (counts for 50% of the grade, maximum 2 pages). Also, class
attendance is mandatory and students will automatically fail the course, if they miss more than two
sessions. Class participation is encouraged and will be rewarded by up to 0,5 bonus point in the final
grade.
Prerequisites: None
Objectives: This course is intended to provide future managers, expecting to work in or with
developing countries, with an understanding of their current economic reality and future prospects
of these nations. The course will concentrate on the relationship between corporate management
and the economic and social development of poor countries.
GEST-D-449 – Microfinance: Theory and Practice
ECTS: 5
Exam: Research paper counts for 100% of the grade. It is written individually or in a group of 2- 3
students, which determines how big the paper should be (10-15/20-25/30-35)
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of management + development studies. Basic calculus is assumed.
Objectives: This course delivers an overview of microfinance by addressing a range of issues,
including lessons from informal markets, savings and insurance, the role of women, the place of
subsidies, impact measurement, and management incentives. It integrates theory with empirical
data, and delivers case studies from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
POLI-O-403 The European Union and international relations (Reimund SEIDELMANN)
ECTS: 5
Exam: Case presentation and term paper
Prerequisites: None officially, but some political science and EU knowledge will make it easier
This bilingual (French/English) course aims to combine academic analysis with policy-oriented
development of options for present and future EU CSFP. It gives an overview about
theories/methods of international relations and the main issues and problems of EU's foreign,
security and development policies, its external relations vis-à-vis Eastern and Southern Europe, the
U.S. and Russia, ACP countries, Latin America, Asia-Pacific etc, and its present and future global role.
On this basis the course introduces in policy-related cost-risks-benefit analysis and the evaluation of
specific political options for these foreign policies and EU's global role
2. PRACTICAL INFORMATION ON THE SCHOOL AND THE EXCHANGE EXPERIENCE
Information before you left
We received an information package from the ULB before we arrived. We had also been contacted
via email and Facebook, where the international office had created a group for the exchange
students.
Visa Procedure and travel experiences
You apply for the visa in the same commune as you live in. All you need for doing this is given to you
by the university when you receive the information package II after arriving. There is no problem
getting the visa, just some long waiting lines in some of the communes. The cost varies from free to
around 30€ in other communes.
There is no problem getting quite cheap flight tickets to Brussels.
Academic Calendar
We arrived the 10th of August for the French summer course. The term starts in the third week of
September, after finishing the introduction week. There is classes until the last week before
Christmas and there is usually no classes in January, only exams. The last day for the exams is Jan
30th.
Reception
The reception was very welcoming and the International Office is very helpful and well prepared.
There are a lot of activities during the “Introduction Week” so the exchange students can get to know
each other. The activities are arranged by local students, so it is possible to get to know them as well.
Housing
Before we arrived we got a lot of emails from the International Office on available housing or rooms
that would be free after exchange students from the previous term. Brussels has also a lot of private
agencies dealing with rentals as well. There are student houses, but they are hard to get for students
only going for one semester. Overall, there is no problem getting housing in Brussels.
Costs
The average rent is somewhere between 350 and 420€, depending on the number of people you live
in and in which part of the city. Most of the students live in Ixelles, an area close to both the city
centre and the university. Transport is 25€ a month if you are up to 25 years, if not it is 40€. Eating in
the University is cheap, a sandwich is about 2€, dinners between 4 and 5€. Grocery shopping is
almost the same as in Norway, but other expenses as taxis and alcohol is much cheaper.
The International Office
The International Office is situated on campus and they are the ones responsible for incoming
students. They will deal with all sorts of questions, and they are also often the link between the
exchange students and the professors. There is an electronic information board with daily updates
for the incoming students and we had no problem getting the information we needed.
Social Activities
It is easy to get to know other students because of all the activities the Express team arranges. Most
of the people attending these activities are exchange students, but the Belgians are also welcoming
and interested in new friends. The activities ranges from dinners, to club nights, pub crawls, travels
around Belgium, sightseeing, sport activities and weekly group joggings in the park nearby the
school. The Express team has really been amazing in their effort to socialize the students – not only in
the start of the term, but throughout the whole period. We recommend that new students
participate in as many as possible of these activities.
Culture and Language
There is no problem only speaking English as the Belgians have some knowledge in the language, but
life is easier if you have at least some knowledge in basic French. The International Office and the
Academic staff have a good level of English.
Since Belgium is a small country, it is easy and cheap to explore it. Students often make short visits to
cities as Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges and Leuven. It is also less than a two hour train ride to Amsterdam,
Paris, Luxembourg and Lille.
Belgians are quite southern European in the way of living, so expect late dinners and many nice cafés
and pubs. Beer is an important tradition in Belgium and can be consumed in any time of the day.
Further, Brussels is a very international city with a lot of young people coming for work or studies. It
is easy to get to know new people, as many of them travel alone. The amazing thing by being in
Brussels is that we are always many nationalities around the same table. There is also a Norwegian
community in Brussels, at they have a gathering every second week at Place Luxembourg.
Cultural and Social Effects from the Exchange Experience
Brussels is a great place for learning French since you have the possibility of studying in English, while
practicing the French language after school. (French from high school will be unsatisfactory to study
in French). Since the environment is so multicultural you get the chance to learn not only about other
countries and cultures, but also a lot about your own.
The social codes in the university and in other places in Brussels/continental Europe are quite
different from the more egalitarian Scandinavian. It is really useful to experience this, at least for the
ones wanting a more international career.
Names and e-mails:
Cecilie Brein – cecilie.brein@oslobystyre.no
Kari Reisvang – kari_reisvang@hotmail.com
Maren S. Løken – maren.s.loken@gmail.com
Hege Ø. Berg – hb@pogostick.net