FWO - Scientific Mobility projects China

Research, Internationalization

Funding organisation:

Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen

What?

To promote scientific cooperation between Flanders and China, the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) launch a new call for two-year joint collaboration projects (01/01/2027 – 31/12/2028) within fundamental basic research. This program provides funding for joint projects in the following research domains in the fields of natural, engineering sciences, management sciences, and medical sciences:

• Mathematical & physical sciences
• Chemical sciences
• Life sciences
• Earth sciences
• Engineering & material sciences
• Information sciences
• Management sciences
• Health Sciences

The funding only covers travel and living expenses.

• FWO offers researchers from Flanders a daily living allowance of €66 (or max. €1,650 per month) on top of travel expenses, to be booked through an authorized travel agency. (to be booked by OMNIA).

• NSFC provides a fixed amount of max. 150 000 RMB (about € 18,700) for the total duration of two years to cover the international travel costs of the Chinese researchers and their accommodation and living expenses.

Who?

Applicants
Proposals can only be submitted by researchers (supervisor-spokespersons) who have obtained their first PhD degree at most 12 years before the submission deadline (08/06/2026);
Applicants hold a PhD and are, throughout the entire period of the project, for at least 50% affiliated to UHasselt;
The projects should place special emphasis on junior researchers: in each project on the Flemish side, at least one junior researcher should undertake an exchange to China.

NEW: In the framework of this call with NSFC China, you can only act once as a supervisor-spokesperson or co-supervisor at the Flemish (FWO) side.

Mobility
Only researchers at the postdoctoral level or higher can travel from China to Flanders.
In Flanders, PhD students may also be included in the project and can travel from Flanders to China. 

Please note that all the members of the Chinese research team already have to be involved in one ongoing NSFC project, and there should be an overlap of at least one year.

Application?

Applications have to be submitted simultaneously to FWO and NSFC.

Deadline of submission at FWO: June 8th, 2026 (17:00 Belgian time)

On the Flemish side, the application should be submitted via the FWO E-portal using the specific digital application form under ‘International collaboration / Mobility projects’.
Please also check the "Specific points of attention FWO application" you can find in the "Guide for applicants call 2026" on the FWO webpage.

NEW: From 2025 onwards, the online FWO application form will contain a specific tab, 'Research Security'. Applicants are required, based on the topic of their research proposal, involved countries, and foreign partners, to complete a set of questions regarding unwanted knowledge transfer, misuse of research results, and/or interference. If, as a result of this, your project proposal requires research security approval, please contact the dedicated contact persons at UHasselt immediately via rri@uhasselt.be, preferably before submitting your proposal.

NEW: From 2026 onwards, the involved host institution on the Flemish side will have to provide, via their FWO institution tool, formal institutional consent for the application. For applications within the framework of joint mobility projects, it will no longer be a notification; instead, the involved host institution will require a specific action.

Always send a copy of your application to research@uhasselt.be 
  

Regulations?

In light of growing concerns about knowledge safety, it is no longer permitted to collaborate with the so-called ‘Seven Sons of Defense’, universities, or research institutions in China that have close ties to the Chinese army.
For mobility projects with China, always contact the Research Coordination Office (OBI) at research@uhasselt.be before preparing your application to learn more about the specificities of this particular call in 2026.
All applications are to be verified by OBI before submission.

More information?

You can find all the necessary documents and regulations on the FWO website.

You can also find more information on the NSFC website.
  

Deadline

08.06.2026

Contact Hasselt University?

E-mail ilse.das@uhasselt.be

Tel. +3211268098