VLIR-UOS ICP Connect Scholarships in Belgium

Brief description:

VLIR-UOS, the main Flemish funder of university cooperation for development, awards full ICP Connect scholarships to students from selected countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. They are for English-taught programmes linked to sustainable development at Flemish universities and universities of applied sciences. The 2027-2028 call is open, with scholarships for 12 programmes starting in September 2027.

Host Institution(s):

Flemish universities and universities of applied sciences in Belgium (for example KU Leuven, Ghent University, University of Antwerp, Hasselt University and VUB)

Level/Field of study:

The programmes with scholarships for 2027-2028 are:

Professional Bachelors (3 years): Hotel Management; Applied Computer Science
Initial Masters (2 years): Aquaculture (IMAQUA); Food Technology; Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management (Oceans & Lakes); Transportation Sciences: Road Safety; Nutrition and Food Systems; Sustainable Land Management; Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems (TROPIMUNDO)
Advanced Masters (1 year): Development Evaluation and Management; Globalisation and Development; Governance and Development

Rural Development, Epidemiology, Statistics and Data Science, Sustainable Development, Water Resources Engineering, Human Settlements, CADES and Nematology no longer have VLIR-UOS scholarships from 2027-2028.

Number of Awards:

Each selected programme usually receives scholarships for about 6 new students a year.

Target group:

Nationals of the 25 eligible countries who also live in one of them: Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cuba, DR Congo, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Guinea, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Palestine, Peru, the Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Check the official country list before applying.

Scholarship value/inclusions:

Full scholarships covering tuition fees, travel, insurance and living expenses (board and lodging) for the whole programme (12, 24 or 36 months). Partial scholarships and extensions are not offered.

Eligibility:

• Nationality and residence: be a national of an eligible country and live in one of the eligible countries when you apply.
• Age: no older than 35 on 1 January 2027 for Bachelor’s and initial Master’s programmes, or 45 for advanced Master’s; Bachelor’s applicants must be at least 19.
• Background: preference goes to people working in higher education, government or civil society (or aiming for these); private-sector staff and new graduates can apply with a strong profile.
• One application only: you can apply for only one ICP Connect scholarship a year and cannot hold another scholarship for the same study.
• No previous Belgian funding: you must not have had a Belgian government study scholarship before, or enrolled at a Belgian higher education institution before 1 January 2027.

Application instructions:

Apply through the website of the programme you choose, for both admission and the scholarship. Deadlines are set by each programme: for example, TROPIMUNDO closes on 30 November 2026 and Food Technology on 1 February 2027, and the latest call deadline is 28 February 2027. Programmes start on 1 September 2027.

It is important to visit the official website (link found below) and the page of your chosen programme for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.

Website:

Official Scholarship Website: https://www.vliruos.be/get-funded/study-scholarships

Related Scholarships: KU Leuven PhD Scholarships for Developing Countries, List of Scholarships in Belgium