Research funding - UHasselt

If you are planning to start a PhD, a project, a stay abroad, etc, you will have to start looking for funding first. Research funding is available on different levels  and for different purposes. That’s why it’s important to inform which funding programme is most suitable for your research plans. Do not hesitate to contact the Research Coordination Office for help.

Who funds?

Where can u go in your search for research funding? Where can u find funding? Roughly there are four funding levels which fund research:

Hasselt University
The Flemish universities themselves have a budget to organize internal research according to their own policy goals. This budget is called Special Research Fund (BOF) en is managed by the research coordination office. The evaluation and allocation of BOF-resources takes place on the advice of the Research Council.

Flanders
Flanders wants to strengthen the excellence and dynamics of the fundamental research and also the capacity to undertake creativity and innovation. Fundamental research is supported by the Fund for Scientific Research - Flanders (FWO) and applied research by the Institute for the Encouragement of Innovation through Science and Technology (IWT). Flanders also provides financing for relays (entities different from Flemish universities and university colleges) in order to create a critical mass around carefully chosen spearheads.

Belgium
The federal state stresses on the support of scientific research, and stimulates research cooperation across community- and region borders via the IUAP-programs.

Europe
Europe invests heavily in research. The Lisbon target illustrates this. It wants Europe to be the most competitive and dynamic knowledge economy of the world. Important financing programs are the Framework Program (7FP) and the European Territorial Cooperation Programs (Interreg). Information about other European funding ways you find here. UHasselt researchers get support with their European demands of the research coordination office, which is a member of the United Kingdom Research Office (UKRO).

Other
Beside the research funding ways mentioned above, there are also other funding initiatives. Domestic and foreign universities offer sometimes ad hoc financing for certain research activities.  sister organizations of FWO and IWT provide funding for Flemish researchers. Ministries, companies or certain organizations offer also research funding and offer to sign up on existing research projects. You can find these less known initiatives mostly here.