Discover Benelux | Belgium & Luxembourg | Top Education
High-quality education in a green environment TEXT: BETTINA GUIRKINGER | PHOTOS: EUROPEAN SCHOOL OF MOL
The European School of Mol in Belgium welcomes students, aged from three to 18 years old, wanting to complete their education following the European curriculum in a beautiful environment outside of the capital’s hustle and bustle. Known for its dynamic and language-driven education, the European School model has a distinctive approach that makes it a top choice for parents, especially those working for European institutions. What makes the Mol location stand apart is the fact that it also welcomes the children of national and international independent workers as well as expats. Spread over a green area of 20 hectares, the school currently has 760 students enrolled over four different sections: French, English, German and Dutch. “Our programmes are made in such a way that students are able to go back to their home country and follow their national curriculum without any difficulty,” explains Erica Di-Maccio,
the school’s communications manager. Emphasis is put on developing the language skills of the students, allowing them to study subjects such as history and geography in the second language they have learned since age six. This combined with mixing with students from different nationalities during breaks allows for a new dimension to be given to the acquisition of knowledge and exposition to different cultures.
Students currently enrolled travel from Antwerp, Brussels, Eindhoven, Leuven and even from the coast to attend the European School of Mol, with some international students staying with host families during the academic year. A perfect environment for a great educational journey. www.esmol.net
English please, we are students! TEXT: FRANK VAN LIESHOUT | PHOTOS: THOMAS MORE
Thomas More University College in Mechelen have started teaching five of their international bachelor degree programmes in English. “English is dominating our globalised world like no language has ever done before,” says Annik Schellens, coordinator of the Thomas More English Programme. “At our Mechelen campus we provide a number of prestigious, internationally oriented degree courses, so it only seemed natural that we offer these in English.” Two bachelor programmes, international tourism and leisure management and international business and trade, are now taught in English for the full three years of the curriculum. For interior and service design, international journalism and international media and communication, the first two years are mainly taught in Dutch and the final year exclusively in English. To guarantee quality teaching, Thomas More expects all teachers to have C1
Advanced Proficiency in English according to the European Framework of References for Languages. All teachers are supported by a Fulbright language coach. The university hopes to attract foreign students as well as students from the Brussels area, including the large group of expats living in the Belgian capital. Mechelen is a lively and friendly city, only 30 kilometres from Brussels and a mere 25-minute train journey away. “Our students will be immersed in a rich international climate of cultural exchange with their fellow students, their teachers and many of our partner universities worldwide. When they graduate, they will enter the jobs market not only with full confidence and fluency in the English language, but also with a can-do mentality, ready to take on the challenges of the modern world,” concludes Annik. www.thomasmore.be/about/new-bachelorprogrammes-english Issue 35 | November 2016 | 77