Every year, with the support of the Belgian Directorate- General for Development Cooperation (DGDC), VLIR-UOS awards scholarships to students from developing countries to study one of the 15 International Course Programmes (ICPs) or one of  the 6 International Training Programmes (ITPs). The ICPs and ITPs target people from the South with a responsible position in civil society (at a university, school, NGO, ministry, etc).

Each year there are a maximum of 180 scholarships available for first-year ICP students and a maximum of 70 scholarships for ITP participants.

ICPs are master programmes, lasting one or two academic years, all of which lead to a master’s degree. They focus on specific problems of developing countries. The main target group for the courses are students from developing countries, although the courses can also be attended by Belgian students or students from other countries.

The ICPs aim to provide a training in such a way that the knowledge that the students acquire is disseminated and applied in the home institution and country of origin.

As an official body administrating government funds, VLIR-UOS  uses on this website the qualifications attributed in the Flemish Register for Higher Education. This database is governed by the Dutch-Flemish Accreditation Organisation (NVAO).
However, the discussion regarding the qualification (Master/Master of Science/…) of all master programmes – including the ICPs – in Flanders , Belgium , is an ongoing one.

?  International Courses 2009-2010

* Master of Development Evaluation and Management
Universiteit Antwerpen

This one-year programme focuses on the problems surrounding economic, social and political development as it is pursued through the multiple interventions of a wide range of public and non-governmental players, notably by means of development cooperation.

* Master of Globalisation and Development
Universiteit Antwerpen

This one-year programme focuses on the process of globalisation and its consequences for developing countries.

* Master of Governance and Development
Universiteit Antwerpen

During this one-year programme students are provided with multidisciplinary theoretical and practical tools that will improve their capacity to analyse governance issues at different levels and how they connect to processes of conflict, conflict management and development.

* Master of Human Settlements
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

This intensive one-year programme of advanced education addresses rapid urbanisation in the developing world and contemporary urban transformations within the scope of sustainable development.

?  International Courses 2009-2011

* Master of Aquaculture
Universiteit Gent

This two-year programme deals with diverse aspects of aquaculture for both marine and freshwater organisms.

* Master of Biostatistics
Universiteit Hasselt

This two-year programme provides a sound training in modern statistical methodology with focus on the design and analysis of biomedical and epidemiological studies.

* Master of Ecological and Marine Management (ECOMAMA)
Vrije Universiteit Brussel

This two-year programme will provide the students with a strong fundamental and applied background in marine sciences, marine research and management skills, contributing to the participants’ development in becoming a critically thinking and problem-solving oriented scientist, assisting in environmental management.

* Master of Environmental Sanitation
Universiteit Gent

This two-year programme covers all technological aspects related to prevention and sanitation of environmental pollution.

* Master of Food Technology
Universiteit Gent
Universiteit Gent

This two-year programme provides a comprehensive training in the field of food technology, food science and food engineering.

* Master of Human Ecology
Vrije Universiteit Brussel

This two-year programme provides an integrated look at human-environment interactions and trains students in developing sustainable solutions for environmental problems in their home countries.

* Master of Molecular Biology (IPMB)
Vrije Universiteit Brussel

This two-year programme aims at strengthening and up-dating the theoretical and practical skills of young scientists from developing countries, who are already involved in either human or animal health care or agricultural research.

* Master of Nematology
Universiteit Gent

This two-year programme covers all aspects of plant and insect-parasitic nematodes, as well as free-living aquatic and soil nematodes.

* Master of Nutrition and Rural Development, Main Subject: Human Nutrition
Universiteit Gent

This two-year programme enhances the multidisciplinary approach of nutrition problems in the development.

* Master of Physical Land Resources
Universiteit Gent

This two-year programme aims at training students in the inventory and detailed characterisation of land capacity, and soils in particular (Major in Soil Science). The major in Land Resources Engineering offers training in non-agricultural use and application of soil.

* Master of Water Resources Engineering
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

The main goal of this two-year programme is to offer a comprehensive training in water resources engineering to engineers and scientists from developing as well as industrialized countries.

More info: http://www.scholars hips.vliruos. be