Support programmes
With our financial resources we support individual researchers and research teams with personal fellowships and project funding.
All about support programmes
The Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC) is an academic knowledge centre contributing to the profiling, stimulation and internationalisation of the teaching and research activities of the participating Dutch and Flemish universities in the Middle East. In addition, the NVIC focuses on advancing the Dutch- and Flemish-Egyptian collaboration and on spreading the Flemish and Dutch culture in Egypt.
Initially, the focus of the NVIC activities was set on Arabic & Islamic Studies, Egyptology, Archaeology, Papyrology, Middle East Studies, social sciences and humanities in the broad sense. In 2012 however, the NVIC started to further broaden its work field to themes such as Cairo as an urban challenge, studies concerning politics, law and society in Egypt and art and culture. An overview of the NVIC’s current teaching portfolio can be found here.
Since its establishment in 1971, the NVIC has been under the managerial and administrative responsibility of Leiden University. Currently, at Flemish side, KU Leuven, Antwerp University and Ghent University are official partners of the NVIC. Additionally, the NVIC closely collaborates with the Dutch and Belgian Embassies in Cairo and has close partnerships and contacts with relevant academic, cultural and political institutions in Egypt, Flanders and the Netherlands.
The Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) provides funding for the position (postdoctoral fellowship) of the Flemish assistant-director Arabic/Islamic and Middle East Studies of the NVIC, who represents the Flemish research community.
The NVIC has a broad portfolio of academic courses, assists in the supervision of theses, internships, (individual) archaeological expeditions and fieldwork, offers support for obtaining local permits, facilitates research and accommodates and manages an impressive academic reference library of about 13,000 volumes.
By gaining practical knowledge and academic experience in Egypt, students and researchers from Flanders can add an additional dimension to their career. The NVIC staff itself also performs scientific research, acts as partner in (international) projects and obtains funding to do so. Thanks to its broad local network the NVIC can be the link par excellence for researchers from Flanders to get into contact with their peers in Egypt specifically, and, by extension, in the Middle East.
Moreover, upon request, the NVIC puts its teaching experience at the disposal of companies, embassies, international organisations and individuals by offering intensive private language courses Arabic and Dutch. The NVIC also organizes movie nights, lectures, conferences and workshops for a broader audience.