Deadline: November 17, 2023.

Are you a national of an ARES partner country? Do you have a higher education degree? Do you have professional experience and would you like to deepen your skills in a development-related topic?

The ARES scholarships offer you the opportunity to follow a one-year advanced bachelor’s or master’s degree program or a 2-to-6-month continuing education program within a higher education institution of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation in Belgium. 

Within the framework of the ARES 2022-2027 cooperation program, three types of training are offered through the international training scholarships:

• Advanced bachelor’s and master’s degrees are inter-institutional training programmes organised in one academic year and at the end of which an academic degree is awarded.
• Continuing education programs are more practical and of shorter duration (2 to 6 months). They deliver a certificate.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

In order to be eligible, the applicant must:

1. Be national, reside and work in one of the following countries: Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Guinea (Conakry), Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
2. Hold a diploma comparable to a graduate level degree (300 credits ECTS) from Belgian university studies for advanced masters and countinuing education courses (equivalent to Bac+5); Hold a diploma comparable to a undergraduate level degree (180 credits ECTS) for advanced bachelors (equivalent to Bac+3). The candidate must have held the relevant academic degree for a maximum of 20 years at the time of the start of the course. This maximum period is increased by one year by childbirth and/or adoption.
3. Possess relevant professional experience in a ARES partner country of at least two years after graduate studies for advanced bachelors, after postgraduate studies for advanced masters and countinuing education courses.
4. Complete the application in the language in which the training is given and can attest a good written and spoken knowledge of it. Moreover, knowing a minimum of French allows for a good integration into daily life in Belgium.
5. Apply for only one training course.

BENEFITS

1. International flight: Economy-class travel on an IATA-approved airline, with a maximum of one round-trip ticket per academic year.
2. Stipend: For a duration of 12 months (+13^th month reduced).
3. Exceptional costs related to visa applications
4. Registration fee
5. Medical Insurance

APPLICATION

Applicants should not obtain prior admission to one of the French-speaking institution in Belgium in order to be considered for ARES scholarship.

Application files will not be considered if they:

• are not completed in their entirety and are not accompanied by the required documents (certified copy of the diploma, etc.). A certified copy is a copy of the document on which it is stated that it is “a true copy of the original” with the stamp and signature of the competent authority (notary, town hall, municipal administration, etc.) ;
• do not clearly mention compliance with the admissibility criteria specified above (certified copy of diploma, professional experience, etc.).

List of documents required for the application to be valid:

• 2 letters of recommendation (academic and/or professional).
• Certified copies of the original diplomas.
• Certified copies of the original transcripts for all years.
• Proof of occupation for the last 5 years.
• Certificate of nationality or copy of passport.
• Pre-project (for certain courses – see the admission conditions specific to the courses).

GRANT APPLICATION

Your application should be submitted to ARES via the GIRAF platform:

• You must first ensure that you have an active GIRAF account.
  • You can create an account on the GIRAF platform via this link. This account will be validated (within a few hours to a few days, don’t create more than one account) by ARES and you will receive a confirmation mail to create a password.
  • If you created a validated account last year, you can reuse that account and if necessary reset your password.
• Once logged into your GIRAF account, you can access the application form via the Competitive calls tab of your GIRAF profile. Please note that you must only click once on the “International training application 2024-2025” button. You will then find your form in the My tasks table of the Competitive calls.
• You can complete your form several times, as long as you use the “Save and edit later” option. You will find your form each time in the My Tasks table of the Competitive calls tab in GIRAF.
• As soon as you click on “Submit my application”, your application is sent to ARES and you can no longer modify it. You can still consult it in the My submitted files table.

Apply through the OFFICIAL LINK