Double Degree Agreement between "Ecole polytechnique de Bruxelles" of the Université libre de Bruxelles and Beihang University Agreement for double degrees ULB / Beihang Univ. page 1
Foreword By signing in 2011 a student exchange agreement, the signatory institutions have already expressed their common will to establish and develop exchanges. This project of the two institutions, which concerns both their teaching and research missions, is in line with the activities promoted by the T.I.M.E. Association ("Top Industrial Managers for Europe"). Accordingly, Beihang University and Université Libre de Bruxelles agree to exchange students in the field of "Engineering Sciences" leading to the graduation by both of these institutions. In the present agreement, ULB-EPB stands for "Université libre de Bruxelles - Ecole polytechnique de Bruxelles" and BUAA stands for "Beihang University". BA ULB = bachelier en sciences de l'ingénieur MA ULB = master en sciences de l'ingénieur BA BUAA = Bachelor of Engineering MA BUAA = Master of Engineering The loads of programs will be based on a rough equivalence between 60 ULB credits and one full academic year. Article 1. Purpose of the Agreement The purpose of this agreement is to define the terms and conditions under which the option is offered to students from both institutions to undertake part of their studies in the other institution and simultaneously obtain the engineering degree from both of them. Article 2. Conduct of Studies 2.1. Students of EPB-ULB A student having passed the exams of the first year of "master" (MA1) at ULB-EPB, is allowed to continue his curriculum in the 1 st and 2 nd years of master at BUAA. These two study years are inseparable and will be recognized by ULB-EPB as the MA2 study year. Only the equivalent of 30 credits (including the master thesis) of the 2 nd year of master studies at BUAA will be transferred to ULB for the ULB degree. All requirements of the examination regulations have to be met. This program will contain a master thesis (MFE : mémoire de fin d'études) conducted under the supervision of a promoter belonging to BUAA (with a possible co-promoter belonging to ULB-EPB) according to the rules of both institutions. The master thesis will be written in English, submitted to both institutions and orally defended at BUAA. The curriculum of studies will thus be organised as follows. Agreement for double degrees ULB / Beihang Univ. page 2
1 2 3 4 5 ULB students 6 30 ECTS incl. master thesis ULB BA1 ULB BA2 ULB BA3 ULB MA1 BUAA MA1 2.2. Students of BUAA Scheme n 1 A student having passed the exams for the 4 years of the bachelor studies at BUAA, is allowed to continue his curriculum in the 1 st and 2 nd years of master at ULB-EPB. These two study years are inseparable and will be recognized for the BUAA master degree. This program will contain a master thesis (MFE : mémoire de fin d'études) conducted under the supervision of a promoter belonging to ULB-EPB (with a possible co-promoter belonging to BUAA) according to the rules of both institutions. The master thesis will be written in English, submitted to both institutions and orally defended at ULB-EPB. Having passed the exams of these two study years at ULB, the student will follow, during the next academic year, one additional semester at BUAA. The curriculum of studies will thus be organised as follows. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BUAA students BUAA BA1 BUAA BA2 BUAA BA3 BUAA BA4 ULB MA1 (BUAA MA1) ULB MA2 () (ULB done) with master thesis Scheme n 2 A student having passed the exams for the first 3 years of the bachelor studies at BUAA is allowed to continue his curriculum in the 3 rd year of bachelor and the 1 st year of master at ULB-EPB. These two study years are inseparable and will be recognized for the BUAA bachelor degree and for the BUAA master degree. Having passed the exams of these two study years at ULB, the student will follow, during the next 3 semesters, the MA2 program at BUAA. This program will contain a master thesis (MFE : mémoire de fin d'études) conducted under the supervision of a promoter belonging to BUAA (with a possible co-promoter belonging to ULB-EPB) according to the rules of both institutions. The master thesis will be written in English, submitted to both institutions and orally defended at BUAA. The curriculum of studies will thus be organised as follows. Agreement for double degrees ULB / Beihang Univ. page 3
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BUAA students BUAA BA1 BUAA BA2 BUAA BA3 ULB BA3 (BUAA BA4) ULB MA1 (BUAA MA1) 2.3. General Considerations The student will comply with the administrative procedures of each institution, in particular to the procedures related to enrolment. During the years spent in the host institution, the student will continue to enrol as a regular student in his home institution where he will pay the corresponding tuition fees. He will not have to pay tuition fees in the host institution, except eventual administrative fees. The student will also have to enrol as a regular student in the host institution (without tuition fees) for the last academic year (i.e. the year where the master degree will be delivered). The agreement covers only the double degree for the master studies. The degrees for the bachelor and bachelor studies will be delivered only by each home institution. The student must also make sure that he will be able to build a coherent program by choosing courses taught in English from the offer of the host institution (courses taught in French or in Chinese are also eligible provided that the student is fluent enough in the corresponding language). At EPB-ULB, the courses are mostly taught in French for the bachelor programs and mostly taught in English for the master programs. 2.4. Selection of Applicants The selection of candidates will be via a written procedure. The pre-selection is made by the home institution and submitted for acceptance by the host institution. In all cases the final decision will be taken by the jury of the host institution. Care will be taken that only students considered as potentially successful in their double degree studies are selected. Both parties shall be responsible for making certain that their students are fully informed of the possibilities for double degree. To this end, the parties agree to exchange the documents needed to inform their students about the study programmes at the partner institution. Each party shall appoint a representative responsible to achieve the goals indicated in this agreement and shall provide advice to the other party whenever necessary. Article 3. Delivery of the master degrees The students having satisfied all the requirements of the present agreement will be awarded, at the end of their studies, the degree of Ingénieur civil of ULB and the degree of Master of Engineering of Beihang University. It has been agreed that the bachelor diplomas are issued only by the home institutions. Agreement for double degrees ULB / Beihang Univ. page 4
Article 4. Implementation of the agreement The Dean of EPB-ULB and the Director of International Division of BUAA may, upon mutual agreement, recommend to a student who would not reach the minimum level in the host institution (failed exams, grades too low, insufficient results,...) to put an end to his double degree program. Article 5. Financial Implications There is no specific financial support for the actions covered by the present agreement. In order to avoid a double financial support from government budgets, the students will be considered to belong only to their home institution. All travel and accommodation costs will be met by the students. This agreement does not imply any financial obligations for either party. Article 6. Implementation and Duration of the Agreement The two signatory institutions will a) undertake, by mutual agreement, the necessary actions with the Communities, the national authorities, the European Commission and international agencies to obtain all possible assistance for the implementation of this program b) follow the progress of the students in order to evaluate the efficiency of the teaching in both partner institutions c) propose any useful new action This agreement shall enter into force the academic year 2014-2015, for 5 years and will be automatically extended for periods of 5 years if not terminated, by either party, 6 months prior to each term. In case of termination, it is agreed that the actions in progress will be carried out to their term. Agreement for double degrees ULB / Beihang Univ. page 5