Green light for scholarship program to send talented students to renowned universities | Inland

The scholarship program will be launched in the 2022-2023 academic year. With the initiative, Flemish Master’s graduates can receive financial support for a maximum of two years if they go to a top university. This was already agreed in the coalition agreement and is being done at the request of Prime Minister Jan Jambon.

The top talents must meet a number of conditions. For example, students must have obtained a master’s degree at a Flemish higher education institution, moreover with “excellent” study results. They must also be able to demonstrate their “leadership potential and social responsibility” in an essay. In addition, the students must of course be admitted to the top university in question, and they must “complete the scholarship correctly and on time in an excellent level of Dutch”.

The intention is to select students from a wide range of disciplines. The amount of the grant depends on the education, but also on the location and the costs for transport, housing and living expenses. Students can apply for the scholarship for a maximum of 24 months. A list of all eligible universities is still being drawn up.

According to Minister-President Jambon, the program will eventually lead to an international network of Flemish top students at the best universities in the world. The government therefore sees it as an additional instrument of foreign policy, because the students will act as “ambassadors of Flanders”, it sounds. Majority parties N-VA, CD&V and Open Vld voted in favour, opposition parties Vlaams Belang, Vooruit and Groen abstained and opposition party PVDA voted against.