International Mobility — Travel Grants (Permanent)
Supports Flemish researcher mobility through international conferences, workshops, and stays.
FWO's International Mobility Travel Grants are a suite of five permanently open, year-round funding instruments offered by the Research Foundation Flanders to support individual researcher mobility. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis at any point during the calendar year, with no fixed annual deadline. The five permanent tracks cover: attendance at an international scientific conference abroad (active participation required); participation in a workshop or course abroad; a short study visit abroad to a non-Belgian research organisation; a long stay abroad; and an incoming scientific stay in Flanders for foreign researchers affiliated with non-Belgian institutions. Each track is a separate call within the FWO E-portal.
Eligibility requirements are consistent across the outgoing tracks: the researcher must be affiliated with a Flemish university or eligible research institution and must hold positive travel advice from their employing institution before applying. Travel or stays without prior institutional approval are not eligible for FWO travel grant funding. The incoming stay track operates in reverse, targeting foreign researchers — not already affiliated with a Belgian institution — who wish to undertake a research visit within Flanders. Award amounts are not published on the programme landing page and must be verified by reviewing individual call pages in the FWO portal before budgeting.
Beyond the five permanent individual travel grants, FWO operates bilateral mobility project calls with partner countries, which run to fixed deadlines and are distinct from the permanent travel grant tracks. As of May 2026, open bilateral mobility calls include China (NSFC, deadline 8 June 2026) and South Korea (NRF). Bilateral mobility projects support the exchange of research teams rather than individual travel and are co-funded by the corresponding national agency. Researchers at Flemish institutions may apply for any of the five permanent travel tracks at any time, subject to their institution's internal travel approval procedures.
All disciplines. Covers conference attendance, workshop/course participation, short study visits, long stays abroad, and incoming researcher stays in Flanders.
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