He graduated as an industrial
engineer in
electro-mechanics at the
Hoger Rijksinstituut voor Technisch Onderwijs en Kernenergiebedrijven (E: Polytechnic College for Nuclear energy) in
Mol (
Belgium). In addition het obtained a certificate for technological teaching at the Technical Teaching College in
Hasselt (
Belgium). In 1969 he graduated as a candidate fire-officer (Hasselt and Antwerp). In 1970, he obtained a PhD in applied sciences at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven with a thesis on the
Calculation of the magnetic field in a cross section and the induction in the air gap of an induction motor, taken into account the saturation, the teeth effect and the real current distribution. From the
Central State Examination Committee he obtained a law degree in 1980. ==Career==