Belgium Government ARES Scholarship for Bachelor, Masters and Continuing Education in Belgium

The Académie de Recherche et d'Enseignement Supérieur (ARES), the federation of French-speaking higher education institutions in Belgium, offers fully funded International Training Scholarships to professionals from its partner countries in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. The scholarships allow candidates who already hold a higher education degree and have professional experience to follow a specialised bachelor's, a specialised master's or a continuing training course in Belgium in a field linked to development.

The current call funds ten programmes: one specialised bachelor in Digital Integrated Supply Chain; eight specialised masters in Human Rights, Integrated Health Risk Management, International and Development Economics, Microfinance, Public Health Sciences, Food Chain Security Management, Preventive Conservation and Collections Management, and Risk and Disaster Management; and one continuing training certificate in Cybersecurity Operations and Risk Governance. Bachelor and master programmes last up to 12 months and the continuing training course up to 6 months.

Candidates must be permanently resident and working in one of the 32 eligible countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, DR Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti, Peru, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Vietnam and Palestine). The call opens in early August each year and closes in mid-September; applications are made online through the GIRAF platform, and results are announced the following June.

• International travel expenses.
• Monthly subsistence allowance for the duration of the programme.
• Tuition fees and visa application costs (bachelor and specialised master programmes).
• Indirect mission expenses (continuing training).
• Insurance costs.

Specialised Bachelor (1 year), Specialised Masters (1 year) and Continuing Training certificate (6 months) at French-speaking Belgian universities and colleges.

Digital supply chain, human rights, health risk management, development economics, microfinance, public health, food chain security, preventive conservation, risk and disaster management, and cybersecurity.

Nationals of the 32 ARES partner countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, DR Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti, Peru, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Vietnam and Palestine.

• Be a national of, and permanently reside and work in, one of the 32 eligible countries (Palestinian candidates are exempt from the residency requirement).
• Hold a higher education degree that meets the admission requirements of the chosen programme, obtained no more than 20 years before the programme starts (extended by one year for each child born or adopted).
• Have at least two years of relevant professional experience in an eligible country.
• Be fluent in the language of instruction of the programme.
• Apply to one programme only.

Create an account on the ARES GIRAF online platform before the account creation deadline (early September), then open the application form for your chosen programme, complete all required fields, upload the supporting documents, save your draft and submit it before the closing date in mid-September. Once submitted, an application cannot be modified. Selection results are communicated in June.