Summary of DUO-Belgium/Wallonia-Brussels 2026 Call for Applications

1. Application Period

● January 19th, 2026 - March 13th, 2026 at 12h GMT +1

● No applications will be accepted outside the above period.

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.

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3. Amount of Scholarship

● 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 Scholarship

● 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, 2026 and shall end no later than August 31st, 2027 ;

● 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. This report will describe the results of the project in the partner country, according to the given structure.

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5. Documents to Enclose

●The completed 2026/2027 application form duly completed by both candidates (available on the ARES website and on the ASEM-DUO website). The form must by typewritten and in PDF format. Authenticated electronic signatures of PDF documents are allowed ;

●A copy of the academic cooperation agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) between the FWB institution and the Asia-Pacific institution or, in the absence of MoU, 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 ;

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