University development cooperation
Hasselt University sets up initiatives aimed at scientific cooperation with non-European and developing countries (science sharing). Hasselt University wishes to provide its students, researchers and staff with an opportunity to acquire experience travelling in the South. At the same time, it seeks to attract students, researchers and professors from the South to study, work on a PhD or teach at Hasselt University. Furthermore, Hasselt University seeks to actively participate in the quest for sustainable solutions to social challenges in developing countries by working with local partner institutions. This way, Hasselt University expertise in education and research is applied globally.
Development cooperation is one of the four strategic goals of the policy plan for internationalization 2018-2021: “(SO4) To ensure further development of education and science sharing with developing countries”.
The funding of such projects is possible thanks to VLIR-UOS (Flemish Interuniversity Council - University Development Cooperation), a platform to support partnerships between higher education institutions in Flanders and in the South which look for innovative answers to global and local challenges.
VLIR-UOS choses to focus the cooperation in order to maximise the impact of the interventions: projects are possible with 20 partner countries:
- Africa: Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa
- Asia: Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam
- Latin America: Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru, Suriname
- Project funding:
- Mobility funding
- Travel scholarships for Flemish applicants for internships or research in the South
- For scholarship applicants from a developing country: ITP scholarships, ICP scholarships
- Sensitisation Initiatives (SI): Elective course Globalisation & Sustainable Development (1955); World Evening; Sustainable Development Goals; Fair Trade activities, etc.
The International Office provides administrative and financial support to promoters, coordinators and project partners. This is done via the ICOS's (Institutional Development Cooperation Coordinators), who act as links between Hasselt University and the VLIR-UOS. Hasselt University's ICOS's are responsible for publishing calls for projects, guidance in project writing, follow-up of running projects, reporting, quality control and support to project staff.
In addition, every Flemish university is represented in The Bureau UOS. The Hasselt University Bureau members are Prof. Ken Haenen and Prof. Ann Cuypers.
Contact persons (ICOS) at Hasselt University:
Sara Schaeken (Global Minds, ICP, ITP, scholarship programmes)
Stéphanie Frère (TEAM, SI, JOINT, IUC)
Liesbeth Oeyen (IUC)