VLIR-UOS has opened its ICP Connect Scholarships for 2027–2028 — a fully funded route to study in Belgium, and for fisheries graduates the headline opportunity is the Master of Science in Aquaculture (IMAQUA) at Ghent University. Applications for IMAQUA opened on 1 October 2026 and close on 28 February 2027, for studies starting in September 2027. The scholarship covers tuition fees, travel, insurance and living expenses for the full duration of the programme.
Read this carefully before you get excited: this scholarship is NOT open to everyone. Only nationals of 25 eligible countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America can apply — and India is not on that list. If you are an Indian applicant, this one is not for you (see the alternatives at the end of this post). But if you are from an eligible country — or you know a fisheries graduate who is — this is one of the most generous aquaculture scholarships in Europe, and the deadline is fixed.
At a Glance — IMAQUA + VLIR-UOS ICP Connect Scholarship
| Detail | What the official pages say |
|---|---|
| Scholarship | VLIR-UOS ICP Connect Scholarship, 2027–2028 call (open now) |
| Programme | Master of Science in Aquaculture (IMAQUA), Ghent University, Belgium |
| Duration | Two-year programme (120 ECTS), starting September 2027 |
| Applications open | 1 October 2026 |
| Application deadline | 28 February 2027 (IMAQUA’s own deadline — programme deadlines differ) |
| What it covers | Tuition fees, travel, insurance and living expenses (board and lodging), for the full programme duration |
| Application fee | None — ICP Connect programmes do not charge an application fee |
| Language | Taught in English |
| Results | Selected and wait-listed candidates are contacted by email, no later than mid-May |
What You Will Actually Study
IMAQUA is run by Ghent University’s Laboratory for Aquaculture & Artemia Reference Centre, a research group known worldwide for its work on live feeds for fish and shrimp larvae and on microbial management in aquaculture systems. The programme is built as a gradient of increasingly specialised and research-driven courses, and it ends with master’s thesis research at a partner institution in Europe, Africa, Latin America or South-East Asia.
In plain terms: this is not a classroom-only degree. You learn how to make aquaculture profitable and sustainable — hatchery and larval rearing, feed and nutrition, water quality and microbial management, production systems — and you finish with real research, in a real aquaculture setting, on another continent. For a graduate who wants to work in aquaculture development, research or policy back home, that combination is exactly what employers and funding bodies look for.
Who Can Apply — The Eligibility Rules That Matter
VLIR-UOS states the eligibility criteria on the official IMAQUA page. Every one of these is a hard filter — failing one ends the application:
- Nationality + residence: You must hold the nationality of one of the 25 eligible countries and be residing in one of those countries at the time of application (not necessarily your country of nationality).
- Age: For an initial master’s like IMAQUA, you cannot be older than 35 on 1 January 2027 (the intake year). For advanced master’s programmes the limit is 45.
- One scholarship per year: You may apply for only one ICP Connect scholarship per year, and you cannot hold another scholarship or grant for the same programme at the same time.
- No previous Belgian government scholarship: You must not have previously received a scholarship from the Belgian government for a study programme, nor have enrolled in a study programme at a Belgian higher education institution before 1 January 2027.
- Professional background: Preference goes to candidates employed in higher education, government or civil society, or targeting a career in one of those sectors. Newly graduated candidates, or private-sector candidates with no work experience, can still be considered with a strong motivation and a compelling profile.
- Individual programme rules: Ghent University may impose additional criteria — check the programme’s own application page before submitting.
The 25 Eligible Countries — Check Before You Apply
As listed on VLIR-UOS’s official country page for ICP scholarships:
| Region | Eligible countries |
|---|---|
| Sub-Saharan Africa (15) | Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe |
| Middle East & North Africa (2) | Morocco, Palestine |
| Latin America & Caribbean (4) | Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru |
| South-East Asia (3) | Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam |
Not on the list — and this trips people up every year: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Rwanda and Egypt are not eligible for ICP Connect scholarships. If your nationality is not among the 25, do not spend weeks on this application — look at the alternatives below instead.
How Selection Works — What Actually Wins
VLIR-UOS is explicit: scholars are chosen as potential “agents of change” who will contribute to societal change in their home country or region after completing their studies. The selection criteria, in the funder’s own order of emphasis, are:
- Motivation: Your motivation and professional goals must show competence in transferring knowledge and skills or setting up extension activities, on themes relevant to sustainable development and to the study programme. Academic results matter — but your potential and commitment to become an agent of change matter more.
- Professional experience: Preference for candidates who can show the greatest chance of implementing or transferring new knowledge after graduation, in higher education, government, civil society or the private sector.
- Gender balance: VLIR-UOS targets a balance between male and female scholars and strongly encourages female candidates to apply.
- Regional balance: A reasonable cross-section of scholars from different countries and regions is targeted.
- Leave No One Behind: Where candidates are equally qualified, preference goes to candidates from vulnerable groups.
- First-time scholars preferred: Preference goes to candidates who have never received a scholarship to study in a high-income country.
What this means for your application: do not write a generic “I love fish” statement. Write about a concrete problem in your country’s aquaculture — falling shrimp survival, feed costs, disease, hatchery bottlenecks — and explain exactly what you will do about it when you return, who you will train, and which institution you will work with. That is the application VLIR-UOS is designed to fund.
How to Apply — Step by Step
- Confirm your eligibility first. Check the 25-country list above, the age rule (35 or under on 1 January 2027) and the “no previous Belgian government scholarship” rule. If any fails, stop here.
- Go to the official IMAQUA page on vliruos.be and follow its application links to Ghent University. You apply for both admission to the programme and the scholarship through the institution’s website — there is no separate VLIR-UOS application form.
- Clearly indicate that you want to be considered for an ICP Connect scholarship on your programme application. This is how your file enters the scholarship track.
- Meet Ghent University’s own admission requirements — degree background, transcripts and English proficiency — as set out on the programme page. Individual institutions can impose additional criteria beyond VLIR-UOS’s rules.
- Submit before 28 February 2027. That is IMAQUA’s deadline. Other ICP Connect programmes close earlier — do not assume the call’s general date applies to your programme.
- Wait for the email. Ghent University pre-selects and ranks candidates; VLIR-UOS makes the final choice and contacts selected and wait-listed candidates by email, no later than mid-May. There is no need to contact VLIR-UOS before then.
Second Fisheries Option in the Same Call: Oceans & Lakes
If your interest is broader than farming fish — aquatic ecosystems, conservation, water management — the same 2027–2028 ICP Connect call also covers the Master of Science in Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management (“Oceans & Lakes”), jointly offered by Ghent University, University of Antwerp and Vrije Universiteit Brussel. It is a two-year programme with majors in global change impacts on ecology and biodiversity, conservation biology and ecosystem management, and environmental management. Important: for VLIR-UOS scholarship applicants, the Oceans & Lakes deadline is 1 February 2027 — nearly a month earlier than IMAQUA’s. Remember the one-scholarship-per-year rule: you must choose one programme, not both.
Honest Gaps — What We Could Not Confirm
- No monthly stipend figure is stated on the official VLIR-UOS call page — it lists the coverage categories (tuition, travel, insurance, living expenses) and notes that scholarship costs may change in line with government funding decisions. Any monthly figure you see on third-party blogs is not from the official call page, so we do not repeat one here.
- India is not eligible — stated plainly above so no Indian reader wastes an application. Indian fisheries graduates should instead look at the China, Europe and multi-country options linked below.
- Programme-specific details (exact English test scores, document list, Ghent’s additional criteria) sit on the university’s own application pages, not on the VLIR-UOS summary — check those pages before submitting, because they can change.
Not Eligible? Three Alternatives Already Covered on Fisheries India
- Fully Funded Ocean Degree in China — Apply by Feb 1: Shanghai Ocean University’s CSC scholarship for master’s and PhD in aquaculture, fishery resources and marine science, deadline 1 February 2027.
- Aquaculture Master’s in 3 Countries, €1,400/Month: the Erasmus Mundus aquaculture master’s across three countries.
- Europe’s Marine Master’s: 11 Universities, 1 Degree: the IMBRSea joint master’s in marine biological resources, applications opening 1 December 2026.
- Fully Funded Wageningen MSc? African Students, Dec 1: Wageningen’s Africa Scholarship Programme — also restricted by nationality, so check its list too.
FAQs
Q: Is the VLIR-UOS ICP Connect scholarship really fully funded?
A: Yes, for the full duration of the programme — it covers tuition fees, travel, insurance and living expenses (board and lodging). Partial scholarships and extensions are not offered.
Q: Can I apply for both IMAQUA and Oceans & Lakes?
A: No. You may apply for only one ICP Connect scholarship per year.
Q: I am Indian — can I apply anyway?
A: No. India is not among the 25 eligible countries, and you must also reside in an eligible country at the time of application. Use the alternatives linked above.
Q: Is there an application fee?
A: No. ICP Connect scholarship programmes do not charge an application fee.
Q: When will I hear the result?
A: Selected and wait-listed candidates are contacted by email no later than mid-May, after the programme pre-selects and VLIR-UOS makes the final choice.
Q: What if I am 36 on 1 January 2027?
A: You are over the age limit for an initial master’s (35) and cannot apply for IMAQUA under this call. The 45-year limit applies only to advanced master’s programmes.
Official Links
- VLIR-UOS — Master of Aquaculture (IMAQUA): applications open 1 Oct 2026, deadline 28 Feb 2027
- VLIR-UOS — ICP Connect Scholarship country list (25 eligible countries)
- VLIR-UOS — Study Scholarships: ICP Connect call 2027–2028, coverage and rules
- Ghent University — Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management 2027–28 (VLIR-UOS scholarship applicants: 1 February)
All dates, eligibility rules and coverage details above were verified on 3 November 2026 against the official VLIR-UOS pages and Ghent University’s programme brochure. Scholarship terms can change with government funding decisions — always confirm details on the official pages before applying. The images in this post are illustrations.