‘Women shaping science'

VUB honours women scientists with an exhibition, article series and experts list

Proud to see Lieve Van den Block as one of the faces in the VUB campaign ‘She is Science’, launched on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. With the campaign ‘Women shaping science’, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) puts its female researchers sharply in the spotlight. 

The visual heart is a photography exhibition with twenty portraits of scientists, created by photographer Lieve Blancquaert. 
Linked to the exhibition, the newspaper De Morgen published an interview with VUB professors Lieve Van den Block and Karine Breckpot in the weekend of 7 February.

In addition, VUB Tomorrow is devoting a series of articles to top female researchers and VUB is compiling an experts list of female scientists. As living role models, they inspire a new generation and show the significant weight of their research, leadership and societal impact. 

The exhibition runs from 11 February to 6 March 2026 on the ground floor of the Braem Building on the Etterbeek campus and can be visited free of charge on weekdays during office hours. The timing is deliberate: the opening day, 11 February, coincides with the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and just after the closing day it is 8 March, International Women’s Day. A travelling version of the exhibition will later also be shown at other locations in Flanders. 

From 20 portraits to hundreds of stories 

Each portrait features QR codes that lead visitors to the stories of the researchers portrayed. The women who are featured conduct research, excel in their field, take on leadership and share their expertise with society. They are emblematic of the hundreds of women who propel science forward every day in the laboratories, research centres, lecture halls, policy offices and public forums of the VUB. “The impact of our female scientists on society is impressive,” says VUB Rector Jan Danckaert. “They translate scientific knowledge into real change: they develop technologies that redefine our way of life, experiment with new treatments and provide scientifically substantiated answers to complex societal questions. Their scientific research in medicine, artificial intelligence, climate, economics, law and numerous other domains contributes every day to the answers our world needs today and tomorrow.” 

More than an exhibition 

‘She is Science’ is more than a one-off exhibition. Around the exhibition, VUB is building a broad and sustainable campaign. On VUB Tomorrow (link to platform) there will be a special feature on VUB women in top-level research. In addition, an experts list is being developed with female VUB experts per research domain, as a lasting service for journalists and editorial teams seeking scientific context. The campaign also discloses figures on the representation, career paths and advancement opportunities of women in science at VUB. There is explicit attention to women in policy functions: female members of governing bodies and councils who help determine the university’s strategic course and thus create the framework within which education and research take shape. With ‘She is Science’, VUB starts from a clear conviction: representation matters. By making visible who today leads research, helps shape policy and receives international recognition, the university shows that the glass ceiling can indeed be broken. The researchers portrayed are living role models. They show that science, leadership and societal impact need not be exceptions, but are an attainable reality that can inspire a new generation. 

Information about the exhibition

Interview Lieve Van den Block and Karine Breckpot in De Morgen (Dutch text only)