Living in

Leuven/
Belgium
Welcome!

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 About this session

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1
DAILY
ABOUTLIFE
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LIVING IN LEUVEN? &
2
STUDYINGWHAT ABOUT
WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW
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STUDYING?
3
MEETING
PEOPLE
4
WHAT TO DO AFTER THE
HEALTH
PRESENTATION?
SAFETY
&
WORKING

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2 Student Services
Need information?

‘LIFE AT KU LEUVEN’ WEBSITE

› Contains more info about the topics
covered in this session (“Life @ KU Leuven”)
› Recorded sessions of the Phd Information Day

SPECIFICALLY LEUVEN: ‘LIVING IN LEUVEN FROM A TO Z’ GUIDE

› Handy paper guide (and pdf of “Living in Leuven Guide”)

IN PERSON
› Promotor/supervisor
› Student Services
› HR Advisor

3 Student Services
Need information?
CORONA
› Medical:
• Testing in Belgium
• Vaccination in Belgium
• Recognition of foreign vaccines in Belgium

› Mental well-being: KU Leuven support for staff in

difficult times (intranet) GUIDE

› Measures: Latest updates (Belgian government)

Latest updates (KU Leuven)

Still questions? coronavirus@kuleuven.be

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 Daily life

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 Daily life:
FIND A PLACE TO LIVE
Housing › All information on housing (in Leuven)
› Kotwijs: KU Leuven housing database –
K-Label
› Fb: Te huur: Kot in Leuven
› No housing yet?
› Contact KU Leuven Housing Service

NEED HELP NOW ARE LATER?

› Translation of contract
› Trouble with landlord
› Fraudulent advertisement
› …
housingservice@kuleuven.be
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 Daily life:
BE AWARE → CHECK
Housing › Deposit is not rent
› City Tax: no need to pay

FURNITURE – HOUSEHOLD STUFF

› Vites – Spit: thrift store / second hand
› Fb groups where people give away/request stuff
(‘Gift Leuven’, ‘Gift…’, ‘Brussel Verniet’)

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Insurances:
Mandatory + your own responsibility
FIRE INSURANCE
› Student room/kot
› Usually included in rent
› Apartment/house
› Not included in rent
 Get individual insurance
› Expensive personal belongings
› Not included in rent
 Get private insurance policy

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Daily life: Housekeeping
WASTE SORTING
› 4 fractions = 4 bags
› How? Buy bags in supermarkets/city hall
› When? Fixed pickup days (Avoid fines!) –
› Use recycle app (Flanders)
› Waste calendar
› Where?
› At your doorstep
› Around town
› Recycling centres:

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Daily life: Housekeeping
WASTE SORTING
› At your door:
1. Paper & Cardboard
2. blue bag (PMD)
3. green bag (organic) (Heverlee: green container)
4. Brown bag (rest)
› Containers around town:
Glass - bottle banks
Old re-usable clothes (or recycle centres or Ukraine)
› In supermarkets: batteries
› Recycling centres:
small dangerous waste (oil, paint, chemicals…)
large domestic waste (re-usable or not)

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Daily life: Housekeeping
WASTE SORTING

Avoid fines
• Use Waste calendar
• Recycle app
• Check the sorting guide

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 Daily life:
Food
ALMA STUDENT RESTAURANTS (ONLY LEUVEN)
› 9 restaurants on 3 campuses
› Varied meals at student prices
› Bring your student card
› ‘Quivr’ app

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 Daily life:
Food
VEGGIE BAG (ONLY LEUVEN)
› Organic, locally grown fruits & vegetables
› Pick-up on Mondays, 3 points:
›Green Office
›Faculty of Arts
›Pangaea
› Order online

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 Daily life:
Food
SUPERMARKETS
› Usually open until 8 p.m. (Friday: 9 p.m.)
› Most are closed on Sundays
and bank holidays
› Bring your own shopping bag

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Daily life: Food
International: Brusselse straat
(shops) – Canal (supermarkets)
Specialty food shops: explore!

15 KU Leuven Stuvo
Daily life:Getting around
ON FOOT
› Compact city

BY BIKE
› Fast
› Safe
› As a local

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Daily life:Getting around

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Daily life:Getting around
BICYCLE PRACTICALS (ONLY LEUVEN)
› Rent (or buy)
from Velo – register online! (Leuven only)
2WD for staff members
(KU Loket > Personnel > Personnel file >My details > Travel details)
› Repairs
› Velo and 2WD included
› Fix it yourself at Velo Fix Stations (pumps!)
› DIY Fietsatelier (make an appointment)

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Daily life:Getting around
BICYCLE PRACTICALS (ONLY LEUVEN)
› Park & theft

› Enjoy the green outskirts

› Beat the Sunday Blues Cycling Trips:
next one: 22 May

› Learn how to ride a bicycle

› Check our website for dates
next: end of September

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Daily life:Getting around
BY BUS (De Lijn)
› Student Bus Pass (for the Greater Leuven area)
› Uploaded on the MOBIB carrier card
› More info about how to request it available here
› Doctoral Scholarship holders discounted Bus Pass
via KU Loket

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Daily life:Getting around
TO CAMPUS LOCATIONS (ONLY LEUVEN)
To campus Arenberg
Number 2
Number 616
To Gasthuisberg
Number '3xx'
‘Ringbus’:
Number 600
Number 601
To Brussels
Number 358
Number 352

All buses pass by railway station

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Daily life:Getting around
BY TRAIN (NMBS)
› Belgium has a finely mazed railway network
› Tickets:
› Age (< 12 , < 26 , +65) / group / weekend
› Buy online or at ticket windows/vending machines in stations
› No ticket while on the train = extra fee
› Belgian rail app for tickets, delays,…

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Motorised traffic
CAR USE
› Rent a car
› Share a car: Local or commercial car sharing
plan ‘Autodelen’
› Electrical cars: Public charging points for
electrical cars on city map (google ‘openbare
laadpunten elektrische auto’s’)

LEUVEN CIRCULATION PLAN

› Historic inner city = pedestrian zone
› Lots of bicycle priority streets

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 Work Support

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 Work support:
Specific advice
STUDYING/WORKING WITH A DISABILITY
Check the website and contact the Disability Office to:
› request the disability status
› receive an assessment to map your needs

Some specialized support will be taken care of by HR or your department

(software, adapted table…)

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 Studying &
STUDY PLACES & WORK AREAS
study support › Agora Learning Centre (ONLY
LEUVEN)
› Libraries
› ‘Quivr’ app

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Work support
INTERNET ACCESS
› At home
› Usually included in the rent of a room (not flat)
› Provider depends on landlord
› KU Leuven residence: configure your computer
› On campus: Campusroam or eduroam
• WIFI login = letter&7digits + @kuleuven.be
• TOLEDO login : username (letter-7digits)
› Elsewhere in Flanders: Telenet Wi-Free

NEED HELP?
› Contact KU Leuven ICTS service desk

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 Meeting people

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Meeting people
CULTURE (ONLY LEUVEN)
› Culture Card for discounts at cultural hotspots
› Cinema ZED, STUK Grand café and Art house,
Depot Concert hall, 30cc theatre
› Student clubs: theatre, choirs, bands...

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Meeting people
SPORTS OFFER
› KU Leuven Sports
› Sports Card to practise more than
75 sports at the KU Leuven Sports Centre
• Summer card (valid from 1 June until 30
September) at reduced price
› Fitness: sports card + additional fee

POPULAR SPECTATOR SPORTS

› Soccer
› Basketball
› Athletics
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Cycling Student Services
Meeting people
LANGUAGE-LEARNING
About Languages and language learning in
Belgium

Language Schools in Leuven

› KU Leuven Language Institute (ILT)
› CLT
› Courses in Dutch and 22 other languages
› Language activities @ Pangaea

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Meeting people
RELIGION (ONLY LEUVEN)
› KU Leuven Lifestance Network
› Religious and non-confessional
communities in Leuven
› Places for quiet reflection
› Lunchtime meditation

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Meeting people
LGBTQI STUDENTS
› Check out Leonardo LGBT International
› Questions? KU Leuven LGBTQI contact point

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Meeting people
STUDENT REPRESENTATION:
› Student unions (“Kringen”)
› Programme or faculty specific
› Student associations
› Theme (‘Amnesty’, ‘students for climate’, AFT, AFD…)
› PhD & Postdoc Society
› Region-specific (CSAL, ISAL,…)

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Meeting people
INTERCULTURAL MEETING CENTRE PANGAEA (ONLY
LEUVEN)

› Meeting place for internationals

› Lounge
› Membership (free coffee and tea)
› Rooms for rent
› Socio-cultural activities
› Volunteering
› Buddy Programme

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Meeting people
INTERCULTURAL MEETING CENTRE PANGAEA

› Pangaea homepage: What’s on? In Leuven and at KU Leuven

› Pangaea facebook page = our official news
› Pangaea facebook group = community
› Pangaea Instagram
› You will get the Pangaea newsletter

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 Meeting people
CITY OF LEUVEN EXPAT COMMUNITY
(ONLY LEUVEN)
› International House Leuven
› Activities (coffee mornings)

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 Health & safety

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Health
FEELING ILL?
› Stay at home
› Notify head of unit + supervisor and follow the instructions
› Contact the GPs of the Student Health Centre (Leuven), KU Leuven GP
group practice (Leuven) or any other GP:
GP's in Flanders
GP’s in Leuven
› After hours:
› Contact the GP on call at 1733 (no Belgian sim? +32 2 5249889)
› ER: only life-threatening situations
› Need a specialist doctor? Go to a GP first

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Well-being
FEELING TROUBLED?
› Go to KU Leuven Social Service for a listening ear. Make an appointment for
an online or on campus chat.
› Check out MindMates
› Community Health Service
› Contact any therapist in your area OR if in Leuven
the psychologists/psychiatrists of the Student Health Centre

HARASSMENT?
› Contact our Harassment Prevention Counsellor

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Safety
STUDENT POLICE OFFICERS (ONLY LEUVEN) pz.leuven.student@police.belgium.eu
› Advice Facebook Student Police Officer
› Help Instagram Student Police Officer
› Lost & Found in Leuven +32 16 21 09 29
Present in Pangaea for questions

Linde

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Safety
1 2 3
No mobile phones 1m free space
Lights: front & back

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Safety
4 5
Red light means stop, always
No cycling, except…

except

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Health & safety:
Emergencies

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 Questions?

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Before NEED HELP?

you go… STUVO - STUDENT SERVICES IS THERE FOR YOU

› Contact us via kuleuven.be/stuvo
› Naamsestraat 80

HUMAN RESOURCES
› Check KU Loket
› Contact your HR advisor

PROMOTOR/SUPERVISOR

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Need information?

‘LIFE AT KU LEUVEN’ WEBSITE

› Contains more info about the topics
covered in this session (“Life @ KU Leuven”)
› Recorded sessions of the Phd Information Day

SPECIFICALLY LEUVEN: ‘LIVING IN LEUVEN FROM A TO Z’ GUIDE

› Handy paper guide (and pdf of “Living in Leuven Guide”)

IN PERSON
› Promotor/supervisor
› STUVO (Student Services)
› HR Advisor

47 Student Services
 Enjoy your
time in
Belgium

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