1) The Belgian offer for 2010

The Belgian Government Scholarships are awarded on an annual basis by the Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGDC) in collaboration with the Ugandan Authorities.

The number of scholarships depends on the budgetary allocation made by the Government of Belgium. For the period of 2009/2012, an amount of 1,000,000 euros (2,850,000,000 UGX) is made available each year for the scholarships programme in Uganda.

2) Who is eligible to apply?

While civil servants will be given priority, candidates from civil society and the private sectorwill also benefit.

3)Types of scholarships

There are different types of scholarships.

• Mixed PhD’s and Masters degrees in Belgium (and Europe)
• Short Training in Europe
• Bachelors Degree (Health Sector Only) in Uganda
• Masters Degrees in Uganda and/or in the region (Tanzania, South Africa, Burundi & Rwanda)
• Short Training Courses in Uganda and/or in the region

1) Areas of Study

All scholarships (Masters, PhD) must be directly related to the sectors and the themes of the Belgian Development Cooperation. These are:  (i) degrees in public health, (ii) education and training, (iii) agriculture and food security, (iv) basic infrastructures (water, irrigation, secondary roads, rural electrification, etc.), (v) conflict prevention and peace building, (vi) equal promotion of men and women, (vii) protection of the environment, (viii) promotion of social economy.

2) Minimum requirements

for a Master (inUganda, in another African country, inBelgiumor inEurope)

1.      Ugandan national

2.      Candidates must not be over 35 years old on 31/5/2010.

3.      Candidates must have a Bachelor Degree

4.      The course has to be relevant to their work

5.      Candidates must have a letter of admission to the relevant university

6.      Candidates must have the written authorization of their employer and a letter of guarantee of employment after completing their studies

for a mixed PhD inBelgium(Europe)

1.      Ugandan national

2.      Candidates must not be over 40 years old on 31/5/2010.

3.      Prior to application, candidates must have the written approval of the relevant supervising Ugandan professor on the basis of a clearly defined proposal.

4.      Candidates must have a Master Degree in the same field as the PhD studies

5.      Candidates must be working as a  teacher or as a researcher at a recognized Ugandan university or a national research institute

6.      The PhD subject should be relevant to his/her teaching programme or research

7.      Candidates must have the written authorization of their employer and a letter of guarantee of employment after completing the studies

8.      Candidates must have an written agreement with a Belgian Professor ensuring they can start in 2010 .

3) How to proceed?

§         For the scholarships in Belgium and in Uganda:

Application forms may be downloaded from the Website.

Complete the application forms and attach all the requested documents (see application form). Please note that an incomplete file will not be considered

By preference, avoid filling in the form manually, use a computer

The Embassy is aware that admission letters from the universities might be released very late. Candidates are hereby informed that their file can be submitted to the Embassy without the admission letter. However, the admission letter will be provided as soon as it is available and not later than 30^th of June 2010.

§         For the short courses (Belgium, Europe, Uganda, other African countries): fill in an application form and send a proposal to the Belgian Embassy. The proposal will be assessed by the selection committee.

4) Deadline for submitting the application form

All the application forms need to be submitted to the Belgian Embassy by the 26^th of February, at the latest.

Files that will be registered later will compete for the 2011 programme. No Exceptions.

5) Selection process

According to the Belgo-Ugandan cooperation programme, at least 50% of the scholarships need to be reserved for the two sectors of the Belgian cooperation in the country, namely Education and Health.

The two ministries will define their priorities in consultation with the Belgian Embassy & Belgian Technical Cooperation.

The rest of the scholarships will be allocated on a competitive basis and according to the relevance of the studies for the development of the country.

A selection committee, composed of representatives of the Belgian Embassy, a representative of the Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC), representatives of the Ministry of Education and of Ministry of Health and possibly of other Ministries, will interview the candidates and select those who will prove their interest & capability to pursue their studies. The selection committee will also assess the relevance of the studies to the development of the country.

Gender policy

At least 50 % of the scholarships will be allocated to girls and women.

Candidates from upcountry

Promotion of candidates from upcountry will be actively pursued.

Note also that the selection is only valid for one year and therefore candidates selected for the 2010 programme must start their studies in 2010.

6) Implementation

The implementation of the scholarships is entrusted to the BTC office in Kampala

Only selected candidates will be contacted by BTC.

Once the scholarship is awarded, BTC will contact the scholar and sign a contract with him/her.

Candidates will be removed from the selection if they do not provide BTC with the admission letter at a date that will be communicated later.

7) Contact

Embassy of Belgium: rosemary.sevume@diplobel.fed.be

Belgian Technical Cooperation: Juliet.murekatete@btcctb.org

Scholarships Advert 2010 (download)