Van Brussel received the degrees of technical engineer in mechanical engineering (B.Sc.), in 1965 from HTI, Ostend, Belgium; of 'civil engineer' in electronic engineering (M.Sc.) in 1968 from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U.
He started his career as Expert at the Metal Industries Development Centre (MIDC), Bandung, Indonesia, where he also occupied the post of Associate Professor at Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, Indonesia (1971-1973).