ASEAN & South Asia Platform

ASEANplus Chaperone grant

Permanent call, submit any time

Objective of the 'Chaperone* grant'

Publication pressure, lecture burden, commission A, B, C,  administrative hassle, ... An academic career often involves painstaking juggling of priorities and then, investing time and effort in internationalisation tends to end up low on the list, especially if the return remains unknown or unrecognised.

And yet, Ghent University explicitly endorses the importance of internationalisation, including development cooperation. Unsurprisingly, Ghent University has a wealth of enthusiastic researchers with a keen interest and valuable expertise in development cooperation. Nevertheless, it seems that many, especially young, colleagues are either reluctant to engage in development cooperation activities or do not know exactly how how and where to start with it.

The ASEANplus Chaperone grant encourages senior Ghent University staff with distinct development cooperation experience to inviting a colleague with little or no development cooperation experience to join him/her on a mission to or project meeting with partners in ASEANplus countries. The grant specifically aims at staff members that are not (yet) involved in the project abroad or do not have access to the projects' funding. This initiative aims at lowering the threshold to engage in development cooperation by sharing an inspiring experience, illustrating benefits and pointing at opportunities for future collaboration.

*Chaperone: a person who accompanies and looks after another person or group of people

Grant specifications

The fellowship offers:

  • a 1500EUR as contribution to travel, accommodation and living expenses in an ASEAN & South Asia country*

*Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam

Selection criteria and procedure

 The following criteria will be taken into account in the selection procedure:

  • The candidate’s profile and the relation to his/her chaperone
  • The overall quality of the mission plan
  • The relevance towards the advancement of internationalisation expertise of the candidate
  • The added value and sustainability

The ASEAN & South Asia Steering Committee with representatives from different faculties will review the applications.

The selection committee will also strive for a balance in:

  • Mission destination (geographic spread)
  • Ghent University faculties involved

Ghent University conducts an active policy for diversity and equal opportunities and encourages everybody to apply.

How to apply

  1.  Complete the application form. In the application form, you are asked to briefly describe (in English):
    • Personal information
    • The rationale of the proposed mission
    • A mission plan of max. 1500 words
    • Your signature and the signature of the Ghent University chaperone. You can also submit a short motivation by the Ghent University promotor, but this is optional.
    • A short CV (max 2 pages) in annex to the application form
  2. Submit the application by email to in one PDF file.

Timeline

  • Submission deadline: permanent call, submit any time
  • Selection results: max 2 weeks after submission
  • Mobility period: flexible

Reporting

The researcher is expected to submit a short activity report to indicate the output of the mission.

Former chaperone grant grantees

  • Dr Christine Yung Hung: to Indonesia and Vietnam with Wim Hoste
  • Drs Lucas Vanhaelewyn: to Vietnam with Prof Geert Haesaert
  • Prof Tom Defoirdt: to UMT, Malaysia with Prof em Patrick Sorgeloos (postponed after selection)