Research Foundation Flanders (FWO)

Research Foundation Flanders finances fundamental research aimed at pushing back the frontiers of knowledge in all disciplines. This research is conducted at the universities of the Flemish Community and affiliated research institutes. Research Foundation Flanders is the region’s tool for supporting and promoting fundamental research in the scope of scientific interuniversity competition. Research Foundation Flanders allows individual researchers to obtain a doctoral thesis with PhD grants (2x2 years). The grant is exempt from income tax and includes social security contributions. The research topic can be chosen individually. Criteria for selection are research capacity and potential, previous academic career, methodology, originality, quality and feasibility of the proposed study, resources and support provided for the student, etc. The application deadline for PhD grants is 1 February; the selected candidates start on 1 October. Grants are open to EU nationals.

http://www.fwo.be

The Institute for the Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology (IWT)

The Institute for the Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT Flanders) was established in 1991 by the Flemish government as a regional public institution to provide research and development and innovation support in Flanders. The IWT support university graduates in exact, applied, bioengineering or (bio)medical sciences or holders of an equivalent diploma with postgraduate grants. Applicants must have obtained at least cum laude grade in their basic university degree, be at least 27 years of age on 31 December of the year of the grant, and be an EU national.

The postgraduate grant is awarded to young scientists involved in scientific research for their doctoral thesis. The grant covers two terms of two years. Besides the grant, an annual bench fee is made available to the recipient for financing materials, reagents, participation in scientific conferences, etc. The grant is exempt from income tax and includes social security contributions.

The applicant must post a grant application online at the IWT website between 1 August and 15 September. Candidate recipients must defend their project proposal orally before a jury of external experts, assisted by an IWT advisor. Four evaluation criteria are used: candidate, project, applicability and feasibility.

http://www.iwt.be

Research Councils at the Flemish universities

The research councils of the different Flemish universities award – often short-term – grants to doctoral students.

K.U.Leuven, for example, awards doctoral student grants for advanced doctoral students from both EEA and non-EEA countries. Grants are intended to be an aid to doctoral students that have already made good progress in their doctoral project, at K.U.Leuven or elsewhere, that wish to complete this project at K.U.Leuven and intend to present their doctorate within two years as from the official granting date of the scholarship.

Universiteit Gent offers doctoral grants to candidates from developing countries. Every year the Special Research Fund of Universiteit Gent awards a limited number of doctoral grants to researchers from developing countries wishing to obtain a doctor’s degree at the university. No restrictions are imposed relating to the fields of research; nor is preference given to development-relevant topics. Nevertheless, in the event of equal rankings on the basis of the quality of the application, the development-relevance may be taken into consideration.

The terms and conditions of these kinds of grants differ from university to university.

Research projects

A large number of doctoral researchers are employed in research projects funded by IWT (the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology), FWO (Research Foundation Flanders), or the research council of the university. The project manager requests grants for these projects. Although the first task of project researchers is to complete the project, many of them manage to write a PhD, depending on the term of office, the nature of the project, etc.

Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp (ITM)

The ITG started in 2003 with a doctoral training programme for former master’s degree participants. Three new scholarships are offered every year. The scholarships cover almost all expenses during a four-year period. This includes monthly living allowance for no more than four years, travel to Antwerp and some resources to support research in your home country and / or in Antwerp.

Each year at the beginning of October an ITG doctoral studies selection committee meets to evaluate the proposals and select up to three candidates that fulfil the academic requirements. The committee evaluates the academic achievements of the candidate (academic training transcripts and previous professional and scientific experience) and the proposed research project. The relevance of the proposed topic compared to the research agenda of the ITM scientists is also evaluated. The candidate should not have any links to an existing institutional collaboration project between ITG and a partner in the South, as that project should then provide financing for the scholarship. The committee also has to be convinced that the research can be completed within the four-year time period and that the candidate can obtain a PhD before the age of 45. Usually it is better not to wait too long after your master’s degree before starting a PhD; two to five years would be a suitable period. Once a candidate has been selected (usually in November) the PhD training (and scholarship) will formally start. Only up to three excellent candidates will be accepted each year.

http://www.itg.be

Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB)

The Flemish Institute for Biotechnology is an entrepreneurial research institute. A thousand scientists and technicians in 65 research groups conduct research in a wide range of life science domains. VIB’s main objective is to understand the mechanisms that are responsible for normal development such as angiogenesis, apoptosis, plant growth and development, and diseases such as cancer, inflammation, neurodegeneration and haemophilia. Established in 1996, VIB has research departments at four Flemish universities, in Ghent, Leuven, Antwerp, and Brussels.

VIB initiated its International PhD Program in 2005. Each year, VIB supports four candidates for a fully funded four-year PhD programme. VIB offers challenging interdisciplinary research projects with individual guidance and support. Candidates should hold a university degree, or satisfy equivalent requirements, which is sufficient to start a doctoral programme at a Flemish university. This means that applicants must hold a five-year university degree or equivalent in life sciences (e.g. biology, biochemistry, biotechnology), physics, engineering, chemistry, or related fields. In general, this implies that the applicant has a master’s degree. Applicants, that have not yet received their degree at the time of the application deadline can also apply, but a final certificate of the degree is needed no later than two months after the application deadline. Medical students wishing to obtain a PhD degree can also apply after completion of their master’s degree exams. Deadline for applications is 30 June.

http://www.vib.be

Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO)

The Flemish Institute for Technological Research is an independent research centre, a crossroads of knowledge where the latest technologies and practical applications meet. VITO conducts customer-oriented contract research and develops innovative products and processes in the fields of energy, environment and materials, for both the public and the private sector. The central tenets of all projects are protecting the environment and encouraging sustainable use of energy and raw materials.

To support its strategic research, VITO offers a number of research positions for doctorate studies, under the guidance of a university supervisor and a co-supervisor at VITO. These positions are open to graduates educated to university level.

Each candidate can follow four consecutive twelve-month positions. The award of each of these positions rests upon a favourable report from the supervisor and a co-supervisor when the candidate appears before a VITO jury. Most of the work for the doctorate must be done at VITO, with some work being done at a university.

Applicants must meet the following profile:

1. Holders a master’s degree
2. Agricultural engineers, engineers in chemistry and agriculture industry and bioengineers
3. Civil engineers
4. Chemists
5. Veterinary doctors
6. Doctors in medicine
7. Industrial engineers

Applications must be written in Dutch or English and submitted to VITO. The final date for applications for the first position is announced in the call.

http://www.vito.be

Interuniversity Microelectronic Centre (IMEC)

At present IMEC is the largest independent microelectronics research center in Europe. Founded in 1984, IMEC is located in Leuven, Belgium. IMEC employs over 1400 people, mostly scientists and engineers, while collaborating with a large number of leading-edge companies and R & D organisations worldwide.

As an interuniversity research center IMEC conceives as its important mission the integration of graduate education and research in a strong collaboration with the academic community in Belgium. Study and research at the graduate level have always held a prominent place at IMEC. PhD students have important roles in wide-ranging research activities; this participation is vital to the educational experience of students and to the success of the research itself.

The universities associated with IMEC award doctoral degrees in engineering, physical sciences, and chemistry. Graduate students at IMEC are registered at the University of Leuven (K.U.Leuven), Ghent (UGent) or Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel). Financial aid is arranged through IMEC and is sufficient to cover all living expenses, housing, health insurance and registration as a student. IMEC covers your one-way travel expenses.
To be admitted as a regular graduate student, an applicant must have a Master degree. Further requirements depend on your nationality and the location of the university that issued your Master's degree. For foreign students a pre-doctoral exam is required, in order to make the foreign Master's Degree equivalent to a Belgian Master's Degree. The doctor's degree itself requires four years beyond a Master degree in the same field and requires amongst others the completion of an acceptable thesis prepared at IMEC. In some cases permission is granted for part of the thesis work to be done elsewhere.

http://www.imec.be

Interdisciplinary Institute for BroadBand Technology (IBBT)

IBBT is a research institute founded by the Flemish Government, focusing on information & communication technology (ICT) in general, and applications of broadband technology in particular.

IBBT training provides highly competent specialists in different aspects of the broadband technology. Besides this, it carries out multi-disciplinary research for the Flemish business community and the Flemish government. This includes all technological, legal and social dimensions of the development and exploitation of broadband services.

IBBT unites 14 research groups from different Flemish universities. These research groups are complementary in expertise, excellent in their field of expertise and have a long tradition of cooperation with companies for result driven research.

http://www.ibbt.be

Royal Museum of Central Africa (KMMA)

The Royal Museum of Central Africa offers a programme of courses in the research areas of the museum: cultural anthropology, geology and mineralogy, African zoology and history. Grants can be obtained for a period of no more than 6 months. Applicants must be nationals of one of the Belgian cooperation partner countries. Priority is given to applications from sub-Saharan Africa. Applicants must have a postgraduate or university degree and must provide evidence of at least one year of professional experience in the defined area. They must work in an environment where the knowledge they acquire can be immediately applied, and they must be recommended by their employer.

http://www.africamuseum.be

Belgian nuclear research centre (SCK/CEN)

In a conscious endeavour to increase our pool of highly specialised young researchers and tighten our links with the universities, in 1992 SCK/CEN rolled out a bold programme to hire ten PhD candidates or post-doctoral researchers every year. Final year students and PhD candidates can enrol in a programme delineated by the SCK/CEN mentor, in close collaboration with a university promoter.

Post-docs are mainly recruited in specialised research domains that reflect the priority programmes and R&D topics of the institute.

Preparing your doctoral thesis at SCK/CEN offers you the best of both worlds: you stay in close contact with the academic world and you enjoy a unique research environment. The traditional research domains are reactor safety, radioactive waste and radiation protection. Recently, more attention has been given to research in the fields of medical applications and sociological aspects of nuclear energy. SCK/CEN has also embarked on the design of a new accelerator driven neutron source, MYRRHA.

http://www.sck.be

Scholarships awarded by the Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCD)

DGDC awards a number of scholarships every year, exclusively in the partner countries. Scholarship applications are evaluated and selected in the field, rather than in Brussels. All candidates interested in a scholarship should send their application form directly to the Attaché for Development Cooperation or to the Belgium Embassy in the partner country. Only those authorities can deliver the necessary application forms.

Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC) mainly deals with the management of the scholarships awarded by the DGDC. BTC’s Scholarship Unit is in charge of implementing the scholarship files, welcoming students and providing them with guidance for the duration of their academic training and stay in Belgium.

The scholarships in Belgium are primarily awarded to finance third-cycle (postgraduate) courses. Besides a monthly living allowance, the scholarships also cover registration fees, travel expenses and insurance. Usually, the stay in Belgium lasts one or two academic years.

Mixed doctorate scholarships are mainly awarded to doctorate/PhD students. This kind of scholarship covers a 16-month stay in Belgium, which the scholarship student is expected to use for research ends (16 months spread over four stays over a maximum period of four years). Besides a monthly living allowance (which is paid only for the periods of stay in Belgium), the mixed doctorate scholarship also covers registration fees, travel expenses and insurances.

Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGDC): http://www.dgdc.be

Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC):
email scholarships@btcctb.org
web http://www.btcctb.org

Flemish Interuniversity Council – Secretariat for University Cooperation for Development (VLIR-UOS): ICP PhD scholarships

The Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR-UOS) launched its ICP PhD programme to enable promising graduates of International Courses (ICPs) to pursue a PhD at a Flemish university. Up to ten sholarships can be awarded every year. In order to be eligible for a ICP PhD grant, the student has to be a (master’s) graduate from one of the International Course Programmes (ICP). The student has to be a national of a developing country on the DGDC/VLIR-UOS country list. The application should be submitted to VLIR-UOS, via a Flemish university, at the earliest in the second semester of the graduation year and at the latest within five years after graduation from the ICP.

http://www.vliruos.be

The Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF)

BAEF encourages applications for fellowships for advanced study or research at a Belgian university or institution of higher learning. The BAEF will award up to eight fellowships, each carrying a stipend of $18,000 for one year.

Applicants must be citizens of the United States and have a master’s or equivalent degree, or be working towards a PhD or equivalent degree. Preference is given to applicants under the age of 30 that have a written and spoken command of Dutch, French or German. BAEF fellows must reside in Belgium during their fellowship.

BAEF also offers fellowships for study or research in the United States. Besides the amounts indicated, the Foundation pays for health insurance at the US institution. Fellows are expected to stay in the USA for a full academic year (nine months) to study at a US institution or conduct research at a research institution for twelve months. Candidates that have the means to finance their studies or research in the USA may apply for an Honorary Fellowship from the Foundation.

http://www.baef.be

Erasmus

The European Union grants scholarships to students from EU member states wishing to undertake a period of study at a university in another member state (or in some countries outside the EU). Student mobility grants are not full grants but are intended to cover the mobility costs of studying abroad, like travel expenses and language preparation costs.

Erasmus is a EU-funded programme that contains a wide range of measures designed to support the European activities of higher education institutions, including student and teacher mobility and exchanges. The programme is open to the 27 member states of the European Union, the three EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and Turkey.

To participate in the Erasmus programme, you must fulfil the following conditions:

• You are a student (includes PhD students) and enrolled in a formal programme of study at higher education level leading to a degree or a diploma (including doctoral level) in one of the participating countries.
• You are a national of one the participating countries (or are recognised as having the official status of refugee, stateless person or permanent resident).
• You have completed at least the first year of your university studies.

You should contact the international relations office or the Socrates office of your home university. These offices will provide you with information on all the exchanges your institution is involved in, i.e. which universities, which faculties, in which countries, etc.

European Commission, Education and Training: http://ec.europa.eu/education/index_en.html

The Alßan programme

The Alßan programme aims at the reinforcement of cooperation between the European Union and Latin America in higher education and covers studies for Latin American postgraduates (in the context of master’s and doctorate degrees) as well as higher training for Latin America professionals/future decision makers, at institutions or centres in any of the 27 member states of the European Union.

Participant countries are the member states of the European Union and the following 18 countries of Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The programme runs from 2002 to 2010.

Alßan awards scholarships for between six and thirty-six months to applicants registered or having the support of an eligible higher education institution in Latin America to conduct postgraduate studies in the European Union, leading to a second-cycle (master’s) degree or to a third-cycle (doctorate) degree. Scholarships leading to a third-cycle (doctorate) degree typically characterised by at least 180 ECTS and between six and thirty-six months of effective attendance and work in the EU. These scholarships may rise to up to 1500 euros per month of actual work.

In principle, applications will be accepted in all subject areas with the exception of language learning.

http://www.programalban.org

More information

Belgian Federal Science Policy Office: http://www.belspo.be

Flemish Government, Department of Economy, Science and Innovation: http://www.ewi-vlaanderen.be

European Union: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html