The scientific research conducted within the Center for Statistics
is internationally renowned, both for its theoretical as well as for its applied component. Also
the education and consultancy records are excellent.
Given the growth of the statistics research group and the desire to unify our
teaching, research and consulting
activities, the Center for Statistics (CenStat) has been established. This event
took place in May 1998, at the occasion of the celebration of the 25th birthday of the UHasselt (then LUC) and the
10th anniversary of the "Master of Science in Biostatistics" program.
Currently, we proudly look back on a 30-year old tradition of statistics at UHasselt and this year
we celebrate the 10th anniversary of CenStat. Not only has the establishment of CenStat given more
shape to the activities in the three domains, it also became the driving force for steady growth.
In september 2007 CenStat introduced the Applied Statistics, Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, and
ICP-Biostatistics trajectories.
First, Bioinformatics is added as a new track, strongly connected to but different from Biostatistics.
Second, the new, 2-year Biostatistics program is largely the built upon the combination of our former
one-year Applied Statistics and Biostatistics Programs. Third, the new, 2-year Applied Statistics
program is an expanded version of the former one-year Applied Statistics program. Fourth, we
prominently and separately present the ICP-Biostatistics program; it is very similar to the main
Biostatistics Program, but places particular emphasis on topics relevant for the economically
developing world.
Our Master in Statistics program has led to a sharp increase in contacts with national and
international expert centers:
1. National
European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (Brussels)
International Institute for Drug Development (Brussels)
Institute of Tropical Medicine (Antwerp)
Flemish Community
Province of Limburg
Scientific Institute of Public Health-Louis Pasteur
KU Leuven
University of Gent
2. International
Harvard School of Public Health (Boston, USA)
Oxford University
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
University of Washington (Seattle, USA)
Cambridge University
Potchefstroom University (South Africa)
University of Lancaster
University of La Coruña (Spain)
In turn, these contacts generated further collaborations. For example, it led to research funding
from the Federal Government, DWTC, FWO-Vlaanderen, IWT, NATO, and the European Community. During
recent years, the education was enriched with an extra dimension, due to cooperation with third
world countries. Every year, a group of selected students from economically developing countries
take the international course program in Biostatistics. This program was originally sponsored by
ABOS and more recently by the "Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad" (VLIR).
CenStat is devoted to real life problems. A number of doctoral and postdoctoral collaborators
have been and/or are active in subjects such as:
Determination of risks from being exposed to toxic substances in the environment
Since decades, statistics courses have appeared in academic curricula. Students in medical,
biological, chemical sciences and their colleagues in economy, physics and mathematics take
statistics classes. Such courses are an integral part of our activity.
In addition, we provide service courses in statistics and biostatistics for the pharmaceutical
industry, for governmental agencies and research institutes. For some courses we collaborate
with academic and industrial partners.
We provide statistical consultancy for academic colleagues in medicine, biology, public health, …
for the pharmaceutical industry and other industrial partners, and for local, regional, and federal
governments. For example, we cooperated at the planning, conduct, and analysis of the first
Belgian Health Interview Survey, conducted in 1997 by the Scientific Institute of Public
Health-Louis Pasteur. We were equally involved in its 2001 successor. A great number of countries
investigate public health by means of a regular survey. While Belgium is one of the last countries
in Western Europe to join this type of initiative, it gave us the opportunity to implement the latest
concepts in the practical organization of large-scale surveys.
The Center for Statistics
input nieuwsitem in web CENSTAT