After a successful first edition last school year, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is organising the PACT School Tour again in 2025. This educational tour, running from 24 February to the end of May 2025, brings VUB professors to schools to inspire final-year pupils from academic tracks and develop their critical thinking skills. Today, Rector Jan Danckaert kicked off the tour with a guest lecture at Brussels' Jan van Ruusbroeckollege, attended by more than 50 sixth-year pupils.

The PACT School Tour is part of the Pauwels Academy of Critical Thinking (PACT), which was established in honour of Caroline Pauwels, former VUB rector and advocate of dialogue between students, science, and society. Through these guest lectures, VUB offers pupils a unique opportunity to experience university-level education and to learn the value of critical thinking—an essential skill for their future studies and careers.

Original and interactive approach

During the PACT School Tour, a VUB professor and a VUB student visit schools together to deliver an engaging and inspiring guest lecture, with a focus on critical thinking. The VUB student begins the session with a brief explanation of university life and how the pupils can listen critically to the lesson. The professor then presents the topic of the day. Schools can choose in advance from a range of academic fields: humanities, STEM subjects, or (para-)medical sciences.

Rector Jan Danckaert took the pupils of Jan van Ruusbroeck College on an interactive journey into the fascinating world of physics, exploring the topic: “What is light?”. He then spent ample time engaging in dialogue with the pupils and answering their questions.

“With our tour across Flanders and Brussels, we aim not only to inspire young people to pursue further studies but also to stimulate their critical thinking. Critical thinking is not only a fundamental requirement for successfully completing higher education but also a mindset that is more essential than ever in today’s rapidly changing world, full of information whose reliability is not always guaranteed. VUB aims to provide a fertile environment where this critical thinking can flourish,” said Jan Danckaert, VUB Rector and guest lecturer.

Cyriel Bataille, a sixth-year pupil from Jan van Ruusbroeck College studying Science-Mathematics for 8 hours a week, shared his thoughts on the guest lecture: “This inspiring lesson made me excited about starting university studies! I’m planning to study civil engineering, and I’m definitely considering VUB as an option.”

Every secondary school in Flanders and Brussels can participate in the PACT School Tour and register via: https://events.vub.be/vub-pact-school-tour/register.*

About PACT and the School Tour

The PACT School Tour is part of VUB’s public engagement programme: a programme for anyone who believes that the world can be different and that scientific insights, critical thinking, and dialogue are important first steps in making a mark on societal debate and, by extension, the world. 'PACT' stands for the Pauwels Academy of Critical Thinking, which promotes and strengthens societal dialogue through critical thinking.

*This is a machine translation. We apologise for any inaccuracies.