Software Languages Lab (SOFT), VUB

The Software Languages Lab (SOFT) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel studies the theories, technologies, and methods that underpin the construction of software, from programming languages and software engineering to system software and databases. Founded in 2008 within the Department of Computer Science, the lab brings together 6 professors and 36 postdoctoral and doctoral researchers, organised in 6 research teams.

A poster on the lab's wall with a word cloud of its research topics, dominated by "Software Languages Lab"

Noah Van Es presenting his PhD defence in a VUB auditorium, seen from the audience, with the jury seated at a table to the right

Tim Baccaert presenting his PhD defence in a VUB auditorium, with the jury seated at a table to the right of the screen

Mathijs Saey's public PhD defence in a VUB lecture room, with the presentation and jury members joining online on the screen behind him

A magazine article on SOFT's cybersecurity research, titled "Through our research, we want to make Flemish companies faster and more cyber secure"

A speaker introduces the lab to an audience of students and professionals, in front of a slide titled "About VUB-SOFT"

Two SOFT researchers at a booth on Infrastructure as Code security, next to a screen on security smell detection for Ansible scripts

SOFT researchers in front of a city skyline during a conference trip

SOFT researchers smiling around a table during a lunch

The lab in numbers

42 members

6 professors

25 PhD students

6 joint PhDs

52 PhDs defended since 2009

10 countries of origin

news

Oct 23, 2026	Congratulations to Dr. Noah Van Es, who defended the PhD thesis “Abstract Garbage Collection for Efficient and Precise Abstract Interpretation”, promoted by Coen De Roover. Noah stays at SOFT as a postdoctoral researcher. Dissertation
Oct 19, 2026	Congratulations to Dr. Tim Baccaert, who defended the PhD thesis “On the Limits of Efficient Database Consistency”, supervised by Bas Ketsman. Dissertation
Sep 21, 2026	Congratulations to Dr. Mathijs Saey, who defended the PhD thesis “Modular Distribution Strategies in Stream Processing Applications: a Meta-programming Approach”, promoted by Wolfgang De Meuter and Quentin Stiévenart. Dissertation
Sep 21, 2026	In a webinar held in the context of the EU project CRACY, SOFT introduced the first version of its free, open-source SBOM augmentation tool, which analyses source code directly to build more precise and complete software bills of materials.
Sep 07, 2026	The fifth edition of the Summer School on Security Testing and Verification, a joint initiative of KU Leuven and the VUB, took place on the VUB campus from 7 to 10 September 2026, co-chaired by Coen De Roover.