PhD Individual Sandwich Programme

In the 2026 call round, the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) at Antwerp will award maximally 4 to 6 PhD grants to outstanding PhD candidates as part of a comprehensive capacity strengthening programme supported by the Directorate General for Development (DGD), ‘The Health We Share - Strengthening Health systems through Science, Innovations and Transformative partnerships, 2027-2031’. With the PhD grants we aim to support the next generation of researchers in their development into independent researchers by giving them the opportunity to carry out a scientific challenging and innovative PhD project relevant to the programme’s outcomes and contributing to capacity strengthening.

The PhD grants are of the ‘sandwich’ type, meaning that the student will spend the doctoral research time partly in the home institute/country and partly at ITM. The grant is awarded after a competitive procedure based on the evaluation of academic merit, a full PhD project proposal and the quality and relevance of the institutional and supervisory set-up. Selected candidates will be registered as ITM PhD students and must endorse the Principles for PhD students as laid down in the Code for effective PhD supervision (see annex 4 of the call).

The grant is initially allocated for a period of 18 months starting 1/1/2027 - with a renewal for another 30 months after a positive progress evaluation. Progress will be evaluated after 1 year by the ITM PhD Committee based on the review of documents in writing and an oral defence.

All grant specificities will be detailed in the sandwich PhD student grant contract. The ITM and DGD scholarships regulations apply.

The grant includes allowances to cover:

• the student’s living costs,
• research costs, and
• supervision costs.

1. Living allowance

• Belgium:
• A living allowance of €1,750 per month is provided during stays in Belgium, for a maximum of 24 months within the total grant duration of 48 months.
• Home institution / country:
• A monthly living allowance may be awarded based on the home institution’s PhD salary or fellowship regulations (capped at €1,500):
• up to 100% of the local PhD salary/fellowship,
• with the possibility of an additional top-up of up to 80% of the gross salary, if duly justified.

The grant further includes:

• Insurance: €60 per month
• Logistical allowance: €700 (one-off)
• Travel: one annual economy-class round-trip flight
• PhD registration fees: covered based on the reference fee of Belgian universities (indicatively €1,182 for 2026–2027)

2. Research allowance

A bench fee of up to €6,000 per year is provided to cover costs directly related to the PhD training and research.

This allowance is subject to financial accountability/reporting.

3. Supervision allowance

A maximum of €300 per month (lump sum) is provided to cover costs for the support and supervision of the PhD student.

The allowance is paid to the home institution’s scientific unit during the candidate’s stay there, and to the ITM supervisor’s unit during the stay in Belgium. The supervision allowance can also be used as an additional bench fee to cover research costs.

Additionally, 1 mission per academic year of max. 10 days for the ITM or home institute supervisor is granted.

Legal status:

• The fellowship does not constitute an employment relationship with ITM.
• During the stay in Belgium, the candidate holds the legal and fiscal status of a student.
• The legal and fiscal status in the home country is the responsibility of the candidate and the home institution.