Together with three academic partners in India, USOS vzw maintains student exchanges with a societal engagement perspective and in collaboration with civil society actors and community organisers. This involves incoming and outgoing mobility for accredited programmes such as internships, summer schools and thesis research in Antwerp, Delhi and Ranchi. UAntwerp Faculty of Law and Social Sciences are currently involved, but the exchanges can still be extended to other faculties. The person in charge joins the board of USOS and thus endorses the mission of USOS vzw. He/she/they will continue a tradition of forty years of student exchanges with India, which has grown into a strong pedagogical project elaborated by Koen De Feyter and Dominique Kiekens among others.
Profile:
- Familiarity with Indian/South Asian culture (e.g. education/research/practical experience in India/South Asia). Experiences in other countries in the Global South can also be relevant.
- Familiar with global partnerships and student exchanges
- Stable tenure at UAntwerp
USOS offers:
- Three established collaborations that can be complemented by mutual agreement.
- Support from USOS staff and board. The current responsible Devanshi Saxena can still provide support during academic year 2025-26 as a function of a smooth transition.
- An annual budget to support the exchanges. This budget can still be supplemented by external funds such as Erasmus+.
USOS current partner institutions in India:
- Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS) in Ranchi
- St Xavier's College in Ranchi (SXC Ran)
- National Law University Delhi (NLUD) in Delhi
USOS thesis internship in India, summer 2026
The new person in charge will have the opportunity to guide the thesis internship of a group of UAntwerp students in India. Usually this involves going to India for 4 weeks with a group of 8-10 UAntwerp students and 1-2 staff members as accompanying staff. The partner responsible coordinates the preparation and the stay and also goes along with the students to India with budgetary support from USOS. You can also apply to USOS for being an academic guide to join students in India, even without wanting to take up the role of partner responsible. Click here to read about the last thesis internship in India (2023)
The USOS Annual Reports from past years can be referred to for understanding the partnerships and the tasks of the partner coordinator more.
Interested?
Address USOS@uantwerpen.be with a short motivation no later than Monday 9 June 2025. Questions and clarifications on this role can also be asked by contacting this email address.
Representatives of the Indian partners will visit Antwerp during the week of 25 November 2025 for a conference of USOS on global partnerships and ideally the new partner responsible is available during this period to meet them.