VLIR-UOS Belgium Training and Masters Scholarships for Africans, Asians and Latin-Americans

VLIR-UOS Training and Masters Scholarships

Course(s) Offered: Development-related fields
Course Level: Graduate (training, masters)
Provider: VLIR-UOS
Country to Study in: Belgium

Scholarship Description
VLIR-UOS awards scholarships to students from developing countries to study for a masters or training programme at a Flemish university or university college in Flanders (i.e. Belgium). VLIR-UOS scholarships support development-related courses or fields relevant to developing countries.

The master programmes focus on specific problems of developing countries and are designed to enable graduates assume positions of responsibility to share and apply acquired knowledge in their home country. The shorter training programmes focus on updating and acquiring knowledge, and also skills transfer relevant to people working in their home country.

Thirty-one countries in Africa, Asia and Latin-America benefit, and eligible training or master programmes are taught in English. 50% of all VLIR-UOS scholarships will be offered to African students and preference will be given for Women.

Eligibility
You can only apply for a scholarship if you meet the following requisites:

1). Nationality and Country of Residence: A candidate should be a national and resident of one of the eligible 31 countries (not necessarily the same country) at the time of application (see list below)

2). Age: The maximum age for a Master programme candidate is 35 years for an initial masters and 40 years for an advanced masters. The maximum age for a training candidate is 45 years. The candidate cannot succeed this age on January 1 of the intake year.

Please note that from 2018 onwards, age is no longer an eligibility criterion for ITP scholarship candidates. Depending on the objectives of the programme, the required knowledge of the candidates and the planned follow-up trajectories after completion of the programme, the course organizers can decide to install a selection criterion related to the age of the candidates.

3). Professional background and experience: VLIR-UOS gives priority to candidates who are employed in academic institutions, research institutes, governments, social economy or NGO’s, or aim a career in one of these sectors. However, also candidates employed in the profit sector or newly graduated candidates without any work experience (for Master programmes) can be eligible for the scholarship.
The training candidate should have relevant professional experience and a support letter confirming (re)integration in a professional context where the acquired knowledge and skills will be immediately applicable.

4). Fungibility with other VLIR-UOS funding: A scholarship is not compatible with financial support within a VLIR-UOS funded IUC- or TEAM-project. Candidates working in a university where such projects are being organized, should submit a declaration of the project leader stating that the department where the candidate is employed is not involved in the project.

5). Former VLIR-UOS scholarship applications and previously awarded scholarships: A candidate can only submit one VLIR-UOS scholarship application per year, irrespectively of the scholarship type. As a consequence, a candidate can only be selected for one VLIR-UOS scholarship per year.

The Master programme candidate has never received a scholarship from the Belgian government to attend a master programme or equivalent or was never enrolled in a Flemish higher education institution to attend a master programme or equivalent before January 1 of the intake year.

See the complete eligibility criteria page.

Eligible groups
Citizens and residents of the following 31 countries are eligible:

• AFRICA: Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Cameroon, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Niger
• ASIA: Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Palestinian Territories, Vietnam
• LATIN AMERICA: Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru

Participating Institution(s)
All Belgian academic institutions and universities are eligible

Fields of study/Programmes
The below are training (ITP) and master (ICP) programmes eligible for the current scholarship call, organized at a Belgian Dutch speaking university, but taught in English.

A). International Master Programmes (1 year):

• Master of Human Settlements - Deadline for applications: 1 March 2018
• Master of Development Evaluation and Management - Deadline for applications: 4 February 2018
• Master of Governance and Development - Deadline for applications: 1 February 2018
• Master of Globalization and Development - Deadline for applications: 1 February 2018
• Master of Cultura Anthropology and Development Studies - Deadline for applications: 1 February 2018

B). International Master Programmes (2 years)

• Master of Science in Food Technology - Deadline for applications: 1 March 2018
• Master of Aquaculture (IMAQUA) - Deadline for applications: 1 March 2018
• Master of Epidemiology - Deadline for applications: 15 February 2018
• Master of Agro-and Environmental Nematology - Deadline for pre-academic admission: 3 January 2018. Please note you have to send a hard copy of your application and all requested documents to the programme coordinator before 15 January 2018!
• Master of Rural Development - Deadline for applications: 1 March 2018
• Master of Statistics - Deadline for applications: 1 February 2018
• Master of Water Resources Engineering - Deadline for applications: 1 February 2018
• Master of Sustainable Territorial Development - Deadline for applications: 1 February 2018
• Master of Transportation Sciences and Road Safety in Low & Middle Income Countries - Deadline for applications: 1 March 2018
• Master of Science in Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management (Oceans and Lakes) - Deadline for applications: 31 March 2018. Please note you first have to apply for pre-registration.

C). Training programmes organised in 2018 (14-90 days)

• Audio-visual Learning Materials - Management, Production and Activities (AVLM) - Applications are closed
• Sustainable Debelopment and Human Rights Law (SUSTLAW): 12/02/2018 - 04/05/2018, deadline for applications is 03/11/2017
• International Module for Spatial Development Planning: 05/03/2018 - 01/06/2018, deadline for applications is 24/11/2017 (23:59h)
• Evidence-based decision making in food safety: 15/10/2018 - 14/12/2018, deadline for applications is 15/03/2018
• Modern breeding techniques of maize: 20/08/2018 - 07/09/2018, more info to follow
• I-EBQ (International training on Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Qualitative research methods): 21/10/2018 - 01/12/2018, more info to follow

Number of Awards
Up to 180 scholarships to first-year masters students and up to 70 scholarships to training participants

Scholarship benefits
This is a FULL COST scholarship covering all related expenses. It covers allowance, travel costs, accommodation, insurance, tuition fees, and other program related costs.

Method of Application
To apply for a scholarship, you first need to apply for the training or Master programme. To apply for a training or Master programme, visit the website of the training or Master programme of your interest. Follow the guidelines for application for the programme as mentioned on its website. In the programme application, you can mention whether you wish to apply for a scholarship. In case you do, the programme coordinator forwards your application to VLIR-UOS.

Applications submitted by the candidates to VLIR-UOS directly will not be considered! Take into account that you can only apply for one training or Master programme per year.

It is important to visit the official website (link to it is below) for complete information on this scholarship

DEADLINES:
Deadline depends on the particular training or Master programme you are applying for (see above and link below); and varies (generally between November 2017 – March 2018)

PLEASE NOTE:
Candidates selected for a VLIR-UOS scholarship will be contacted by VLIR-UOS around mid June at the latest, in order to start up the visa and flight procedure. All scholars are obliged to return to their country of origin as soon as possible after the study or training programme has ended.

VLIR-UOS funds and facilitates academic cooperation and exchange between higher education institutions in Flanders (Belgium) and those in developing countries, aiming to build capacity, knowledge and experience for a sustainable development. VLIR-UOS was founded by the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR), an overarching consultative organization between the Flemish universities and the Belgian government. VLIR-UOS also funds the Short Training Scholarships, ICP PhD Scholarships and Short Research Stays for citizens of developing countries.

Application Deadline: Nov 2017 - Mar 2018
Open to International students: Yes

More Scholarship Information and Application

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