Guide for students interested in studying at ESAT

Before your arrival in Leuven

• Programs
• Application
• Appointments
• Temporary accomodation

Upon your arrival in Leuven

• Accomodations (Housing Service)
• Meeting with the Faculty's Erasmus coordinator (Arenberg Castle)
• Registration at the University (The Registrar's Office)
• Registration with the authorities (City Hall)

Useful links

• The Faculty of Engineering has a page on ERASMUS.
• The K.U.Leuven has a page with plenty of practical information for foreign visitors.
• K.U.Leuven information for exchange students
• SOCRATES is the action programme of the European Commission in the area of education.
• ERASMUS is the part of SOCRATES concerned with higher education.

Programs

Project

Most students come for a research project or a thesis project (between 3 to 8 months). These projects are carried out within research groups. To help you choose, you find here:

• An overview of the research performed in the department.
• A list of proposed research projects.

You always need to ask (by e-mail) for the permission of the promotor. You can contact professors of researchers from the department by e-mail; however, first you should check around in order to determine which professor does research in an area that interests you. If your e-mail provides more details about yourself and your goals, it is more likely that you will get a helpful and timely answer.

It is also very important that you discuss in your home university when and how you will be evaluated for this work (written text, presentation, ...) and which type of evaluation is expected from the K.U.Leuven.

You can also combine a short project (3-6 ECTS credits) with regular courses.

Courses

An engineering degree in Leuven takes 5 years (or 10 semesters): a 3-year Bachelor followed by a 2-year Master. The first half (i.e., the first 3 semesters) of the Bachelor degree are in common for all engineering students. Then there are 3 semesters of specialization (two departments, major and minor) to complete the 3-year Bachelor degree. This Bachelor degree is followed by two years of Master's courses.

Erasmus exchanges are most appropriate for students at the Master level; taking the third year of the Bachelor is also an option.

One academic year consists of 60 ECTS credits (and one semester has 30 ECTS credits); each credit corresponds to roughly 30 hours of work.

You can select courses from English Master's programs offered by the department of Electrical Engineering:

• Master of Engineering: Electrical Engineering (ICT). This is an advanced program on the design and design methods of integrated circuits, multimedia and signal processing and telecommunications.
• Erasmus Mundus Master of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. You can select courses from this program, but if you want to take the complete master, you cannot do this through a regular Erasmus visit; click here for details.
• Master of Bio-informatics.
• Starting in the academic year 2008-2009 onwards, our department contributes towards a 2-year Master of Biomedical Engineering. In the academic year 2007-2008 you can also take part of this program in Dutch (see below).
• Master level students can also select a number of courses from the other English language programmes offered by the Faculty of Engineering. Courses from Master in Artificial Intelligence and Master in Industrial Management can be particularly useful.

A large number of Master level courses and all Bachelor level courses are taught in Dutch (or in Flemish as you prefer; Flemish relates to Dutch as American English relates to British English). You have the following options if you want to take classes that are taught in Dutch:

• Take an intensive language course (Dutch), which will allow you to follow the lectures. This has worked very well in the past for people who have a good knowledge of either German, Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish, who were able to follow lectures in Dutch after a short course.
• For undergraduate courses, this means that you have to study on the basis of an English book indicated by the professor. Research assistants will be able to provide tutoring in English. This way of studying requires that you are sufficiently independent and that you are prepared to take initiatives to obtain the information you need. The description of courses is available on the university web site (with English summary). You can select courses from the 3-year Bachelor program of our department or from the Master level courses offered by our department:
  • ICT (options: integrated electronics, multimedia and signal processing, telecommunications and telematics),
  • Energy (option: electrical energy) (organized in collaboration with the Department of Mechnical Engineering),
  • Mathematical engineering (organized in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science),
  • Biomedical technology (organized in collaboration with the Department of Mechnical Engineering). If you take most of your courses from this program, your Erasmus exchange will be handled by the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

  You could also select some courses from the Computer Science program.

  These links give you an overview (in Dutch) of Bachelor and Master's courses English translations of the syllabi are available on a course by course basis. You can search for specific courses using English terms here.

If you are interested in a specific Master program, you can contact the coordinator this program to help you select suitable courses.

For students who are taking courses, it is very important to discuss your program with the responsible professor in your home university. Print all the relevant course information and make sure that they check that you have the required knowledge to take the courses, that the courses are relevant to the degree of your home university, and that the courses are taught in the correct semester.
If you need help in choosing a program, contact Prof. Bart Preneel.

Application

Fill out the application form and the permission form for registration as an Erasmus student. Do not forget the transcript of records. If you need help, contact Prof. Bart Preneel. The contents of the form should be approved by your home institution and submitted well on time. It may be necessary to make some (minor) changes to the program after your arrival in Leuven, but ideally most of the program should be agreed before you submit the forms. Next, send the application forms for approval to:

Prof. Bart Preneel
Dept. Electrical Engineering-ESAT
Kasteelpark Arenberg 10
B-3001 Heverlee
BELGIUM

E-mail: Bart.Preneel@esat.kuleuven.be

Copy electronic versions to his assistant Ms. Pela Nöe <Pela.Noe@esat.kuleuven.be>.

Appointments

Before leaving for Leuven, you should inform Prof. Bart Preneel of your exact date of arrival and make an appointment with him. Also send a copy of that message to his assistant at <Pela.Noe@esat.kuleuven.be>. You should also send an e-mail for making an appointment with your promotor or academic supervisor.

If you are taking courses, you should (after your arrival) make by e-mail appointments to all your professors to discuss what you need to know, whether there will be any practical sessions, how you will be evaluated, and who can help you when something is not clear, etc. In the first week of the semester, you will be invited to a short information session with practical information about the department.

Temporary accomodation

Please consult the K.U.Leuven accomodation website. For your accommodation you must fill out the form on this website. Your contact person is Ms. Heidi De Clercq. Do not forget to mention:

• that you are an Erasmus exchange student
• that you come to the ESAT department (contact person: Prof. Bart Preneel)
• the period of your stay
• the precise date of your arrival

She will give you a temporary place where you will be able to stay for the first few days. Upon arrival, she will assist you in finding a permanent place to live during your stay. Please try to arrive on a weekday within office hours, otherwise you won't find the Housing Service open to pick up your key or to get directions to your temporary room.

If you arrive before September 10, you will be given a guest room in one of the university residences at a cost of approximately 10 EURO a night. After September 10, these residences are typically fully booked and you will be given a guest room outside of town, at the monastery of the Fathers Oblaten (also 10 EURO a night), approximately 4 kilometers from the city centre. There are regular bus services between the monastery and the city of Leuven. From September 11 to October 10, the reception office at the monastery is open daily, including weekends, from 2 to 9 p.m.

Housing service

You have to go to the Housing Service of the K.U.Leuven, located in the building of the Van Dale College, the university's reception house at Naamsestraat 80. The simplest route from the railway station to the college is to follow the Bondgenotenlaan to the City Hall ('Stadhuis') on Grote Markt, and then to take Naamsestraat from there. The distance is roughly 1.5 km (0.9 miles), for which the taxi fare should be about 6.5 EURO.

You will receive your key to the temporary accomodation and directions on how to get there. You will also get assistance in finding accomodations for the entire period of your stay. Rents for the rooms vary between 180 EURO and 225 EURO a month. Blanket, sheets and pillows are not provided. The Housing Service will also provide you with information about insurance, municipal taxes and safety provisions. Moreover, you can apply to this service whenever you have problems with your rental contract or any other trouble concerning accommodation.

Meeting with the Faculty's Erasmus coordinator

The Faculty's Erasmus coordinator, Ms. Anouck Brouwers, will give you a letter confirming your status as an Erasmus exchange student. She will also collect your results and send these to your home university.

In order to get to her office, follow the route to the ESAT building and look for the Arenberg castle, situated nearby (if you stand in front of the ESAT building facing it, the castle is on your lefthand side). Once you got to the Arenberg castle take the second door to your right after you passed through the main entrance gate (office 00.63).

Registration at the University (The Registrar's Office)

Although you remain enrolled at your home university during your study period abroad, you still need to register as an exchange student at the K.U.Leuven. This registration is done in The Registrar's Office, located in the Naamsestraat 22. There is a special line for Erasmus students and the staff will assist you in registering.

In order to register as an exchange student, you have to submit:

• your passport or identity card
• 1 passport photograph
• a certificate from your home university, proving that you have been enrolled as a regular (i.e. fee-paying) student there
• your permission to register as an exchange student at K.U.Leuven (supplied by the Faculty's Erasmus coordinator)
• for TEMPUS students: a written statement from your home university, saying that you receive a grant in the framework of a European educational programme and mentioning the amount of the grant
• 15 EURO to subscribe to a third-party liability insurance policy
• a copy of your housing contract

[The Erasmus contact person at the ESAT department is Prof. Bart Preneel.]

After registering you receive, amongst other things, your student card. This card is generally considered to be the proof that you have been recognised by the academic authorities as a K.U.Leuven student. You may need it when taking exams or when going to the library or to one of the university restaurants, so make sure that you always carry it with you. Apart from your student card, you will be given a proof of registration, which you will need when registering at the City Hall (see the next step).

Registration with the authorities (City Hall)

The City Hall is situated very close to the Registrar's Office, where you registered in the previous step. You can find it on the Muntstraat at nr. 3 (the street passing behind the beautifully ornamented building in the Grote Markt).

Within 8 working days after your arrival, you are expected to register at the Foreigners Office (in Dutch: 'Dienst Buitenlanders') in the City Hall. However, in practice, Leuven's Foreigners Office requires you to have a permanent address before going to the City Hall.

As an EU student you will be asked to supply:

• your identity card or passport
• a certificate of your ERASMUS grant or a written proof of guaranteed income if you don't receive a grant (the latter can be obtained at the Foreigners Office)
• 3 passport photographs
• a proof of registration at K.U.Leuven (see previous step)
• a proof of health insurance

As a non-EU student you should supply:

• your identity card or passport, with visa or Authorisation for provisional sojourn if required
• a proof of registration at K.U.Leuven (see previous step)
• 3 passport photographs

Students from Switzerland whose stay exceeds three months must apply for an Authorisation for provisional sojourn upon arrival in Belgium. They must submit the following documents:

• a valid passport
• proof of registration at K.U.Leuven (see previous step)
• a proof of solvency
• a certificate of good conduct from the police department
• a medical certificate
• 3 passport photographs

After you have reported to the Foreigners Office you will receive a residence permit for the length of your stay in Belgium. This is a white card which is literally called Certificate of Inscription in the Aliens' Register (in Dutch: Bewijs van Inschrijving in het Vreemdelingenregister). Every change of address must be reported immediately to the City Hall, as well as to the Registrar's Office of the university. At the end of your stay in Leuven, you should notify the Aliens' Registration Office that you are leaving.