The VLIR-UOS ICP Connect Scholarship pays for a full Master of Food Technology at KU Leuven in Belgium, covering full tuition, travel, insurance and living costs, plus a monthly allowance of €1,400. Only six scholarships are available, and only students from 28 named countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America can apply.
You do not apply for the scholarship on its own. You apply for the Master of Food Technology, submit the extra documents, and you are automatically considered. The deadline is 1 February at 23:59.
What the scholarship covers
This fully funded scholarship covers the full standard length of the programme. It pays your full tuition fee as part of a grant, plus your travel to Belgium and back home, your health insurance, and your living costs.
The monthly allowance is €1,400, covering meals, transport, internet and other personal costs, accommodation, health insurance, and settling in Belgium. You receive an economy return ticket to Belgium at the start, including any local flights, and a return ticket home when you finish.
| Detail | Details |
|---|---|
| Scholarship | VLIR-UOS ICP Connect Scholarship |
| University | KU Leuven, Belgium |
| Programme | Master of Food Technology |
| Funding | Full tuition waiver, €1,400 monthly allowance, travel, insurance |
| Places available | 6 scholarships |
| Application deadline | 1 February, 23:59 |
Who can apply
You must be a national of one of the 28 countries below, and you must also live in one of these countries when you apply. The two countries do not have to be the same.
- Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, D.R. Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa
- Asia: Indonesia, Philippines, Palestinian Territories, Vietnam
- Latin America: Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru
You must also not be older than 35 on 1 January in the year you start the programme. You must not have received a Belgian government scholarship, or studied at a Belgian higher education institution, before that date.
Preference goes to candidates in higher education, government or civil society, though private-sector staff and recent graduates can also be considered. You can only apply for one ICP Connect Scholarship in a single year.
Do not apply if your nationality is not one of the 28 countries, if you live outside those countries, or if you will be older than 35 when the programme starts. The same applies if you have already held a Belgian government scholarship or studied at a Belgian higher education institution.
What makes an application stand out
VLIR-UOS sees its scholars as agents of change, people who can help transform their home country or region after they finish their studies. Your grades matter, but your motivation and your plan for using the degree matter just as much. The motivation letter is where you prove this. It must be between 500 and 1,000 words long, and it must focus on your personal motivation and your perspectives. Write about the food or nutrition problem you want to work on at home, what you have already done, and how this degree will help you do more.
Your two letters of recommendation also carry weight, and preference goes to candidates with strong recommendations from their sending institution. Ask people who know your work well, and give them plenty of time. They must send it in the required format from their official email address. English is the language of the programme, so you must also submit a certificate of English language proficiency, unless you already hold an English-taught degree from Australia, the English-speaking provinces of Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States of America. A letter saying your medium of instruction was English is not accepted, and your test results must reach the university no later than 1 March. VLIR-UOS also strongly encourages female candidates to apply.
How to apply
There is no separate scholarship form. You apply for the master’s programme itself, and the scholarship is considered automatically.
- Read the entry requirements for the Master of Food Technology and check that you meet them.
- Create an account on the KU Leuven web application and fill in your personal details and curriculum.
- Add the Master of Food Technology to your application and choose the coming academic year.
- Upload the standard documents for the master’s programme, plus the ICP Connect scholarship document from the official scholarship page.
- Ask your two recommenders to send their letters in the required format from their official email address to the Admissions Office, with the subject line “Your full name – VLIRUOS ICP Connect – your application number” and the letter attached as a PDF.
- You do not need to pay the application fee. Upload the fee waiver PDF to the “Proof of payment of application fee” document category.
- Check every document, then submit before 1 February at 23:59. Submit early, because a missing document will show an error and you will need time to fix it.
What happens after you apply
Selection has two stages. First, the Programme Committee decides who is accepted onto the Master of Food Technology, and you can track your status through the web application. Then only accepted applications are considered for the scholarship: the committee ranks the top twelve candidates, the top six receive it, and the rest join a waiting list. VLIR-UOS informs every applicant of the outcome by email.
The final list is published in May on the KU Leuven scholarship page, using application numbers only, so keep your application number safe. Two other fully funded master’s options are the Gates Cambridge Scholarship and the Joint Japan World Bank Scholarship.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to submit a separate application for the scholarship?
No. Apply for the Master of Food Technology with all the necessary documents, and you are automatically considered.
How much money will I receive each month?
Scholars receive a monthly allowance of €1,400 for living and accommodation costs, meals, transport, personal expenses such as internet, health insurance and installation costs in Belgium. Tuition fees and travel are covered separately.
