Doctoral Scholarships in the framework of the Interfaculty Council for Development Co-operation (IRO)
Welcome to the IRO Scholarships Programme!
As one of its contributions to development co-operation, K.U.Leuven offers each academic year scholarships to deserving students from developing countries to do their PhD in the largest university in Flanders, Belgium.
Also commonly referred to as the IRO scholarships (IRO in Dutch stands for Interfacultaire Raad voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking), this scholarship programme has supported more than sixty Ph.D. graduates over the past five years. After obtaining their doctorates at K.U.Leuven, these Ph.D. holders are now valorising their degrees in their home countries either in university academic research or in various sectors of industry.
Essential to the application for the IRO scholarship and to completing a doctoral programme successfully is the choice of a good doctoral research topic and supervisor. New applicants are now provided two alternatives: either by selecting amongst the faculty research topics offered by the doctoral schools or by submitting their own personal research proposal.
K.U.Leuven, which is situated at about 20 kilometers from Brussels, the capital of both Belgium and Europe, is the oldest university of the Low Countries. As such, it has a long-standing tradition of hospitality towards students and scholars from abroad. At present, almost 4,000 international students (about 10% of the total number of students at K.U.Leuven) have found their home away from home in Leuven.
