Summary of DUO-Belgium/Wallonia-Brussels 2025 Call for Applications

※ Please find detailed information on the following link (Click here).

1. Application Period : January 31st – March 28th, 2025 at 12h. GMT +1

※ No applications will be accepted before January 31st, 2025 or after March 28th, 2025 at 12h. GMT +1

2. Eligibility

The applicants must meet ALL eligibility criteria:

● Applications must be submitted by a duo of two members of academic or scientific staff from higher education institutions, one of whom is from the FWB and the other from one of the Asia-Pacific countries covered by the programme;

● The Asia-Pacific institution must be located in one of the following countries: Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam;

Candidates must be remunerated by their respective institutions and it must be their main occupation (full or part-time (50% minimum)). Priority will be given to candidates whose position within the institution extends for a minimum of three years;

● The Wallonia-Brussels and Asia-Pacific HEIs must be recognised/accredited by the competent authorities in the field of higher education;

● Representatives of the Wallonia-Brussels and Asia-Pacific HEIs must sign a cooperation agreement or must have expressed the intention to sign one in the two following years;

● The call is open to all disciplines. The two members of the duo do not have to belong to the same disciplines;

● The citizenship of the candidate is not a criterion for eligibility.

3. Amount of Fellowship

● The amount of the scholarship awarded per “paired mobility” project is a lump sum of €7,000, to be shared between the two beneficiaries according to a distribution key set by them in the application form (for example €3,500 per person)

4. Conditions of use of the Fellowship

● The scholarship is intended to cover international travel expenses and per diem capped at the amount of the individual scholarship;

● The exchange is done by pairs: the beneficiary from the Wallonia-Brussels HEI is hosted by the Asian institution, and vice-versa;

● Mobilities shall start no earlier than August 1st, 2025 and shall end no later than August 31st, 2026;

● The total duration of each person's stay is fixed at a minimum of 18 days and a maximum of 60 days (including travel days). This period may be divided into two stays;

● No later than 2 months after their final return date, the beneficiaries undertake to send back a report of their stay in PDF format using a form that will be sent to them at the same time as the agreement.

5. Documents to Enclose

● The completed 2025/2026 application form

● A copy of the academic cooperation agreement between the FWB institution and the Asia-Pacific institution or, a declaration of intent, i.e. a letter co-signed (or two separate letters signed) by the authorities of the two institutions, or their representatives, mentioning the intention of both parties to sign an inter-institutional agreement within the next two years;

● The passport copies or the national identity card of the two applicants;

● A CV for each applicant (no more than 5 pages), emphasizing work experience relevant to the ASEM-DUO programme

6. Submitting the Application

● The application must be submitted as one single document in PDF format to ARES by the FWB institution applying, via the contact person indicated in the application form (e.g. the international relations officer) at the following e-mail address: asem-duo@ares-ac.be ;

● If the candidate is not able to send the application file by email, then it will have to be sent by mail to the following address:

Académie de recherche et d’enseignement supérieur — ARES

Direction des relations internationales

Alexia VERCRUYSSE

Rue Royale 180 – 1000 Bruxelles (Belgique)

● An acknowledgement of receipt is sent to the applicants within 3 days after the reception of the application. Without any response after that time, please contact international@ares-ac.be.

7. Contacts

For any information related to this announcement, please contact:

Académie de recherche et d’enseignement supérieur - ARES

Direction des relations internationales

Rue Royale 180 – 1000 Bruxelles (Belgique)

T: +32 2 225 45 71

E: asem-duo@ares-ac.be or international@ares-ac.be

H: https://www.ares-ac.be/en/relations-internationales/asem-duo-scholarship