Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management

The Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (abbreviated as SBS-EM and also known as simply Solvay) is a school of economics and management, and a Faculty of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), a French-speaking private research university located in Brussels, Belgium. Business education started in 1899, and Solvay was established in 1903 through a donation from the industrialist Ernest Solvay.

Overview


The roots of the Solvay School stretch back to the founding of the Department of Economics of the Free University of Brussels in 1899, and the founding of the Solvay Business School in 1903. Ernest Solvay founded and funded a business-oriented institution under the name of École de Commerce Solvay, as a private initiative established with the support of the Brussels business community.

The Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management was established in 2008 as a result of the merger of the Department of Economics and the Solvay Business School. In 2010, the new entity built a new building on the Solbosch campus and became a full faculty of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). More than 3,700 students attend some thirty programmes at the School today. Since 2018, its current Dean is Philip Vergauwen, former Dean of the University of Maastricht's School of Business and Economics.

Campus
The school is located in the Ixelles neighborhood of Brussels on the Solbosch, the central and largest campus of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). The main building is situated on the corner of the Avenue Franklin Roosevelt/Franklin Rooseveltlaan and the Avenue Jeanne/Johannalaan near the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos, and was built in 2010.

Programmes
The school grants academic undergraduate degrees (Bachelor of Science), academic master's degrees (Master of Science), advanced master's degrees (pre-experience) and professional/executive master's degrees (post-experience), including more than thirty Executive Education programmes.

Undergraduate B.Sc. programmes

 * B.Sc. in Business Engineering (in french and in english)
 * B.Sc. in Economics (in french and in english)

Graduate M.Sc. programmes
Solvay currently offers six separate Master's of Science degrees in:
 * M.Sc. in Business Engineering (partly French and English)
 * M.Sc. in Management Science (English only)
 * M.Sc. in Economics: Business Economics (partly French and English)
 * M.Sc. in Economics: Governance and Public Policy In Europe (English only)
 * M.Sc. in Economics: Research in Economics (English only)

Solvay also offers three complementary Master's of Science degrees (MCC: Master complémentaire conjoint) in:
 * M.Sc. in Management
 * M.Sc. in Microfinance
 * M.Sc. in Data Science, Big Data (in English)

Postgraduate programmes (pre-experience)

 * Masters in Finance:
 * Advanced Master in Financial Markets
 * Advanced Master in Quantitative Finance
 * Masters in Management:
 * Advanced Master in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (in partnership with MIP Politecnico di Milano)
 * Advanced Master in Innovation and Strategic Management
 * Advanced Master in Biotech and Medtech Ventures
 * Masters in Marketing:
 * Advanced Master in Creativity and Marketing
 * Masters in Economy:
 * Advanced Master in Political Economy

Professional/Executive programmes (post-experience)

 * Executive master's programmes
 * Executive MBA
 * Executive Master in Finance
 * Executive Mastère en Gestion Fiscale (French-only)
 * Executive Master in Management
 * Executive Master in Marketing, in a digital world
 * Executive Master in IT Management
 * Executive Master in Information Risk and Cybersecurity
 * Executive Mastère en Management des Institutions de Santé et de Soins (French-only)
 * Executive Master in International Association Management
 * Executive Master in Knowledge and Technology Transfer
 * EXECUTIVE PROGRAMME EN MANAGEMENT ET PHILOSOPHIES
 * Executive education programmes

Doctoral programmes

 * PhD in Economics (Economics and Statistics & Quantitative Economics)
 * PhD in Management (Management & Applied Economics)

Partners
The Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management has developed a network of more than 70 partners in 32 countries, with whom some 160 student exchanges are organised each year. The School is the only in Belgium that requires students to undertake a six-month exchange programme in a university abroad. Such exchanges take place principally in Europe, within the framework of the SOCRATES and ERASMUS programmes, but also in the United States, Canada, Turkmenistan,  Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Egypt, Israel, South Africa, India (IIM Ahmedabad), Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Taiwan and Singapore.


 * Argentina:
 * Universidad de San Andrés
 * Canada:
 * Goodman School of Business, Brock University
 * Carleton University
 * HEC Montréal
 * McGill University
 * Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia
 * University of Lethbridge
 * China:
 * Peking University HSBC Business School
 * Mexico:
 * Tecnológico de Monterrey
 * Peru:
 * Universidad del Pacifico
 * United States
 * Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia
 * Fox School of Business, Temple University

Rankings and accreditations

 * Financial Times 2016: 45st MSc in Management (Europe)

Research
The Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management is a research-based institution, in two respects. First, the duty of all core faculty members includes the production of scientific output (e.g. publications in peer-review international journals and scientific conferences) and the supervision of PhD candidates. Second, the SBS-EM provides an infrastructure for research, through its three main research centres, the CEB (Centre Emile Bernheim), DULBEA (Department in Applied Economics of ULB), and ECARES (European Centre for Advanced Research in Economics and Statistics), and their doctoral schools. Over the past 5 years, many publications have been produced, including 241 articles in international scientific journals and 41 books.

The CEB, ECARES and DULBEA are the main, 'broad-based', research centers affiliated to the SBS-EM. The two additional thematic research centers are CERMi (Centre Européen de Recherche en Microfinance / Center for European Research in Microfinance), and the Centre for Knowledge Economics (Centre de l'économie de la connaissance).

Affiliated to the SBS-EM, CEB is its research institute in management sciences. It aims to develop and promote advanced scientific research in management sciences. The centre hosts more than 75 (full-time and part-time) professors and researchers in key management disciplines. The CEB's teaching and research staff is currently active in the following management fields: accounting, marketing, business strategy, financial markets, corporate management, industrial economics, management of innovation and international trade.

DULBEA was founded by Etienne Sadi Kirschen in the 1950s, based on the new developments taking place in economics and the theory of econometrics. The DULBEA also gives prominence to recommendations in the field of economic policy.

ECARES, founded in 1991, began as a joint political initiative of the ULB Institute of European Studies and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), a network of some 500 researchers in Europe.

CERMi (Centre Européen de Recherche en Microfinance / Center for European Research in Microfinance), draws together researchers, involved in microfinance activities in developing countries, from CEB and from the Research Centre Warocque (Université Mons-Hainaut). The CERMi also collabores with the European Microfinance Programme.

Centre for Knowledge Economics research centre allows the School to bring together all its researchers on a topic. Founded and chaired by Professor Francoise Thys-Clément and Professor of Public Economics.

Student life
The Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management has an active student life, complementary to the student societies of the Université Libre de Bruxelles:
 * Cercle Solvay, the student society of economics
 * Bureau Etudiant Solvay, the student government
 * Solvay Business Game, the business game
 * High School Challenge
 * Solvay Mentoring Program
 * Solvay Consulting Club
 * Solvay Finance Club

Solvay Finance Club
One of the youngest organisations is the Solvay Brussels School Student Finance Club, created in 2010. It is a student run organization that aims to offer its members a wide variety of finance related activities, whether it is investment banking, investment management, venture capital/private equity, or corporate finance. The founders' idea was to create a club that prepares its members for careers in the financial field by fostering an environment that helps them to translate their theoretical knowledge into practice, and that stimulates continuous learning and awareness of recent trends and developments. The club offers those pursuing careers in finance a professional and social network. It constitutes an interface between the finance industry and its members.

Solvay Consulting Club
In 2011, the SBS Student Consulting Club (SCC) was created. Its mission statement is: "The SCC conducts customized consulting services to deliver hands on solutions. It believes in cultivating integer people who drive entrepreneurship in all businesses and strive to functionally develop committed students." The organization is growing rapidly, both in terms of members and in terms of consulting projects conducted. It won the JADE Belgium Junior Enterprise Challenge in 2012.

The club aims at becoming a Junior Enterprise, which is a certified label by JADE.

ESTIEM
Besides the programs developed by the school, students also have the opportunity to take part in ESTIEM activities via the Local Group Brussels, part of Cercle Solvay. ESTIEM is the organisation for European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management, whose goal is to establish and foster relations between students across Europe and to support them in their personal and professional development, with a network consisting of 74 local groups in 28 countries, reaching out to 60,000 students.

Faculty

 * Paul Bairoch, economic historian
 * Mathias Dewatripont, economist and member of the board of directors of the National Bank of Belgium
 * Alain Eraly, economist and sociologist
 * André Farber, business engineer and mathematician, former president of the European Finance Association
 * Victor Ginsburgh, economist
 * Étienne Sadi Kirschen, economist
 * Ginette Kurgan, economic historian
 * Peter Praet, member of the board of the European Central Bank and former Director of the National Bank of Belgium
 * Gérard Roland, former professor at the Free University of Brussels and now professor at University of California, Berkeley
 * André Sapir, economist and supervisor of the Sapir Report
 * Françoise Thys-Clement, economist and former rector of the ULB
 * Robert Tollet, economist
 * Bruno van Pottelsberghe, economist and former Chief Economist of the European Patent Office

Alumni
The alumni network currently has a community of more than 20,000 members in more than 65 countries worldwide. The Solvay Alumni is the association that represents all graduates from the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management or one of its satellite institutions. Within the particular context of Belgium, a country marked in the past by religious and ideological rifts, alumni associations play an extremely important role, especially for the universities.

Notable alumni include the following:

Banking and financial services

 * Bruno Colmant, CEO of Banque Degroof Petercam, former CEO of NYSE Euronext
 * Stephane De Baets, founder of international asset management firm Elevated Returns and pioneer in blockchain-based real estate investing


 * Pierre Drion, former CEO of Pertcam, chairman of the Fondation ULB
 * Pierre Lagrange, partner and co-founder of GLG Partners
 * Dominique Leroy, CEO of Proximus Group
 * François Narmon, former CEO of Dexia, former president of the Belgian Olympic Committee


 * Gilles Samyn, CEO of Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille or CNP

General management

 * Didier Bellens, former CEO of Belgacom, former CEO of the Groupe Bruxelles Lambert


 * Alain Deneef, Belgian businessman
 * Paul Deneve, Vice-President of Apple, former CEO of Yves Saint Laurent


 * Christian Jourquin, former CEO of Solvay
 * Dominique Leroy, CEO of Belgacom
 * Alexandre Vandamme, Belgian businessman and board member of Inbev

Government / public service / non-profit

 * Hubert Ansiaux, governor of the National Bank of Belgium (1957–1971)
 * Rik Daems, politician
 * Eugène de Barsy, former President of the Belgian Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission (CBFA)
 * Paul De Groote, Minister for National Recovery (1947–1949)
 * Lodewijk De Raet, economist and politician
 * Maurice Frère, governor of the National Bank of Belgium (1944–1957)
 * Camille Gutt, Head of the International Monetary Fund
 * Jean-Paul Harroy, Governor of Ruanda-Urundi
 * Paul Hatry, Belgian politician, former Minister
 * Roberto Lavagna, former Minister of Economy and Production of Argentina
 * Amer Husni Lutfi, former Syrian Minister of Economy
 * André Oleffe, former Belgian Minister of Economy
 * Eliane Tillieux, Belgian Minister of Health
 * Michel van den Abeele, former Director-General of the European Commission, Director-General of Eurostat and Permanent Representative of the European Commission to the OCDE and UNESCO

Academics

 * Marianne Bertrand, Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago
 * Claude Javeau, Professor of sociology
 * Robert Tollet, economist, professor at ULB and former president of the Conseil central de l'Économie

Sports

 * Paul Frère, Belgian Racing driver and journalist
 * Claire Michel, Belgian professional triathlete and Olympian

Entertainment

 * Anthony Asael, Belgian photographer and explorer
 * Guillaume de Posch, CEO of RTL Group, former CEO of ProSiebenSat.1
 * Jean-Paul Philippot, CEO of French-speaking public broadcast company RTBF
 * Philippe Swan, Belgian singer and songwriter
 * Jean Van Hamme, writer
 * Alex Vizorek, humorist and actor