FOR DUMMIES G HENT (U NIVERSITY )

GHENT UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

G ^HENT (U ^NIVERSITY )

FOR DUMMIES

Prof. Wim VAN PAEPEGEM Ghent University

Faculty of Engineering

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 903

9052 Zwijnaarde Tel.: 09/331.04.32 Fax: 09/264.58.33

E-mail: Wim.VanPaepegem@UGent.be

Index

Accommodation ... 4

Administration procedure... 8

Baker’s shops ... 17

Banks... 18

Barbers ... 19

Belgium ... 19

Bicycle... 23

Bicycle repair shops ... 26

Bookshops ... 27

Business cards ... 27

Butcher’s shops ... 29

Cinemas... 30

City maps... 30

Clothing... 31

Compensations for public transport (train, tram, bus) ... 31

Compensation for work related expenses... 31

Concert halls and theatres ... 32

Currency ... 32

Dentists... 33

Digital camera ... 34

Doctors ... 34

Do-it-yourself stores... 35

Driving licence ... 36

Electricity ... 36

Emergency Centre ... 37

Entrance badge ... 38

Food... 38

Garbage collection... 44

Ghent ... 45

Ghent University ... 47

Ghent University > Faculty of Engineering and Architecture ... 49

Ghent University > Faculty of Engineering > EA10... 50

Ghent University > Faculty of Engineering > EA10 > MMS... 51

Holidays ... 52

ICT > E-mail ... 53

ICT > High performance computing (HPC) ... 55

ICT > Internet@home ... 61

ICT > Internet@work... 63

ICT > Personal webpages... 65

ICT > Sending large files ... 65

ICT > Software... 66

Important phone numbers... 71

Insurances... 71

Keys... 73

Language courses ... 73

Laundry ... 75

Legal assistance... 78

Libraries ... 79

Literature search... 80

Markets... 84

Medical check-up @ work ... 85

Museums ... 86

Night shops... 86

Pharmacies ... 86

PhD... 89

PhD > Acknowledgement of confidentiality and asssignment of rights... 89

PhD > Administrative requirements... 89

PhD > Doctoral Training programme ... 90

PhD > Ghent University Academic Bibliography and Institutional Repository... 91

PhD > Private and Public defence... 95

PhD > Publication policy ... 96

Post offices ... 97

Public transport ... 98

Restaurants ... 100

Scanner ... 100

Second hand cars... 100

Second hand clothes ... 100

Second hand shops ... 102

Social Service and Psychological assistance... 103

Sports facilities... 104

Stationery and desk supplies ... 105

Student dormitories ... 105

Student organizations for foreign students... 106

Student restaurants ... 107

Student societies... 109

Supermarkets... 110

Tax demand ... 112

Telephone @home ... 112

Telephone @work ... 115

Time zone... 116

Travelling > Insurances for work-related travelling ... 117

Travelling > Car transport ... 118

Travelling > Visa issues ... 118

Traveller’s cheques in Belgium... 118

TV channels... 119

Welcome Days ... 119

Yellow pages ... 119

A

Ghent University has five student dormitories (see entry [Student dormitories]). However PhD students can stay there only temporarily, because regular Bachelor and Master students always get priority. Given the long waiting list for subscription in the student dormitories, all PhD students need to look for permanent accommodation on the private market.

The rent price for single rooms varies between 200 EUR and 300 EUR, while the rent price for studios and apartments ranges between 350 EUR and 500 EUR.

For electricity, gas and water, you either pay a fixed charge per month, either your apartment has separate meters and you pay only what you consume. Keep in mind that you also will be required to pay a deposit of one to three months’ rent when you start renting the apartment.

For individual rooms, the tenancy agreement typically lasts one year. For apartments and studios, most contracts are drawn up for three years.

If you are looking for an apartment, the following aspects are very important to take into account:

 is the apartment furnished or not ? If not, see the entry [Second hand furniture] for second hand shops.

 can you put your bicycle inside the house, or should you leave your bicycle on the street ?

 is there a lot of traffic on the street, is it quiet at night ? Is there a lot of noise coming from trams or buses ?

 make inquiries with the neighbours or other students who live in the building. Ask them if it is a quiet place to live.

 check if there are supermarkets, baker’s shops, butcher’s shops, laundry shops in the neighbourhood.

 ask if there are separate gas, water and electricity meters for each tenant, or if you have to pay a fixed charge.

 demand an accurate place description before you move into the apartment. This place description must describe all damage that has been done before you moved into the apartment (scratches on doors, broken light, leaking taps,...). Make sure that you get a signed copy of this place description. Most agencies ask a fixed charge (80-100 EUR) for making up this place description.

 if you rent a studio/apartment in a larger building, inform if you need to pay a montly charge for the maintenance of the central hall, elevator, garbage collection, etc. This additional monthly cost can be quite high, from 30 to 50 EUR per month.

 if the heating system works on electricity instead of gas, it is important that it is an accumulation system that accumulates heat during the night, because the electricity tariff at night is much cheaper than during the day. Electrical heating on day tariff is very expensive.

 is there wireless Internet access in the building, or is there a telephone connection in your apartment, so that you can connect to the Internet through an ADSL connection (see entry [Internet@home]) ?

Further, it is very important to inform about the fire insurance. Every tenant must be insured for liability in case of fire. For example, if your microwave or cooker hood starts burning or there is a short circuit in one of your electronic appliances (coffee-maker, cooking plates,...), and this fire spreads out to neighbouring apartments or even the whole building, the insurance

companies will hold you liable for all damage. If you are not covered for this liability by a fire insurance, you will have to pay for all caused damage.

For most large buildings, the agency or the owner concludes a fire insurance policy for the whole building, and part of this insurance policy will be taken into account in your rent.

So you must inform if your liability in case of fire is covered by such an insurance.

By the way, such a fire insurance never covers the damage to your own home contents (household furniture) in case of fire. If you want, you can conclude an additional fire insurance to insure your furniture.

There are basically three fast ways to look for an apartment/studio/flat to rent:

(i) consult the following portal websites:

- http://www.immoweb.be/: immo-database (in Dutch, French and English)

- http://www.gent.be/immodatabank/: the Kot@Gent database (in Dutch, English, French and German)

- http://www.student.be/nl/kotcentral/: KotCentral database (in Dutch and French)

(ii) contact directly the estate agencies.

One of the most appropriate agencies to contact first, is “Estia”. This agency works closely together with Ghent University and they have three apartment blocks in the city, where you can rent apartments/studios with short-term contracts (at least three months).

Contact: Estia estate agency Address: Wilderoosstraat 2-4

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/244.66.99 Fax: 09/245.54.50 E-mail: estia@online.be

Website: http://www.estia.be/eng/index.html

Another contact point is the non-profit organization O.B.S.G. which aims to contribute to the betterment of the developing countries. Therefore O.B.S.G. provides accommodation for guest-students, doctorate students and trainees from all developing countries of the world. The rent of the rooms and flats in O.B.S.G.-homes are very similar to those in the University homes. Crockery and cutlery as well as sheets and covers in single rooms are provided.

The O.B.S.G. homes are well situated in the city of Ghent. One is very close to the railway station of Ghent (Kortrijksesteenweg 500, 9000 Gent. Tel. 09/221.71.01) and the other is located right at the centre of the city (Nieuwenbosstraat 56, 9000 Gent, tel.

09/224.30.76). Both homes are near the University faculties and homes.

Contact: O.B.S.G.

Mrs. Annemie DERBAIX

Address: Kortrijksesteenweg 500

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/221.71.01 Fax: 09/220.89.58

E-mail: obsg_socialservice@yahoo.com Website: http://users.skynet.be/sky73835/obsg/

Below is an exhaustive list of the immo agencies in Ghent:

There are a few estate agencies which have a bad reputation and which you should avoid:

- Eurimmo cv - Immoline bvba

(iii) walk around in the area where you want to rent an apartment, and look for the posters with the sign “Te huur” (E: to rent). Most of these posters mention a mobile phone number of the owner or the estate agency that is renting the apartment. You can call to this number to make an appointment to visit the apartment.

Although you are expected to find a permanent residence on the private market yourself, the Ghent University Housing Department can help you with your search. For further information, contact Mrs. Nathalie GEERAERTS.

Contact person: Nathalie GEERAERTS

Address: Housing Department – Home Vermeylen

Stalhof 6

9000 Gent

Telephone: 09/264.71.09

Fax: 09/264.72.96

E-mail: Nathalie.Geeraerts@UGent.be

If the studio/apartment is not furnished, you can buy furniture in the second shops (see entry [Second hand shops]). Some second hand shops deliver the furniture to your home for about 20 EUR. If you have to move yourself the furniture you bought, to your place, you can rent a moving van for half a day with one of the car rental companies:

 Avis, Kortrijksesteenweg 676-678, 9000 Gent tel.: 09/222.00.53; http://www.avis.be/

 Hertz Belgium, Nieuwe wandeling 76, 9000 Gent tel.: 09/224.04.06; http://www.hertz.be/

 Luxauto, Martelaarslaan 4, 9000 Gent tel.: 09/225.30.31; http://www.luxauto.be/

A

The administration procedure basically consists of six steps:

(i) registration at the Ghent University Student Administration,

(ii) registration at the Foreigners’ Registration Office of the City of Ghent, (iii) opening a bank account,

(iv) registration at the Ghent University Personnel Department, (v) registration for the medical insurance,

(vi) verifying your personnel data in the Apollo database

(i) registration at the Ghent University Student Administration

The Student Registration and Curriculum Office is situated in the new UFO building (next to the Rectorate building) on the first floor (Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 33, 9000 Gent).

The opening hours are every day from 8:30 am to 11:45 am and from 13:30 pm till 15:30 pm.

You must take a waiting ticket.

Make sure that you bring with you the following things:

 the admission letter, signed by the rector of Ghent University,

 your visa,

 all the documents you gathered during your admission procedure (diplomas, TOEFL score, birth certificate, composition of family,...),

 250 EUR tuition fee for enrollment as a PhD student. This is a one-time fee that only has to be paid the first year of subscription. The next years, you can extend your subscription without additional costs.

After you have completed the application form, you will receive a money transfer form to pay this amount of 250 EUR. As you have no bank account yet to transfer the money, you have to go to the post office to transfer the money.

The closest post office is the post office “GENT ZUID” behind the Municipal library at the Woodrow Wilson square.

Address: Franklin Rooseveltlaan 2, 9000 Gent Telephone: 09/225.32.30

Opening hours: every day 9:00– 17:00

If you show the money transfer form from the Student Administration and you pay 250 EUR + 2,50 EUR administrative costs, they will return a receipt that you have paid the tuition fee.

Next you return to the Student Administration Department with the receipt of payment. Then you will receive a document (‘proof of registration’) that has to be handed over at the City Foreigners’ Registration Office.

In the next week, you will receive by postal mail two letters. These letters are sent to the address that you have filled in on the application form in the Student Administration Department:

 a letter with your student card,

 a letter with your generated login and password for access to the university network and mailserver, and your e-mail address.

You need this student card when going to the university library or to one of the university restaurants. You can also get reductions in the cinema, musea, historic buildings,...

(ii) registration at the Foreigners’ Registration Office of the City of Ghent

All foreign students staying in Ghent must present themselves at the Foreigners’ Registration Office of the City of Ghent within eight working days, together with:

 visa

 the proof of registration at Ghent University

In order to fulfil this formality, you have to make an appointment with the Foreigners’

Registration Office. However, there are two different Foreigners’ Registration Offices in Ghent, and it depends on your address to which of these two offices you have to go.

Students hosted in the student dormitories “Home Vermeylen” and “Home Fabiola”, or living in the city centre north of the Sint-Pieters station, must go to the City Administration Centre

‘Het Zuid’.

Address: Woodrow Wilsonplein, 9000 Gent Telephone: 09/266.71.50

Fax: 09/266.71.69

Opening hours: every weekday between 8h00-13h00 Wednesday also from 14h00-18h00

Saturday from 9h00-11h30

The queues in the City Administration Centre ‘Het Zuid’ are so long, that you can easily wait for two hours before it is your turn. If you want to avoid waiting for two hours, you can better be there at 7:45 in the morning, and take a waiting ticket immediately.

Students hosted in the student dormitories “Home Boudewijn”, “Home Vesalius” and “Home Astrid”, or living in the city centre south of the Sint-Pieters station, must go to the City Administration Centre ‘Nieuw Gent’.

Address: Rerum Novarumplein 29, 9000 Gent Telephone: 09/221.61.91

Fax: 09/222.06.25

E-mail: DCNG@gent.be

Opening hours: every weekday between 8h00-13h00 and 14h00-16h00 Wednesday afternoon also from 14h00-18h00

closed on Thursday afternoon

If you present yourself to the Foreigners’ Registration Office, you will receive a certificate that you have started the registration procedure. Within the next weeks, a police officer will check if you actually live on the address that you gave up to the authorities. If you stay late at work or you go out very often at night, it can take a long time before the police officer finds you home.

If you live in the city centre, the responsible police department is:

Contact: Politie “Gent Centrum”

Address: Belfortstraat 4

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/266.61.30

Fax: 09/266.60.17

Website: http://www.politiegent.be/

If you live in the south of Ghent, the responsible police department is:

Contact: Politie “Nieuw Gent”

Address: Rerum Novarumplein 28

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/266.63.60

Fax: 09/266.60.25

Website: http://www.politiegent.be/

Then they will send an invitation letter to your address to present yourself again, with all your documents and three passport photographs. Based upon this procedure, you will receive a residence permit for the length of your stay in Belgium:

 either a white card, which is literally called ‘Certificate of Inscription in the Foreigners’

Register’ (in Dutch: ‘Bewijs van inschrijving in het Vreemdelingenregister’),

 either a document called ‘Declaration of Arrival’ (in Dutch: ‘Aankomstverklaring’).

You will need to renew this document every academic year.

(iii) opening a bank account

Before you can register at the Ghent University Personnel Department, you need to open a bank account, because your salary will be deposited onto the bank account.

Most banks do not want to open a bank account, as long as you can not show a residence permit, and as this can easily take three weeks (see item (ii)), there are not many choices left.

The most appropriate bank is ING (http://www.ing.be/). It is a private bank that has several offices in Ghent.

You need to make an appointment in advance.

Contact person: Mr. Kris VAN HOVE

Mrs. Charlotte VAN COMPERNOLLE

Address: Kouter 173

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/235.02.70 (reception)

09/235.02.80 (Mr. Van Hove)

09/235.02.82 (Mrs. Van Compernolle) Opening hours:

During the first appointment, you immediately receive the number of the bank account and your access codes to the Home’Bank website, which you can use for all electronic money transfers, both national and international. The interface of the webportal is available in English. For the access to the Home’Bank website, you can choose between two access methods:

 you always access the Home’Bank website from the same computer. Then you can install a local software program on your computer and you get protected access to the Home’Bank website,

 if you want to access the Home’Bank website from any computer which has Internet access, you need an electronic device which generates your necessary access codes. This small electronic device is called a ‘Digipass’ and costs 15 EUR. This is a once-only cost that you pay to receive the device.

The access to Home’Bank is activated after one or two days. Be sure to add the Home’Bank website to the trusted servers in the firewall on your computer. Otherwise the access to the Home’Bank website is blocked by your firewall.

The bank card is available after about one week. The cost per year for your bank card and current account is 20 EUR. If you also want a VISA card or Mastercard, you pay 20 EUR additionally per year.

The cost for cashing traveller’s cheques in the bank is 0.1 % of the total amount, but with a minimum transaction cost of 7,50 EUR.

(iv) registration at the Ghent University Personnel Department

For the registration at the Ghent University Personnel Department, you go to the rectorate building (Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 25). On the first floor, in room 1.08, you will find Mrs. Laila BOULYOU and Mrs. Ayfer UGURLU, who are responsible for the contracts for PhD students.

You bring with you your admission letter, your visa, your bank account number and the certificate that you received from the Foreigners’ Registration Office of the City of Ghent.

She will make an appointment with you to sign your contract.

Normally, the official starting date of your contract is five to seven working days after you presented yourself at the Personnel Department.

Contact person: Mrs. Laila BOULYOU or Mrs. Ayfer UGURLU Address: Rectorate building

Personnel Department

Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 25

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/264.30.83

E-mail: Laila.Boulyou@UGent.be

Your seniority is not awarded at this moment. First, the department council has to judge if your previous working experience is relevant for your PhD research. If that is the case, they give positive advice to the personnel department to award you the seniority.

The department council gathers once a month.

(v) registration for the medical insurance

At the Ghent University Personnel Department, they will inform you to make an appointment with Mrs. Kathrien VERHANNEMAN, who deals with your subscription for the basic medical insurance.

Contact person: Mrs. Kathrien VERHANNEMAN Address: Rectorate building

Personnel Department

Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 25

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/264.30.62

E-mail: Kathrien.Verhanneman@UGent.be

The basic medical insurance is mandatory for every Belgian citizen and covers partial reimbursement (normally about 75 %) of (i) doctor and dentist visits, (ii) medicine, (iii) hospital costs, and (iv) some paramedical treatments such as physiotherapy. Several health funds (Dutch: ‘ziekenfondsen’) offer this basic medical insurance, but it is stipulated by the law that the insurance cost and the insured medical treatments must be the same with all health funds. Therefore health funds can only differentiate in the additional services they offer to their members. If you visit the doctor or dentist (see entry [Medical care]), you pay the full amount but you receive a doctor’s receipt. With this receipt you go to the health fund and they partially reimburse your costs.

Most health funds are associated with a certain political party, but there are a few neutral health funds which are politically independent. For foreign students it is recommended to become a member of such a neutral health fund. Mrs. VERHANNEMAN has the necessary application forms for this health fund. In Ghent, this is the ‘Hulpkas voor Ziekte- en Invaliditeitsverzekering’.

Contact person: Hulpkas voor Ziekte- & Invaliditeitsverzekering

Mr. Dammens

Address: Franklin Rooseveltlaan 91

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/269 54 00

Fax: 09/225 82 51

E-mail: beheerder604@caami-hziv.fgov.be Website: http://www.hziv.be/

Opening hours: Monday: 9:00-17:45

Tuesday-Thursday: 9:00-11:45

Once you have received your identity card from the Foreigners’ Registration Office of the City of Ghent, you need to go back to Kathrien VERHANNEMAN to make a copy of your identity card. This copy of your identity card is needed to request your SIS card which is mandatory for each citizen. SIS stands for ‘Social Information System’ and this SIS card provides personal identity and information about insurance rights (health care) to all hospitals, pharmacists and health professionals. It also facilitates the contacts with and exchange of documents between the different institutions of the social security (health care, unemployment service, pension fund, children’s allowance service, …).

You need this SIS card with every visit to the health fund, pharmacy, hospital,... It is sent to your home address after Kathrien VERHANNEMAN has completed the necessary forms.

PhD students who have their own grant or fellowship (e.g. Chinese CSC students), are not paid by Ghent University. So they are only enrolled as PhD student, but not as an employee of Ghent University. If you are in this case, you do not pay taxes for social security in Belgium, but yet you are still obliged to present yourself to the health fund to take this basic medical insurance.

For this group of PhD students, the premium for basic medical insurance strongly depends upon the health fund itself. The above mentioned ‘Hulpkas voor Ziekte- en Invaliditeitsverzekering’ charges 50 EUR per trimester (200 EUR/year), but the health fund

‘Euromut’ offers a basic medical insurance for free. You need to show the following documents:

 the certificate of your scholarship/funding

 your residence permit (so-called “Inschrijvingsbewijs”)

 a copy of your student card

Euromut also takes care of the application for your SIS card.

Contact person: Euromut

Mrs. Martine GUILBERT

Address: Franklin Rooseveltlaan 44

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/269 43 83

Fax: 09/225 53 01

E-mail: martine.guilbert@euromut.be Website: http://www.euromut.be/

Opening hours: Monday-Friday: 9:00-12:00 and 13:00 – 16:00 Closed on Tuesday morning and Friday afternoon

Apart from the mandatory basic medical insurance, it is recommended to take an additional hospitalisation insurance, because the basic medical insurance does not cover all hospitalisation and surgery costs and these costs can rise quite high if you need to stay in the hospital for several days (see entry [Insurances]). Ghent University offers a group hospitalisation insurance to its employees.

(vi) verifying your personnel data in the Apollo database

Your department affiliation, office telephone number, office fax number, office location, etc.

are taken from the central database with personnel data.

Once you have signed your contract and you have been registered as employee of Ghent University, you should check if your personnel data in the Apollo database are correct.

Therefore you open the website http://athena.ugent.be/, and you double-click on the icon

“Apollo” in the folder Main > Office.

You select your personnel data, and next your office data.

B

B

There are two types of bank cards:

 a debit card (so called ‘Bancontact/Mister Cash’ card)

 a credit card (so called ‘Visa’ or ‘MasterCard’)

The debit card is linked to your bank account. It is a bank card which allows you to make purchases and withdraw money in Belgium or abroad. There are three functions available on your debit card:

 Bancontact/Mister Cash: You can use your debit card to pay for your purchases in any shop that has electronic payment facilities, and to withdraw money from any Bancontact/Mister Cash cash machine. Bancontact/Mister Cash is only available in Belgium,

 Maestro: Maestro allows you to make purchases and withdraw money abroad. You pay either by entering your card’s PIN code, or by signing the receipt. You can use your debit card in any shop bearing the Maestro logo,

 Proton: Proton allows you to use the card as an electronic purse and is ideal for small purchases in Belgium. Your Proton can be loaded (maximum 125 EUR) at any Bancontact/Mister Cash cash machine or Self'Bank. You load it using your debit card’s PIN code. In shops, public offices, university restaurants, telephone booths, parking, etc., you pay by inserting your card into the Proton card reader and pressing OK (you do not need to enter your PIN code).

Credit cards are more expensive, but you have a monthly credit limit of 1250 EUR. You pay your transactions with your credit card simply by signing the receipt. The following month you repay the credit company the amount that you have spent. Each month, you will receive a statement: it shows the purchases and payments you have made with your credit card over the past month. Every credit card also has a PIN code. This code allows you to withdraw money in your own country and abroad from any cash machines or banks featuring the Visa or MasterCard logo.

Different banks have several branches in town. Most banks are open on weekdays from 9:00- 12:00 and from 14:00-16:00. Some banks are open on Saturday morning and have late opening hours once a week. During weekends, you can use the Bancontact/Mister Cash- machines to obtain money.

If you would lose your bank card or it has been stolen, you must call ‘Card Stop’

immediately. This bank service blocks your bank card, so that no money can be withdrawn from your account. The telephone number is 070/344.344.

The most appropriate bank for foreign PhD students to open a bank account, is the bank

“ING” (see entry [Administration procedure]).

Another option is the bank “Argenta”. They also open bank accounts for foreigners and all their basic banking services (bank account, bank card, Visa card) are totally free. However their services are more limited: for example you cannot do any international money transfers via Internet banking, you need to complete a form and deposit it at the bank.

B

Most hair dressers only work for men or women, only a few of them work for both.

Two cheap barbers for men are:

 Fernand, Koningin Astridlaan 94, 9000 Gent

tel.: 09/222.85.18 (only open on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday morning)

 Ronny’s coiffure, Ottergemsesteenweg 188, 9000 Gent tel.: 09/221.56.31

There you will pay between 7 EUR and 10 EUR for a hair dress. In other barbershops, the price can be 20 EUR or more.

In the Turkish neighbourhood (north of Gent, around the ‘Sleepstraat’ and ‘Sluizeken’), you can even find barbers who are open on Sundays and holidays. They are also quite cheap.

B

The Kingdom of Belgium (Dutch: Koninkrijk België; French: Royaume de Belgique;

German: Königreich Belgien) is a country in northwest Europe bordered by the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France and is one of the founding and core members of the European Union. Belgium has a population of over ten million people, in an area of around 30,000 square kilometres (11,700 square miles).

Belgium derives its name from the Latin name of the northernmost part of Gaul, Gallia Belgica, named after a group of mostly Celtic tribes, Belgae. Historically, Belgium has been a part of the Low Countries, which also include the Netherlands and Luxembourg and used to cover a somewhat larger region than the current Benelux group of states. From the end of the Middle Ages until the seventeenth century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the sixteenth century until the Belgian revolution in 1830, the area at that time

called the Southern Netherlands, was the site of many battles between the European powers, and has been dubbed "the battlefield of Europe" or "the cockpit of Europe". More recently, Belgium was a founding member of the European Union, hosting its headquarters, as well as those of many other major international organizations, such as NATO.

Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Romance Europe, Belgium is linguistically divided. It has two main languages: 59% of its population, being 6.18 million people in the north, mainly in the region Flanders, speak Dutch (while Belgians of both major languages often refer to it as Flemish); French is spoken by 40%: 3.29 million in the southern region Wallonia and an estimated 0.88 million in the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region or 85-90% of its residents – thus a minority there speaks Dutch, its local language till shortly before Belgium's independence. Less than 1% of the Belgians, around 70,000 live in the German-speaking Community in the east of the Walloon Region. This linguistic diversity often leads to political and cultural conflict and is reflected in Belgium's complex system of government and political history.

The country's constitution was revised on 14 July 1993 to create a unique federal state, based on three levels:

 the federal government, based in Brussels,

 the three language communities:

the Flemish (i.e., Dutch-speaking) Community;

the French (i.e., French-speaking) Community;

the German-speaking Community.

 the three regions (which differ from the language communities with respect to the German- speaking community and the Brussels region):

the Flemish Region;

the Walloon Region;

the Brussels-Capital Region.

The Flemish Community absorbed the Flemish Region in 1980 to form the government of Flanders. The overlapping boundaries of the Regions and Communities have created two notable peculiarities: the territory of the Brussels-Capital Region is included in both Flemish and French Communities, and the territory of the German-speaking Community lies wholly within the Walloon Region. Flemish and Walloon regions are furthermore subdivided in administrative entities, the provinces.

Belgium is divided into ten provinces (Dutch: provincies) and the capital region of Brussels (Dutch: Brussels hoofdstedelijk gewest).

At the highest level of this three-tiered setup is the federal government which manages foreign affairs, development aid, defence, military, police, economic management, social welfare, social security transport, energy, telecommunications, and scientific research, limited competencies in education and culture, and the supervision of taxation by regional authorities.

The federal government controls more than 90 per cent of all taxation. The community governments are responsible for the promotion of language, culture and education in mostly schools, libraries and theatres. The third tier is the Regional governments, who manage mostly land and property based issues such as housing, transportation etc. For example, the building permit for a school building in Brussels belonging to the public school system would be regulated by the regional government of Brussels. However, the school as an institution would fall under the regulations of the Flemish government if the primary language of teaching is Dutch, but under the French Community government if the primary language is French.

Belgium is a constitutional popular monarchy and parliamentary democracy that evolved after World War II from a unitary state to a federation. The bicameral parliament is composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Representatives. The former is a mix of directly elected senior politicians and representatives of the communities and regions; while the latter represents all Belgians over the age of eighteen in a proportional voting system. Belgium is one of the few countries that has compulsory voting, thus having one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the world.

The federal government, formally nominated by the king, must have the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives. It is led by the Prime Minister. The numbers of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers are equal as prescribed by the Constitution. The King or Queen is the head of state, though with limited prerogatives. Actual power is vested in the Prime Minister and the different governments, who govern the country. The judicial system is based on civil law and originates from the Napoleonic code. The Court of Appeal is one level below the Court of Cassation, an institution based on the French Court of Cassation.

Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power is organized around the need to represent the main language communities. Since around 1970, the significant national Belgian political parties have split into distinct components that mainly represent the interests

of these communities. The major parties in each community, though close to the political centre, belong to three main political families: the right-wing Liberals, the social conservative Christian Democrats, and the Socialists as left-wing. Other important younger parties are the Green party and, especially in Flanders, the nationalist and far-right, Flemish Interest party.

Politics is influenced by lobby groups, such as trade unions and business interests in the form of the Trade Federation of Enterprises in Belgium.

The current king, Albert II, succeeded King Baudouin (Boudewijn in Dutch) in 1993. Since 1999, Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from the VLD has led a six-party Liberal-Social Democrat-Greens coalition, often referred to as 'the rainbow government'. This was the first government without the Christian Democrats since 1958. In the 2003 elections, Verhofstadt won a second term in office and has led a Liberal-Social Democrat coalition of four parties. In recent years, there has also been a steady rise of the Flemish far right nationalist separatist party Vlaams Blok, meanwhile superseded by Vlaams Belang amidst allegations of racism promoted by the party.

The seven largest cities of Belgium are Brussels, Antwerp (Antwerpen), Ghent (Gent), Charleroi, Liège, Bruges (Brugge) and Namur, with populations above 100,000.

Much more information can be found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium.

B

For most travelling in the city centre, you do not need the public transport if you have a bicycle. A lot of efforts have been done by the municipal authorities to facilitate the use of bicycles in the city centre. Almost all one-way streets can be passed by bicycles in both directions. This is indicated with the traffic sign below:

When you drive your bicycle, you need to take into account two important considerations:

 always lock your bicycle if you leave it alone, and make sure that it is locked to some fixed street furniture (lamp post, fence,...). Unfortunately a lot of bicycles are stolen every year,

 if you ride your bicycle when it is dark, you need a front light and a back light and both must be functioning. It can cost you a very expensive fine if the police catches you while you are driving your bicycle without proper lighting.

Students can rent a bicycle from the non-profit organization “vzw studentENmobiliteit” – a joint initiative of the City of Ghent and Ghent University (http://www.studentenmobiliteit.be/). Priority is given to regular students, so it is not sure if PhD students can qualify for such a bicycle. The bikes are let including a strong and practical lock.

Rental price:

– 1 month: 8 EUR – 2 months: 12 EUR – 3 months: 15 EUR – 4 months: 18 EUR – 5 months: 20 EUR – 6 months: 23 EUR – 7-10 months: 27 EUR – 11-12 months: 32 EUR

You will also have to pay a deposit of 50 EUR.

What to bring?

– Ghent University Student Card – Passport or identity card

– 50 EUR deposit + the rent (in cash) Address: Kattenberg 2

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/269.18.98

Fax: 09/269.18.99

E-mail: studentenmobiliteit@gent.be Website: http://www.studentenmobiliteit.be/

Opening hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 13h00-16h00 + Tuesday 13h00-18h00

Second hand bicycles can be bought on the flea market every Sunday at the ‘Oude Beestenmarkt’.

Place: Oude Beestenmarkt

9000 Gent

Time: every Sunday from 7:00 till 13:00

No matter which bicycle you ride, let it register ! This is a free service offered by the city of Ghent and it guarantees that if your bicycle is stolen, you have an official registration number for your bicycle. It also scares off potential thieves.

Contact: Fietsendepot Dienst Mobiliteit (bicycle depot) Address: Academiestraat 6

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09 225 50 05

Fax: 09 265 18 05

E-mail: mobiliteit@gent.be Opening hours: Monday: 17:00-19:00

Wednesday: 14:00-16:00

Thursday: 16:00-18:00

Friday: 12:00-14:00

Public bicycle-pumps can be found at the Kattenberg street (vzw studentENmobiliteit), Woodrow Wilsonplein (Zuid) and near the Sint-Pieters station (corner Fabiolalaan).

See also http://mobielrug.ugent.be/ for the UGent mobility project.

If you travel from home to work with your bicycle, you can benefit from a montly allowance paid by Ghent University to stimulate the use of bicycle for commuter traffic. There are two strict conditions to be fullfilled:

(1) you use your bicycle at least 80 % of the working days of every month, (2) the single route from home to work is at least one kilometre.

You have to register on the website https://webster.ugent.be/fiets/.

Contact person: Peter DE CLERCK

Address: Department of Personnel and Organization

Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 25

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/264.30.47

E-mail: Peter.DeClerck@UGent.be

The bicycles can be safely stored in the cellar at the ‘Scheldekaai’ (back side of the Technicum building). You can enter with your white entrance badge (see entry [Entrance badge]).

In the surroundings of Ghent, there are a lot of beautiful bicycle routes which are indicated on special signs. Especially the routes along the rivers ‘Schelde’ and ‘Leie’ are very popular.

You can find more information (bicycle maps, route descriptions,...) in the tourist office (see entry [Ghent]).

If you want to rent a bicycle for one day for a tourist tour or to ride your bicycle with some friends, you can rent a bike from these shops (the price is 8 to 9 EUR for one day):

 Contact: Bicycle rent ‘Sint-Pietersstation’

Address: Koningin Maria-Hendrikaplein (square in front of the station)

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/241.22.24

Fax: 09/241.22.07

Opening hours: every day: 7:00 – 20:00

 Contact: Biker

Address: Steendam 16

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/224.29.03

Fax: 09/234.29.44

Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday: 9:00-12:30 and 13:30-18:00 Saturday: 9:00-12:30 and 13:30-17:00 Closed on Sundays and Mondays

B

The bicycle repair shops are open for all students. If your bicycle is damaged, you can go to one of the 3 Bicycle Repair Shops. There you have to repair your bicycle yourself, but you can use the equipment for free and you can buy the necessary spare parts. There is always a supervisor to help you for difficult repairs.

In the bicycle repair shops, you can also buy a very good lock for a cheap price.

 Bicycle Repair Shop ‘Blandijn’

Address: Sint-Hubertusstraat 2 (near Blandijnberg)

Tel.: 09/264.36.70

Website: http://www.ugent.be/nl/voorzieningen/fietsenherstelplaats.htm Opening hours: every weekday from 8h00-10h30 and 12h00-14h00

(except Friday 8h00-11h00)

 Bicycle Repair Shop ‘Rabot’

Address: Bargiekaai (campus KAHO Sint-Lieven, Rabot)

Tel.: 09/269.18.98

Opening hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 12h-17h

 Bicycle Repair Shop ‘Station’

Address: Roosakkerstraat (near campus BME and Sint-Pieters station) Underground car park ‘Practicum’-building

Tel.: 09/269.18.98

Opening hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12h-17h

If you are not very handy, you can bring your bicycle for repair to one of the bicycle shops in the city centre.

B

Since Ghent University is not situated on a separate campus, students enjoy easy access to several town bookshops that provide wide academic coverage, most notably:

 Fnac (Veldstraat 88)

 Marnix: scientific and medical books (Nederkouter 109)

 Standaard Boekhandel (Sint-Baafsplein 70, Kouter 31 & Wilsonplein 4 Zuid)

 Story Scientia (Sint Kwintensberg 87) is specialised in scientific books

 Walry (Zwijnaardsesteenweg 6)

 De Slegte is a good second-hand and remainders bookshop (Voldersstraat 7, next to University Aula).

 Post Viadrina is a “three in one”: a bookshop and culture shop, a meeting place for cultural events and an information centre on Eastern Europe (Kortrijksepoortstraat 220)

 Bookshop ‘Oxfam’: second-hand books (Sint-Amandsstraat 16)

B

Every PhD student has his/her own business cards. The lay-out has been made by Ives DE BAERE in Microsoft Publisher. The business cards are printed on both sides: one side is Dutch, the other side is English.

There exists also a design for a greeting card that you can use as an accompanying card for sending reports, invoices or letters to customers, research partners, etc.

The business cards and greeting cards must follow the house style of Ghent University. This house style defines the general layout of official letters, faxes, Powerpoint slides and business cards. It is described on http://www.ugent.be/huisstijl.

For the text on the business cards and greeting cards, the special font style ‘Frutiger’ is used.

This font family is not supplied with the official Office 2003 release, but you can download the font definitions from:

https://www.ugent.be/nl/univgent/bestuur/huisstijl/elementen/typografie/frutiger/win Then you have to install this font family for all Windows applications as follows:

You can use the Microsoft Publisher software supplied with Office 2003 or use the server version that is running on Athena (see entry [Software]) to design your own business cards.

Then you can print them on thick paper with the color printer. Finally you can use the paper cutter in the same office to cut the business cards to the desired dimensions.

B

The list below shows the addresses and telephone number of the butcher’s shops in the centre of Ghent.

C

There are several cinemas in Ghent. All films are usually screened in their original version with bilingual (Dutch-French) subtitles. There are four cinemas in Ghent:

 Kinepolis (Ter Platen 12, e-mail: info@kinepolis.be, website: http://www.kinepolis.be):

the large and commercial cinema,

 Studio Skoop (Sint-Annaplein 63, e-mail: info@studioskoop.be, website:

http://www.studioskoop.be): cinema with the bigger, alternative films,

 Sphinx (Sint-Michielshelling 3, e-mail: sphinx.cinema@pi.be): small cinema with quality movies,

 Film-plateau (Paddenhoek 3, e-mail: film-plateau@UGent.be, website: http://www.film- plateau.UGent.be): cinema owned by Ghent University.

Every year in October, Ghent hosts the Flanders International Film Festival (http://www.filmfestival.be), with several premieres and the presence of international stars.

Viewpoint is the yearly documentary film festival that is organised by Studio Skoop and Ghent University (website: http://www.studioskoop.be/Vp2004/info.htm ; e-mail:

viewpoint@studioskoop.be).

C

You can buy quality maps of all cities, countries and regions in the shop ‘Atlas & Zanzibar’.

Address: Kortrijksesteenweg 19

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/220.87.99

Openingsuren: Mon-Fri: 10:00-13:00 and 14:00-18:30, Sat. till 18:00.

In the ‘Use-It’ information centre for young travellers, you can get several city maps with information about pubs, restaurants, musea, second hand shops,... for free.

Contact: Use-It

Address: Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 21

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/324.39.06

E-mail: info@use-it.be Website: http://www.use-it.be/

Opening hours: Monday-Friday: 13:00-18:00

One of the best electronic city maps is available at the official website of the City of Ghent.

On the website http://www.gent.be/stadsplan, you can zoom in on the different districts of the city and activate additional layers on the map which show public transport routes for bus and tram.

You can also find city maps and calculate travel routes on the following websites:

 http://www.mappy.be/

 http://www.viamichelin.com/

C

You can buy cheap cloths in the second hand shops (see entry [Second hand clothes] and [Second hand shops]) or large supermarkets such as JBC, Superconfex, Wibra, C&A, E5- Mode,...

During the months of January and July, there are sales with very large discounts.

The clothes shops listed below offer a very large collection of new clothes for an affordable price. They are a kind of clothes supermarkets.

 E5-Mode, Twaalf Apostelenstraat 12, 9051 Sint-Denijs-Westrem, 09/222.54.29

 C&A, Veldstraat 47, 9000 Gent, 09/236.18.32

 JBC, Martelaarslaan 307, 9000 Gent, 09/224.02.78

 Superconfex, Brugse Vaart 9, 9030 Mariakerke, 09/236.69.23

 Wibra, Hoveniersstraat 68, 9050 Ledeberg, 09/231 55 00

 Wibra, Koningin Astridlaan 151, 9000 Gent, 09/222.48.29

C

If you come to work with public transport, Ghent University compensates your rail/bus/tram pass for 100 %. You need to fill in a statement and return that to the Department of Personnel and Organization.

Contact person: Peter DE CLERCK

Address: Department of Personnel and Organization

Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 25

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/264.30.47

E-mail: Peter.DeClerck@UGent.be

More information can be found on:

https://www.ugent.be/nl/voorzieningen/personeelszaken/woonwerkverkeer

The university only compensates your commuting to work if you buy a season ticket that clearly mentions your name and that is valid for at least one month. You can also buy season tickets for three months or one year.

C

For many work related expenses, it is the common procedure that you pay the expenses first yourself, and that the expenses are then reimbursed on your bank account. For example, if you attend a meeting outside our university and you need to take the train/bus/tram to get there, you buy the ticket yourself and you keep the receipt.

Afterwards, you submit your expense account which contains the following information:

 your name and personnel card number

 your bank account where the compensation has to be deposited

 justification of the costs (date, reason, amount)

Our secretary Martine BOTTE will bring your expense account into the accounting system and the amount will be reimbursed on your bank account.

C

September and October are traditionally months of classical music in Ghent, since the Festival of Flanders (http://www.festival-van-vlaanderen.be) organises a wide range of concerts, mostly in historical buildings and churches. However, throughout the year various types of concerts are organised in the inner city.

A city as Ghent could not do without some major theatres and concert halls:

 Concert Hall De Bijloke (J. Kluyskensstraat 2, B-9000 Gent, E-mail: info@debijloke.be, website: http://www.debijloke.be): classical music and other concerts

 NTGent (Sint-Baafsplein 17, B-9000 Gent, e-mail info@publiekstheater.be, website:

http://www.ntgent.be), the official Ghent drama company, based on 3 locations: Groot Huis, Minnemeers and Arca

 Capitole (Graaf Van Vlaanderenplein 5, B-9000 Gent, e-mail info@musichall.be, http://www.musichall.be) is a new theatre, especially for musical productions

 Flanders Expo (Maaltekouter 1, B-9051 Gent, e-mail: info@flandersexpo.be, website:

http://www.flexpo.be): (trade) fairs, seminars, symposiums, product shows and corporate events, concerts, ice skating shows and indoor sports events

 Kuipke: (Citadelpark, B-9000 Gent, e-mail: info@kuipke.be, website:

http://www.kuipke.be): indoor cycling track, but also concert & event hall

 Minardschouwburg (Walpoortstraat 15, B-9000 Gent, e-mail: info@minard.be, website:

http://www.minard.be): multifunctional play house

 Handelsbeurs (Kouter 29, B-9000 Gent, e-mail: info@handelsbeurs.be, website:

http://www.handelsbeurs.be): world music, jazz, singer-songwriters, …

 Backstage (Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 128, B-9000 Gent, e-mail info@backstagegent.be, website: http://www.backstage-gent.be): alternative & small theatre.

 Kunstencentrum Vooruit (Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 23, B-9000 Gent, e-mail:

info@vooruit.be, website: http://www.vooruit.be): Major travelling productions are usually staged here.

 De Vlaamse Opera (Schouwburgstraat 3, B-9000 Gent, e-mail: info@vlaamseopera.be, website: http://www.vlaamseopera.be): the Ghent opera house

 Victoria (Fratersplein 7, B-9000 Gent, e-mail info@victoria.be, website:

http://www.victoria.be): drama company for young theatre producers.

 Nieuwpoorttheater (Nieuwpoort 31, B-9000 Gent, e-mail nieuwpoorttheater@pandora.be, website: http://www.nieuwpoorttheater.org): Theatre and art house.

C

The Belgian currency is the Euro (symbol ‘€’). There are coins and notes:

 8 coins: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 eurocent, 1 euro and 2 euro

 7 notes: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euro

You can compare the Euro currency with other international currencies on the website http://www.x-rates.com/.

D

The system for dentists is the same as for medical care (see entry [Medical care]). You visit the dentist and you pay the full amount. Afterwards you hand in your dentist receipt to the health fund and the major part of the costs is reimbursed.

If you urgently need a dentist during the night or weekend, you can call the central telephone number 09/272 85 66. They will inform you which dentist in your neighbourhood has weekend or night duty.

D

There is a digital camera available in the research group, which is shared among all colleagues. You can find it in the cupboard in the secretary office, and if you use it, you are requested to fill in the form that is attached to the inner side of the cupboard door, so that other people know that they can find the digital camera with you.

The digital camera works with rechargeable batteries and there is a universal USB memory card reader for copying the recorded pictures to your PC.

D

In the unhappy event of health problems you can always turn to the Advisory Centre for Students, where two physicians run a practice for students. They are well acquainted with the specific situation of students and as such are ideally placed to deal with any medical problem you might have. In Belgium it is usual to visit a general practitioner first. He will refer you to a specialist if necessary.

They have daily medical consultations. It is preferable, however, to make an appointment, by the phone number mentioned below. As health care is not free, each visit to the physician must be paid. If you have a proper insurance, you can recuperate the costs, though some of the medical costs may be charged to the patient personally.

Contact person: Advisory Centre for Students Address: Sint-Pietersplein 7

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/264.70.00

Opening hours: Monday to Friday during the day: only by appointment Monday to Friday: free consultation between 17:00 and 19:00

For urgent medical help during the night, call 09/264.71.00. This is the telephone number of the reception in the student dormitory ‘Home Vermeylen’. They will forward you to the physician who has service that night.

In the weekend, you need to call to the central telephone number 09/236.50.00.

If you need specialised treatment by a specialist, first inform with your physician, because if you make an appointment with a specialist in his private medical practice, he is allowed to charge much more than the official tariff. This extra amount you pay, is not reimbursed by the health fund.

Then it is better to see a specialist in the hospital, because there the official tariffs are applied more strictly. The drawback is that the waiting period to get an appointment can be very long.

It is not unusual that you have to wait two months before you can get an appointment for a dermatologist or a gastrologist.

D

D

Citizens from the European Union can exchange their national driving licence into an international driving licence at the city administration. Also for some other countries outside the European Union, exchange of licences is possible, but in that case, it depends on the mutual agreements between that country and Belgium.

Contact person: City administration – Department driving licences

Address: Woodrow Wilsonplein

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/266.72.00

Students from other countries have to take a theoretical and practical examination at the Examination Centre. The theoretical examination can be taken in English, but you have to subscribe well in advance, because this examination is not organized so frequently. For subscription, you have to present yourself to the Examination Centre with your residence permit, identity card, driving licence and 50 EUR (cost for the interpreter).

Once you have passed the theoretical examination, you can do the practical test. You have to provide your own car. It is not possible to use a car from the Examination Centre.

Contact person: Examination Centre Address: Poortakkerstraat 131

9051 Sint-Denijs-Westrem

Tel.: 09/221.42.66

Website: http://www.sbat.be/

Once you have passed both the theoretical and practical examination, you have to pick up your international driving licence at the city administration, that was mentioned above.

E

In Belgium, the mains voltage or line voltage is 230 V and the voltage frequency is 50 Hz.

Household power is single-phase electric power, in which a single live conductor brings alternating current into a house, and a neutral conductor returns it to the power supply. Many plugs and sockets include a third contact used for a protective earth ground, which only carries current in case of a fault in the connected equipment.

When you rent a studio/apartment, it is possible that you need to pay your electricity bill directly to the electricity company, instead of to the owner or to the agency. In that case, you need to conclude a contract with the electricity company of your choice. The largest one is

‘Electrabel’ which supplies gas and electricity to the customer. Other companies are Essent, Nuon, SPE.

You can find more information on the ‘Electrabel’ website http://www.electrabel.be/. For concluding your contract, you can call to the central telephone number 078/35.33.33, or visit the ‘Electrabel’ info desk in the post offices.

Contact: Post office ‘Gent Stationswijk’

Address: Kortrijksesteenweg 194-200

9000 Gent

Tel.: 078/35.33.33

Opening hours: Monday: 9:00-11:30 and 13:30-17:00

Tuesday-Friday: 9:00-12:00 and 13:00-17:00

Contact: Post office ‘Gent Centrum’

Address: Lange Kruisstraat 55

9000 Gent

Tel.: 09/269.27.50

Opening hours: every weekday from 9:00-13:00

When you conclude your contract, you need to know the electricity meter readings at that time, and also clearly mention that you want a monthly invoice, otherwise they charge you only once a year.

In case you have electric heating with accumulation at night, you need to mention that you have a double meter, one for day tariff and one for night tariff.

The first year of your contract, the electricity company cannot know how much you will consume on an average monthly basis. So they charge a fixed contribution: (i) 37 EUR in case you have no electrical heating, and (ii) 85 EUR in case you have electrical heating.

E

112: emergency services of the city of Ghent 09/264.88.88: UGent emergency services

The Emergency Centre (“Permanentiecentrum”) of Ghent University can help you in these cases:

 urgent problems with entrance badges

 electrical breakdown

 flooding

 broken elevator

 threat

 fire

 explosion

 medical emergency

 accidents

 environmental pollution

 bomb alert

You can reach the Emergency Centre 24h/24h, 7d/7d on these phone numbers:

 Emergency phone number for urgent cases: 88 (from inside UGent telephone network) (from outside UGent: 09/264 88 88)

 Number for less urgent cases: 09/264 71 45

 or by e-mail: permanentie@UGent.be

E

Apart from your student card and personnel card, you receive an entrance badge. Entrance permission is electronically activated on your badge for the buildings where you need to work. To scan your badge, you need to wave your badge before the small black box next to the entrance.

F

The most typical snack from Belgium are the ‘chips’ (Brittish English) or ‘French fries’

(American English). These are fried potatoes, cut in small sticks. You can order them with mayonnaise, ketchup and all sorts of burgers.

Chips or French fries are sold in dedicated stands which are called ‘frituur’ (E: chips stand).

You can buy a bag of chips for 1,5 EUR to 2,00 EUR. Although this type of food is not very healthy, it is very popular among students. Below is a list of some chips stands in Ghent:

Another famous export product of Belgium is chocolate. Apart from the traditional chocolate bars, we make chocolate bonbons which are called ‘pralines’. Belgian chocolate pralines could be filled with a variety of flavored nougats or creams, such as coffee, hazelnut, fruit or more chocolate.

You can buy the Belgian chocolates in a confectionery shop (Leonidas, Neuhaus,...) or a professional chocolate shop. The price varies between 12,50 EUR and 25,00 EUR per kilogram.

A list of the most typical vegetables that you can find in the supermarkets and on the daily menus in the student restaurants, are listed below:

rode kool (Dutch)

red cabbage (English) Rotkohl (German)

paddestoel (Dutch)

mushroom (English) champignon (German)

witloof (Dutch)

chicory (English) chicoree (German)

erwten (Dutch)

peas (English)

grüne Erbsen, Kichererbsen (German)

spruiten (Dutch)

sprouts (English) Rosenkohl (German)

ui, ajuin (Dutch)

onion (English) Zwiebel (German)

bonen (Dutch)

(haricot)beans (English) Gartenbohne (German)

prei (Dutch)

leek (English)

Porre, Lauch (German)

schorseneren (Dutch)

scorzonera, black salsify (English) Schwarzwurzel (German)

paprika (Dutch)

paprika (English) Paprika (German)

wortelen (Dutch)

carrots (English) Karotte (German)

bloemkool (Dutch)

cauliflower (English) Blumenkohl (German)

spinazie (Dutch)

spinach (English) Spinat (German)

For exotic food, you can visit one of the following shops:

 Afrikoko

Address: Brugsepoortstraat 24

9000 Gent

Opening hours: every day from 9:00-20:00 except on Thursday

Specialties: tropical and subtropical African, Asian and South-American foods and drinks

 Berkane Elomari

Address: Oudburg 23

9000 Gent

Opening hours: every day from 7:00-20:00

Specialties: typical African food (especially from Maroc)

 Blessed Afro shop

Address: Vlaanderenstraat 82

9000 Gent

Opening hours: every day from 10:00-20:00 except on Sunday Specialties: African food, African hair dressing, African movies

 Casa del cappriccio

Address: Sint-Jacobsnieuwstraat 2

9000 Gent

Opening hours: every day from 9:00-13:30 and 14:00-19:00 except on Wednesday and Sunday

Specialties: small Italian supermarket

 Da Luigi

Address: Lammerstraat 5

9000 Gent

Opening hours: Monday-Friday: 9:00-19:00, Saturday: 9:30-19:00 (closed in August) Specialties: small Italian supermarket

 Foreign shop

Address: Dampoortstraat 101A

9000 Gent

Website: http://www.foreignshop.be/

Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday: 9:00-20:00 Specialties: largest African shop in Gent

 Kissi International Afroshop

Address: Dampoortstraat

9000 Gent

Opening hours: Monday-Saturday: 9:00-21:00 Specialties: small African supermarket

 One Euro Shop

Address: Sleepstraat 103

9000 Gent

Opening hours: every day from 8:30-20:30 except on Tuesday Specialties: Turkish supermarket

 Oriental Shop Legri

Address: Brusselsesteenweg 37

9000 Gent

Opening hours: every day from 10:00-19:00, Sunday: 9:00-12:00 Specialties: Asian food and drinks

 Suan Thai Market

Address: Holstraat 72

9000 Gent

Opening hours: every day from 9:00-18:30 except on Sunday Specialties: Asian food and drinks (especially Thai)

 Sun Wah

Address: Vrijdagmarkt 49

9000 Gent

Opening hours: every day from 9:00-18:00 except on Sunday Specialties: Oriental supermarket

 Toptanci

Address: Sleepstraat 100

9000 Gent

Opening hours: every day from 8:00-20:00 except on Wednesday Specialties: Turkish grocery store

 Vits-Staelens

Address: Bij St.-Jacobs 14

9000 Gent

Opening hours: ?

Specialties: herbs, spices, tea,...

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Garbage is collected every week door-to-door by IVAGO. You are obliged to sort your garbage:

 ‘restafval’ (rest of garbage): garbage that cannot be recycled. It is collected in special grey bags (for sale in all supermarkets)

 GFT or ‘Groente-, Fruit en Tuinafval’ (residues of vegetables, fruit and garden): collected in green containers (not in the city centre, only for surroundings of the city centre where there are more gardens),

 PMD or ‘Plastiek, Metaal en Drankkartons’ (plastic bottles, metal cans and drinks in a carton): collected in special transparent blue bags (for sale in all supermarkets),

 glas: seperate collection of glass,

 papier-karton (paper and cardboard): seperate collection of paper and cardboard,

 grofvuil (large garbage): seperate collection of old furniture, wood and broken electrical appliances.

Only ‘restafval’ is collected every week, all other types of garbage are collected every two or three weeks.

Only if the garbage is collected in the specific bags, the garbage collector will take the bags with them. You can buy the grey bags for ‘restafval’ in two sizes: 30 litres and 60 litres. If you are living alone, it is better to buy the smaller bags, because after a while, the rests of food start smelling.

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Ghent (Dutch : Gent) is the fourth largest city of Belgium with about 250.000 inhabitants. It is not as big as Antwerp but bigger than Bruges. It is also less famous among tourists than the often praised Bruges.

However, for some people Ghent is the real diamond of Flanders and Belgium. In a unique way, Ghent has managed to preserve its medieval power while keeping up with the times. The city center alone is a showcase of medieval Flemish wealth and commercial success. Modern Ghent certainly cannot be overlooked in Belgium. The city has an important harbor, thanks to the canal Ghent-Terneuzen which allows sea-going vessels to bring their products to the city and its industrial hinterland. Also Ghent University (UGent) continues to grow in importance.

The presence of so many young people and students has turned Ghent into an important Flemish cultural center.

Ghent is also the flower city of Belgium. Flower growers from the region around Ghent sell their beautiful begonia's and azalea's all over the world. Every 5 years the successful 'Gentse Floraliën" ( Ghent Flower Show) attracts thousands to the city.The tourist will not have eyes enough to admire the awesome architectural wealth, which offers a splendid combination of impressiveness and idyllic charm of the proud and (in former times) often rebellious city of Ghent.

Archeological research has proved that there was human settlement in Ghent during prehistoric times. Only later, in the Roman period, the nucleus of a city began to grow near the confluence of the two rivers Scheldt and Leie. (The flemish name 'Gent' is probably derived from the Celtic 'Ganda', which meant confluence). It was around the year 630 that Ghent continued to grow when the Abbey of Saint Peter (later Abbey of Saint Bavo) was founded. Later, a second abbey was founded on the so-called 'Blandijnberg'. It was around these two religious centers that a residential nucleus came into existence. This early city was important enough to create a 'portus' with commercial activity. Charlemagne gave it a fleet for protection against the Vikings. In both 851 and 879 the Vikings attacked and plundered the city. Shortly afterwards a first wooden fortification was built for better protection. It stood on the spot where now the impressive 'Castle of the Count' can be visited.

From the 11th until the 12th century Gent rose to become an important trade center, especially because of the production of cloth based on the import of English wool. In 1178 Count Philip of Alsace granted Gent its first privileges. The same Count also transformed the wooden fortification into the impressive stone Castle of the Counts.

In the 13th century the city was governed by an oligarchy of patricians who, continuously, defended their own (mercantile) interests against the Count and the corporations. During the