STC History

A Brief History of "Service Télématique et Communication"

(ULB-STC) 

Prof. Paul VAN BINST

Director 

October 2002

 The University of Brussels (“Université Libre de Bruxelles”) created “Service Télématique et Communication” after many years of developing the expertise in these domains, following essentially three lines of activities: 

- a research group in telematics, which we created in 1986 (“Groupe HELIOS-B”), specialising in the study and realisation of telematic applications and services, as well as the various underlying network infrastructures, with a special interest in international standardisation;

 - a complete university programme, of an essentially pluridisciplinary nature: “Informatique et Sciences Humaines”, created in 1980;

 - a pluridisciplinary postgraduate university programme in the particular domain of telematics and its socio-economic and political implications: “Télématique et Organisation”, which we created in 1989.

 The blend of such diverse expertise is the unique characteristic of “Service Télématique et Communication” which groups today about fifteen members and collaborators (also from “Vrije Universiteit Brussel”), actively involved in a vast research and development programme, as well as in many teaching, training and consultancy activities, in public and private institutions, in Belgium and abroad.

 It is worth mentioning, among others, our collaboration with the following companies:

             ALCATEL       ASCOM          BANKSYS      BELGACOM              CISCO                        COLT              COMPAQ         DIMENSION DATA              ERICSSON     SIEMENS

 our participation in the following European Commission programmes:

             ACTS              ADAPT           COMETT        COPERNICUS

            DELTA            ENS                 ESPRIT           IST                  LEONARDO   LIBRARIES     RACE              TELEMATICS                     TEMPUS         TEN-TELECOM                     VALUE

  our participation in the EUREKA COSINE project;

 in Belgium, contracts with:

                                     FNRS              IRSIA              IWT                 SSTC/DWTC/OSTC

                                    Federal and Regional Ministries

Dozens of publications, communications, contributions to the international standards organizations, and internal reports, show the amount of activities of the Group, as well as its recognition (by ISO, ITU, ETSI, IETF, IEEE, IFIP, ACM, etc).

 A particularly important investment has been made, on a scientific and personal basis in the world of European research networks (we have been a member of the Board and Vice-President of the RARE and TERENA associations, where we represented Belgium from 1986 till 1994).

 We are actively involved in the world of European ICT standardisation, where we have been associated in various ways with ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) almost since its origins; we have also been the Chairman of the Steering Committee of CEN/EWOS (European Workshop for Open Systems). Today, ULB-STC is Full Member of ETSI and actively involved in IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). We are also an expert to the NATO Advisory Panel on Computer Networks.

 

Our Group is very active at the Belgian and Brussels Region levels, in particular through the following bodies:

 

            - Belgian Broadband Platform, of which we are member of the Board

- Belgian Institute for Post and Telecommunications, of which we are member of

  the Advisory Committee for Telecommunications

- Belgian Telecommunications Users Group, of which we are member of the

  Board

            - Belgian Teleworking Association, of which we are President

- BRUNETTE project (Brussels Network for Telematics in Education) initiated

              by the City of Brussels and Service Télématique et Communication

            - Brussels Region Scientific Policy Council, of which we are member

            - Brussels Teleport, of which we are Vice-President

- Centre d’Informatique pour la Région Bruxelloise, of which we are President of

  the Scientific Committee

- DNS.BE, of which we are member of the Board

 

                        Service Télématique et Communication

                        Université Libre de Bruxelles – CP 230

                        Bd. du Triomphe - 1050 Brussels

                         Tel.                  + 32 2 629 3211 or 3209

                        Fax                  + 32 2 629 3816

                         E-mail             vanbinst@helios.iihe.ac.be                       

                        Web                http://www.iihe.ac.be