EPB and the Ecological Transition

Climate Kick-off
 

At the start of each academic year, Alessandro Parente, Vice Dean for Transition and Societal Impact, and his team invite all new students to participate in a Climate Kick-off. This mandatory activity, included in the first-year program (BA1), aims to raise awareness of the crucial issues surrounding ecological transition from the very beginning of their studies. Since 2022, more than 1,200 students have taken part in this program.
 

Transition Week

Every fall, Transition Week brings together students, researchers, and engineers to discuss major sustainability challenges. Inspiring conferences (with experts such as Philippe Bihouix, Yamina Saheb, Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, and Eric Lambin), practical workshops, and lively debates explore how tomorrow's engineers can take action in the face of energy, social, and environmental transitions. Get involved, exchange ideas, and let's invent tomorrow's solutions together.

Podcast “Switch – Polytech ULB Talks”

The podcast from the Ecole polytechnique de Bruxelles, launched in 2022 under the name “À la salle des profs – Parlons transition” (In the staff room – Let’s talk about transition), is back for its third season with a new title: “Switch – Les talks de Polytech ULB” On the agenda: captivating conversations about socio-ecological transition, sustainable engineering, and social innovation. The podcast was awarded the ULB 2024 Scientific Dissemination Prize.

The Ecole polytechnique de Bruxelles places sustainability at the heart of its engineering education.
 

As part of the curriculum reform, an initial phase has seen sustainability integrated into certain existing bachelor's degree courses, covering more than 30 ECTS credits. A new skill, related to the analysis of the impacts of technical systems, has also been introduced into the teaching profile. And two new courses directly related to sustainability and transition will be introduced into the core curriculum from the 2026-2027 academic year.

Among these changes, the Serious Game on energy transition, as part of the Energy Systems course (MECA-H301), deserves special mention: it has been recognized with an educational award, the Socrate's Prize 2024. This immersive project confronts future engineers with the complexity of real energy challenges and encourages them to imagine concrete solutions for a zero-carbon future. In addition, EPB has embarked on a second phase of curriculum reform, aiming for a comprehensive restructuring of the bachelor's program to develop a systemic vision of socio-ecological challenges.

The École Polytechnique de Bruxelles places sustainability and climate transition at the heart of its scientific research.

SWIFFT Chair

The ULB, VUB, and HELIOS Foundation have launched the SWIFFT Chairs, a multidisciplinary collective of researchers specializing in energy and climate transition. Coordinated for the ULB by Alessandro Parente (EPB), this initiative, accessible at www.swifft.be, aims to strengthen the links between research and teaching by promoting joint initiatives in the field of energy transition and sustainability.

National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP)

Supported by a budget of over €9 million, ULB research teams are playing a key role in the NRRP by providing universities with cutting-edge equipment for studying complex energy systems: energy storage, smart grids, energy efficiency in buildings, biomass recovery, and carbon-free mobility. This infrastructure will be brought together within a joint research platform involving the five universities of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. The NRRP equipment will be supplemented by ERDF funding from the Brussels-Capital Region, intended to interconnect these various devices (batteries, heating networks, etc.) as part of a semi-industrial test platform. This infrastructure will make it possible to study their interactions within an integrated ecosystem, representative of industrial conditions, which is unique in Europe.

This sustainability report outlines how ULB is acting today and intends to improve its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) tomorrow, both in its teaching and research missions, but also in the management of its campuses and as an organization operating at the heart of the city.



The ULB 2025 Sustainability Report highlights the concrete initiatives of the Ecole polytechnique de Bruxelles (EPB) in terms of socio-ecological transition:

 

Curriculum reform

Integration of sustainability into certain bachelor's degree courses (more than 30 ECTS) and introduction of a new skill related to the analysis of the impacts of technical systems. The Serious Game on energy transition (as part of the MECAH301 course) has been recognized by the Socrates Teaching Award.

 

Awareness raising

Organization of the Climate Kick-off for first-year students (more than 1,200 students since 2022), Transition Week, and the podcast “À la salle des Profs” (In the Teachers' Room), now called “Switch” (awarded the ULB Scientific Dissemination Prize 2024).

Training tomorrow's engineers means giving them the keys to building a sustainable future. At the Ecole polytechnique de Bruxelles, we firmly believe that ecological and societal transition is at the heart of an engineer's mission. My role as Vice Dean for Transition and Societal Impact is to ensure that this theme is a common thread throughout the training program.

Prof. Alessandro Parente 
Vice Dean for Transition and Societal Impact
Ecole polytechnique de Bruxelles