Destination USA

2. Destination USA

3.  Which funding for my research project abroad?
 Eligibility criteria
 Which duration
 Full or partial funding ? (maintaining of your salary/fellowship)
 Social or family constraints
 Leaving alone or with a family?
 Legal aspects: visa, insurance, health insurance, …
 Logistic details: accommodation, travel, ….
General Tips and Advices

4. It is important to begin the procedures in advance:
 For most funding, you need to apply from 6 months to a year before the calendar year during which
you would like to go.
 Be very careful to the eligibility criteria
 Have a contact with the university that will welcome you.
General Tips and Advices

5. Target several funding sources :
 It will increase your chance to be funded
 Complementary funding are sometimes accepted by the funding agencies (WBI, Fulbright, BAEF, F.R.S.-
FNRS, …)
General Tips and Advices

6. INDIVIDUAL MOBILITY FUNDING

7.  BAEF (Belgian American Educational Foundation)
 FULBRIGHT
 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship : Horizon Europe
 Wallonie-Bruxelles International : World Excellence Grant
 FNRS : Credit for stay abroad
Individual Mobility funding

8. Belgian American Educational Foundation
For what :
 Doctoral and postdoctoral research fellowship : all research area (12 months non-renewable)
 Biomedical engineering : Henri Benedictus doctoral or postdoctoral fellowship
 Subsistence expense :
 $ 30,000 for doctoral fellows
 $ 50,000 for post-doctoral fellows
 Health insurance
 For 2020 application: departure between 1/07/2021 and 31/12/2021

9. Eligibiliy criteria
 Doctoral fellowship :
 no more than two years since the beginning of the PhD program by July 1, 2021
 be enrolled in a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree program at a Belgian university;
 Postdoctoral fellowship :
 no more than two years since obtaining PhD degree by July 1, 2021
 hold a Ph.D. degree or equivalent doctoral degree from a Belgian university at the time of activation of
the fellowship;
 Belgian nationality (except for Henri Benedictus fellowship)
 Very good academic record
 Fluent in English

10. First Step : Eligibilty check (www.baef.be)

11. Application
 Short CV
 Autobiographical essay (1 page)
 Research plan and Motivation :
 Research project (+/- 2 pages)
 Reasons why you wish to perform research in the USA
 Timing of your research in the USA
 Benefits you expect to obtain from your research in the USA
 Three letters of reference : preferably from university professors or professionals in your field and addressing
your qualifications and motivation
 Acceptation letter from host institution

12. Usual agenda
October
 Deadline for application : 31/10/2020 (noon)
December
 You should receive the date of your interview at the BAEF
End of January
 Interview at the BAEF (English)
February
 Decisions sent to the applicants

13. Contact
 Belgian American Educational Foundation
Rue d’Egmont 11, 1000 Bruxelles
Tel: (02) 513.59.55
Fax: (02) 672.53.81
E-mail: mail@baef.be
Website: http://www.baef.be
 ADRE: elisabeth.colon@uclouvain.be

14. Fulbright
 Doctoral researchers (“students”) :
 4 to 9 months research during the PhD
 Postdoctoral researchers (“Visiting scholar researcher”):
 3 to 9 months research stay
 Subsistence expense:
 $2000/months (PhD researchers) or $3000/months (Postdoctoral researchers)
 Sickness and accident insurance for grantees (not dependents)
 J-visa sponsorship for grantees and any accompanying dependents
 For 2020 application: departure between 1/08/2021 and 31/03/2022
 For what :

15. Eligibility criteria
 Doctoral Fellowship :
 Minimum of a master’s degree. The research project can take place before or as part of ongoing PhD
 Postdoctoral Fellowship :
 Minimum a doctoral degree (PhD) by the time of departure or 5+ years of professional experience
 Belgian or Luxembourgish citizenship
 Very good academic record
 Fluent in English
 Should have ambassadorial qualities necessary for educational and cultural exchange
 Must return to Belgium/EU for the two years following grant (see more about this requirement :
prado.consilium.europa.eu/en/searchByIssuingCountry.html)

16. Application
 An “Americanized” resume/CV
 Transcription from most recent degree
 For doctoral students :
 Two essays : Study/Research objectives Essay & Personal Statement
 For Scholars/Postdoc :
 Research project statement (3-5 pages) and bibliography
 Three letters of recommendation
 Acceptation letter from host institution
 Scans of passport and any previous J-visas held

17. Usual agenda
December
 Application deadline : 01/12/2020 (noon)
End of January
 Fulbright interview (in English)
End of February
 Decisions sent to the applicants

18. Contact
 Fulbright
Commission for Educational Exchange between the United States, Belgium and
Luxembourg
Royal Library
Boulevard de l’Empereur 4
1000 Brussel
Website : http://www.Fulbright.be
 ADRE : Elisabeth.colon@uclouvain.be

19.  The individual Marie-Curie Fellowship for postdoctoral research will become the MSCA Fellowship under the next research
and innovation framework program of the UE : Horizon Europe
 Eligibility criteria and specific guidelines are still to be confirmed for MSCA postdoctoral fellowship under Horizon Europe but
the program should :
 Continue funding all research domains
 Still has two destinations : European (only in Europe ) and Global (with a phase outside Europe)
 Duration for Global destination : 24-36 months (12-24 months in a third country and 12 months return phase in Europe)
 The launched of the first call is not yet known but should take place within the second semester of 2021.
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship: Horizon Europe
 Contact ADRE : sara.wilmet@uclouvain.be
 NCP –FNRS : http://www.ncp.fnrs.be/index.php/appels/marie-curie

20.  Doctoral and postdoctoral mobility
 Short-term mobility : 1 to 3 months
 Long-term mobility : 1 year (renewable once for postdoctoral research - up to 3 times for doctoral research )
 Some priority fields of research (transport and logistics, mechanical engineering, life sciences, agro-industry,
aerospace, and environmental technologies) but all research areas are eligible!
 Subsistence allowance : 2120 EUR/month + reimbursement of travel tickets
 Health insurance and repatriation coverage
WBI World Excellence Grant
 For what :

21. Eligibilty criteria
 Hold master II degree or a doctor degree delivered by a higher education institutions
organized or subsidized by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
 Postdoctoral Research : no more than 5 years since obtaining PhD degree at the application deadline
 Deadline for long-stay : March 1st of the year of departure
 Deadline for short-stay:
 October 1st for departure between February and May
 February 1st for departure between June and September
 May 1st for departure between October and January

22.  CV
 Research project
 What would be the expected benefits for the Wallonia-Brussels Federation?
 What would be the anchoring point of your research in our Federation?
 Does your program fit into a competitiveness cluster from the Marshall 4.0 Plan?
 Minimum two letters of reference
 Acceptation letter from host institution
Application

23. Contact
 Programme officer WBI
Joëlle Porson
Wallonie-Bruxelles International
Service des bourses internationales, formateurs et lecteurs
Place Sainctelette, 2
1080 Bruxelles
J.porson@wbi.be
Website : www.wbi.be
 ADRE : sara.wilmet@uclouvain.be

24. F.R.S.-FNRS – Credit for stay abroad (OUT):
 Researchers from the WBF with a PhD
 PhD student with FNRS, FRIA, FRESH fellowship (if not, only Europe)
 Researcher who wants to go abroad, for example in order to acquire fresh knowledge within a colleague's laboratory,
for a stay of a maximum duration of 2 months
 50 EUR/ research day (max 2500 EUR) + travel allowance (max 1700 EUR)
 Submit the request 2 months before the departure for a stay in Europe and 3 months before the departure for a stay
outside of Europe
 Contact ADRE: Bernadette.dubus@uclouvain.be
FRS.-FNRS – Credit for stay abroad

25. NETWORK MOBILITY

26.  Belgium MIT SEED FUND
 COST (H2020)
 RISE (H2020 – Marie-Curie)
NETWORK MOBILITY

27. MIT-UCLouvain Seed Fund
For what:
 The Seed Fund supports new collaborations between faculty and research scientists at MIT and
their counterparts at UCLouvain.
 The fund primarily support travel costs for exchange between a team at MIT and colleagues at
UCLouvain
 Funds may not be used to cover salaries or materials
 Funds are not intended to be used for long-term stays (over two months) abroad or at MIT.
 Maximum award : 30,000 USD for +/- one year and a half collaborations
 Funds will be made available to the MIT applicant and must be administered by his or her
department
 Annual call

28. SELECTION CRITERIA
Priority will be given to projects that:
 Are likely to make an important contribution to the field
 Are new or are entering in a new phase
 Include a balanced exchange between participating teams
 Involve undergraduate and/or graduate sudents in a meaningful way
 Are likely to be sustainable beyond the grant period

29. Research areas at MIT
 Website : https://misti.mit.edu/belgium-seed-funds
 Contact ADRE : elisabeth.colon@uclouvain.be
Aeronautics & Astronautics Cognitive science Global languages Nuclear science
Architecture Comparative media History Oceanography
Anthropology Computer science International Studies Physics
Arts Earth & planetary science Libraries Philosophy
Astronomy Economics Linguistics Political Science
Biology Education Media Arts and Sciences Social Sciences
Business & managment Electrical engineering Mathematics Transportation
Cancer Energy Music Urban studies
Chemistry Enterpreneurship Neuroscience Writing

30. NETWORK MOBILITY
COST (H2020) :
 Support for networking activities (travel, subsistence, conferences, public outreach activities, etc) for researchers (PhD
students, postdoctorat fellows, academics ) and experts from various disciplines and different countries who are working on
the same subject. On average, each COST Action lasts four to five years with an annual budget of about 100 000 EUR spread
over 20 countries involved in the network. The budget depends on the number of COST countries participating in the Action.
RISE (H2020) :
 Exchange of researchers or technical, administrative staff between academic and non-academics institutions. Specifically, the
scheme aims to support joint projects that foster a shared culture of research and innovation, promote the transfer of
knowledge and ideas, and encourage exchanges between academic and non-academic sectors. The project duration is limited
to four years and individual secondments may last from one month up to a maximum of 12 months.
Rem : Some changes could appear in Cost and RISE programs under the next research and innovation framework program of the UE, Horizon Europe. Horizon Europe will be launched
in 2021.
Contact ADRE : Sara.wilmet@uclouvain.be

31. Questions ?

32. Elisabeth Colon
UCLouvain – Research Administration (ADRE)
Chargée de mission « mobilité du chercheur »
Elisabeth.colon@uclouvain.be

33. Thank you