Regulations for Grant for participation in a workshop or course abroad

The General Regulations apply.General Regulations

Art. 1. (as amended by decision of the Board of Trustees of 12/05/2021, 20/12/2023 and 25/09/2024)

§1 Candidates for a travel grant for participation in a workshop or course abroad must, throughout the entire period of their stay abroad, be affiliated to

• a university in the Flemish Community (including the academic programmes within the corresponding association), or to
• a federal or Flemish scientific institute as scientific staff of the Dutch-speaking community of, or to
• a university hospital in the Flemish Community as scientific staff, or to
• a hospital with an academic character recognized as research center in the Flemish Community as scientific staff.

§2 PhD candidates must have obtained their master's degree in one of the member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. If the candidate has another degree, which the university administration considers to give access to the doctoral programme, a declaration of this must be provided to the FWO. Candidates with a master's degree awarded from outside the EEA or Switzerland must hold a master's degree and a declaration from the university administration concerned confirming that it will permit the candidate to write a doctoral thesis.

For postdoctoral level candidates Art 1. §2 does not apply. 

Art. 2. (as amended by decision of the Board of Trustees of 12/05/2021)

To be eligible for a grant for participation in a workshop or course abroad, researchers must have at least one peer-reviewed publication.

Art. 3. (as amended by decision of the Board of Trustees of 12/05/2021)

All PhD and postdoctoral FWO Fellows and holders of a Doctoral (PhD) grant strategic basic research (SB) cannot apply for a travel grant for participation in a workshop or course in one of the member states of the EEA or Switzerland or the United Kingdom, since they already receive a bench fee that can be used for these purposes.

They are, however, eligible to apply for a grant for participation in a workshop or course in countries not specified in the above paragraph.

Art. 4.

Applications for travel grants must be submitted online in English no later than 3 months prior to the departure date. This submission deadline is strictly binding.

Art. 5. (as amended by decision of the Board of Trustees of 25/09/2024)

Per calendar year, a researcher can be awarded a maximum of one travel grant within or outside Europe (for a conference, course/workshop and/or for a short study stay).

Art. 6.

Applicants must indicate any grants obtained from or applied for with other Belgian or foreign authorities for the same purpose. Applicants must notify the FWO of the outcome of grant applications submitted to other authorities for the same purpose.

Art. 7. (as amended by decision of the Board of Trustees of 30/03/2022)

The supervisor/head of research unit of the applicant will be notified of the application. Upon receipt of this notification, the supervisor/head of research unit will have 5 business days to submit a substantiated objection.

Art. 8.

The competent executive board has to be informed about the submitted application. 

Art. 9.

Grants for participation in a workshop or course abroad are intended to offer researchers, affiliated to an institute as referred to in Art.1. §1, the opportunity to specialise in research or new techniques at a foreign scientific knowledge or research centre, by attending a course or workshop.  The additional value of the stay abroad must be clearly demonstrated in the application.

If the researcher intends to give a lecture or make a contribution to the workshop or course, the application must be substantiated by a summary of the lecture/contribution.

Art. 10. (as amended by decision of the Board of Trustees of 25/09/2024)

These grants can only be allocated for stays of up to 31 days. They are personal and cannot be transferred.  

Art. 11.

The grant covers the round-trip travel costs from Brussels to the place of the workshop or course abroad. For participation in a workshop or course abroad lasting more than seven days, the grant includes, in addition to the travel costs, a fixed compensation for the accommodation costs in the amount of € 66/day, with a maximum of €1.650. The fixed compensation for the accommodation costs is paid into the beneficiary's account in Belgium. These allowances are personal and cannot be transferred or used to cover travel or accommodation costs incurred by parties other than the applicant.  

Art. 12.

Beneficiaries must send a concise report on their stay to the FWO within three months of their return to Belgium.