Master classes on Belgium for EU civil servants 23/07/2008 00:00

Two universities are organising fieldtrips, lectures and walks for newcomers arriving to work in Brussels.

23 July 2008

BELGIUM – Expatriates that work for one of the European institutions in Brussels will have no more excuses to say they really do not know the city that well.

Thanks to a new series of Master classes organised by two of the city's universities, they are offered everything they need to know on a silver plate.

Each year, some 1,500 newcomers arrive in Brussels to take up work at one of the European institutions or multinationals situated in the European capital.

Until recently, European civil servants were offered a four-day course to get acquainted with the European institutions but now all newcomers are offered the chance to get to know the ins and outs of Brussels in a more detailed manner.

Supported by the Brussels Prime Minister Charles Picqué and ministers Guy Vanhengel and Pascal Smet, the new Master classes consist of 20 modules.

Next to thematic lectures on the city's dynamics, there will be field trips, meetings with people working for the Brussels institutions as well as initiations to the city's rich cultural life.

The first edition of the Brussels for Europe Master classes will take a start this autumn and continue into 2009.

For more information, visit the website of the Brussels-EU liaison office on www.blbe.be.

Alternatively, civil servants with less time on their hands can opt for the Starters Kit Brussels, an abridged version that consists of a lecture, a walk and a cultural visit. Starters Kit Brussels runs 10 times a year.

[flandersnews.be / Expatica]