Information for supervisors

Call for initiatives

The Doctoral School calls on professors and postdoctoral fellows to submit proposals for the organisation of front line activities that directly address current training needs and demands of young researchers.

Four types of activities are eligible for funding:

(1) Specialist courses as part of the Doctoral Training Programme: cf. Call for specialist courses + application form (recurring deadlines: 31 May, 15 October, 15 February)

(2) Multi- or Interdisciplinary Summer/Autumn/Winter/Spring Schools: cf. Call for seasonal schools + application form (recurring deadlines: 15 October, 15 February)

(3) ‘Meet the expert’ activities: cf. Call for ‘Meet the Expert' activities (to be submitted at least one month prior to the planned activity)

The "Meet the Jury" format has been integrated into the 'Meet the Expert' format—examination committee members are, by definition, experts. Note that this change does not impact applications that had already been submitted or approved on 2/4/2025.

Funding rules

	Specialist course/Transferable skill seminar	Seasonal school
Min. contact hours	15 for a specialist course, 6 for a transferable skill	20
Max. funding[1]	€6.000	€20.000 (+€3.000 for an outreach event)
Overall criteria	Initiatives should: Relate to ongoing doctoral research and appeal to a reasonable number of UGent PhD candidates Bring in international expertise where relevant and possible Be free of charge for PhD candidates affiliated with a Flemish research institution Be prepared in collaboration with PhD candidates where possible or prepared primarily by PhD candidates with support from senior researchers
Funding guidelines	As a guideline, total funding for specialist courses, transferable skills, and seasonal schools should not exceed €600/UGent PhD candidate Funding can be used to cover the following: Coffee breaks and self-service sandwich lunches during the course, capped at max. €15 per person per day. Note that this is not a flat-rate amount: we will only reimburse actual expenses incurred Renting of classrooms or other venues (capped at rates in the relevant UGent regulations); excursion transportation costs; essential course materials As a rule, lecturers are paid a flat rate of €100/hour.[2] If substantively motivated, this can be increased to €200/hour for international experts. Lecturers’ travel costs should cover ‘Economy’ travel and be proportionate to the level of participation in the course. Whenever possible, please follow Ghent University's Sustainable Travel policy. Lecturers’ accommodation costs may not exceed €150/night and should cover max. the duration of the course + one night We ask that you pre-finance costs using a Ghent University (E/01) budget, and that you bundle and then submit the relevant invoices and proofs of payment to doctoralschools@ugent.be, and this no later than three months after the end of the course. Please note that we cannot reimburse costs pre-financed by an external organisation, only those pre-financed using a Ghent University budget.
Funding restrictions	Funding cannot be used to cover: Dinners, more elaborate lunches, receptions
Priority criteria	Interdisciplinary or interuniversity initiatives (esp. with other Flemish universities) with active participation from the partner institution
Application forms	Specialist course form / Transferable skills form		Seasonal school application form

[1] In exceptional circumstances, additional funding can be awarded exceeding the maximum amounts set out in this table. If you intend to submit a proposal requesting more funding than the maximum amount, please discuss this with the Doctoral School Office before submitting your proposal and make sure your proposal provides a substantive motivation for why the course should be granted additional funding.

[2] Lecturers from Flemish universities are expected to teach as part of their appointment and it is therefore preferable for them not to be paid to teach PhD courses; any payments can be awarded to individual project funds they manage or to their research group.

	Meet the Expert
Min. contact hours	1,5 hours
Max. funding	€1.200
Funding rules	Meet the Expert funding can only be used to cover Speaker accommodation costs (max. €150/night, for max. the duration of the course + 1 night, international speakers only) Speaker travel costs (economy only). Whenever possible, please follow Ghent University's Sustainable Travel policy.
Application form	Meet the Expert

Useful information

Contact information (incl. subscribing to the monthly newsletter)
Instruction manual to creating a Ufora course page for your Specialist Course: Dutch - English
Annual self-reflection report: guidelines for supervisors (incl. OASIS screen shots)
Study programme overview
UGent rapport: Werkrelaties tussen doctorandi en promotoren (Dutch)