ULB Research ⤶	Description of the Unit	Projects of the Unit	Composition
Collaborations of the Unit	Protected technologies	Publications	Skills

European Studies, International Relations and globalisation

The ULB profits from its location at Brussels for studying Europe. Back in 1963, it set up the Institute of European Studies, later to become a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. All facets of European integration - law, the economy, politics, history and culture - are the subject of in-depth analysis. This sees researchers analysing for example the European Union institutions and politics, the interaction between national and European authorities, the history of the European construction, the development of European societies and mentalities or the internal policies of the European Union, such as migration policy, asylum policy, criminal policy, monetary policy, the set of rules and regulations linked to the Single Market or environmental legislation. They also look into the external relations of the European Union in the context of a wider analysis of global governance and regional integration. This research focused on Europe is just one part of the ULB's overall research effort in the field of international relations and globalisation. Other fields studied in depth include issues relating to security, conflict resolution, maintaining peace, as well as developments in international public and private law and comparisons between different systems of national law. Further research activities focus on specific geographical areas such as the Islamic world or Africa, looking both at concrete situations and the economic, legal and cultural dimensions of globalisation.

Social Challenges and Sustainable Development

Jobs, migration, integration, work-related burn-out, same-sex marriages, patchwork families, surrogate mothers, the moralisation of capitalism, the protection of minorities, urban mobility, social networks, access to education and healthcare, etc. - the challenges facing our societies are countless and the subject of a lot of work done by our research teams. Over the years, the ULB has built up considerable expertise in the fields of integration and discrimination, with our researchers trying, for example, to better understand - in view of combating them - the causes and mechanisms of discrimination, whether at school or at work, whether ethnic, social, religious or sexual. There are special focuses on schools, work, finding a job, ergonomics, stress management, as well as the evolution of certain occupations and skills in the face of technological developments. These efforts also go hand-in-hand with research in the teaching field. This research includes more specific studies into issues facing cities, and Brussels in particular, and covers such questions as demographics, urban redevelopment, mobility, police and security, public health, urban architecture, etc. A number of multidisciplinary studies similarly address issues involving gender and minorities - studies which also involve questioning universities themselves and the practices exercised there. Sustainable development and, more generally, environmental issues, are the subject of specific research at the ULB, often conducted in a multidisciplinary spirit linking up humanities with other more ''technical'' disciplines. Finally, our research teams are working on a series of ethical and bioethical issues: how to accompany the dying? Should research on embryos be allowed? Do values have a place in a company? How should we go about managing risks (health and nuclear risks, terrorism, etc.) and applying the ''principle of precaution''?