Université Libre de Bruxelles

The ULB is one of the main Belgian universities and one of the leading francophone universities in the world. In the SOM project, two of its leading research centre in social sciences are involved: CEVIPOL and GERME.

The Centre d’étude de la vie politique (CEVIPOL) is the leading research centre in political science of the ULB and the leading center of excellence for Belgian politics. It consists of about 25 permanent researchers (professors, assistant-professors, post-doc, PhD students). The main research topic covered are Belgian politics, elections and party politics, EU and Central and Eastern Europe. In these fields, CEVIPOL members have been recently involved in various international project like PARENEL on parliaments in Europe (IEP Bordeaux, University of Lisbon, University of Bucharest) or ‘Experimental methods in election studies’ (IEP Lille, University of Montreal, University of Iowa).

The Groupe d'études sur l'Ethnicité, le Racisme, les Migrations et l'Exclusion (GERME) is one of the founding members of the transdisciplinary centre Migrations, Asylum and Multiculturalism (MAM). Core staff of GERME are associate professors Dirk Jacobs and Andrea Rea (director of the centre). GERME furthermore has 13 researchers and one part-time support staff.

Role within the project

Dr. Jean-Benoit Pilet is heading a work package to conclude and evaluate the project, and is the principal investigator for the Belgian part of the project.

Involved members

Jean-Benoit Pilet is assistant-professor and was recently visiting fellow at the University of Oxford. He is an expert of electoral systems, electoral reforms, candidate selection, parliamentary careers and Belgian politics. He has published various articles in journals like Electoral Studies, Comparative European Politics, Representation, Environmental Politics, Regional and Federal Studies.

Dr. Dirk Jacobs is the second partner for the Belgian part of the project. He enjoys national and international recognition as experts in the field of immigrant integration. The research leaders of GERME have published in leading journals in the field of ethnic and migration studies as Social Compass, International Migration Review (IMR), Journal of International Migration and Integration (JIMI), Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS), Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales (REMI), International Journal on Multicultural Societies(IJMS).

Guido Vangoidsenhoven holds a master degree in Sociology and is research-assistant SOM for the Free University of Brussels (ULB). Alongside this, he’s preparing a PhD-dissertation on the politicization of immigration in Belgium, comparing Flanders with Wallonia. Previously Guido worked as a researcher at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and has done internships at several international institutions including EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), and ACNUR-Euskal Batzordea (The representation of the UNHCR in Basque Country).

Dr. Ilke ADAM is a post-doctoral researcher in the field of migration.