When applying for a scholarship, you can register for a Combi Port Course or a Live Port Course in Antwerp up until 2 months prior to the start of the course. After this date, the only way to subscribe is by contacting the Project Executive of APEC, who is responsible for the organisation of the specific programme you wish to follow. 
The necessary documents for your visa application (such as an invitation letter, hotel confirmation, etc.) will be provided to you after the selection process has been finalised. 
 
When not applying for a scholarship, you can register and participate as soon as your payment is confirmed. Please take into account the visa procedures of your country (which for some countries can take up to 6 weeks) when registering. The documents that you need for your visa application will be provided to you after your registration has been finalised and the payment has been completed.

The registration fee covers the tuition, documentation, local transport during course days, breakfast, dinner and lunch (except for Saturday and Sunday), accommodation at Hotel Mercure Antwerp City South (7 days / 6 nights for a Combi Port Course; 14 days /13 nights for a Live Port Course in Antwerp) and insurance.

The online part of the Combi Course also includes: 
 
– Access to the APEC online learning platform up to 2 months after the course ends. 
– Live sessions with our experts up to 3 times a week (depending on the programme). 
– Recorded sessions from our experts, always accessible through the online learning platform. 
– Access to exclusive, downloadable content to support your learning journey, with all presentations 
  from live sessions included. 
– Professional guidance from our colleagues at Port of Antwerp-Bruges International and Port of 
  Antwerp-Bruges. 
 
A Live Port Course in Antwerp also includes: 
 
– Access to the APEC online learning platform up to 2 months after the course ends. 
– Access to exclusive, downloadable content to support your learning journey, with all   
   presentations from live sessions are included. 
– Professional guidance from our colleagues at Port of Antwerp-Bruges International and Port of 
  Antwerp-Bruges.

International transport, airport transfer, lunch on Saturday and Sunday and extra meals and nights at the hotel are at your own expense. Reservations for additional nights at the hotel need to be arranged directly with the reservation desk of the hotel via the following e-mail address: HB664-RE@accor.com.

After APEC has received the payment or you have been granted a scholarship, APEC will send you an invitation letter that you will need for your visa application at the Embassy of Belgium in your country or a neighbouring country. APEC will inform the Embassy of Belgium (in your country or a neighbouring country) of your arrival. 
 
APEC is not responsible for obtaining your visa nor for any delays in the process.

Paying customers can opt to stay in another hotel. In this case, APEC will provide you with an invoice, without accommodation.  
 
Keep in mind that APEC only arranges for a bus to transfer the group from the suggested hotel to the Port House or the company/organisation that will be visited within our around the port. If you do not wish to stay at the suggested hotel, you will need to arrange your own transfer to Hotel Mercure Antwerp City South or the Port House to join the group. 
 
If you have received a scholarship, we will gladly make reservations for you at Hotel Mercure Antwerp City South.

Reservations for additional nights at the hotel need to be arranged directly with the reservation desk of the hotel via the following e-mail address: HB664-RE@accor.com. Always inform the APEC Project Executive and the hotel directly if your planning deviates from the original reservation. Extra costs are at your own expense. 
 
As these reservations are arranged directly with the hotel, APEC cannot be held responsible for them in case of problems, cancellations or changes.

APEC and the various partners we work with take this into account as much as possible.  
Please contact your APEC Project Executive regarding this.

APEC does not allow for unregistered persons to come along during the course. Any additional guests to your hotel room are possible. You have to make an arrangement directly with the hotel itself and is at your own expense. 

From Brussels Airport, you can reach Hotel Mercure Antwerp City South via the following modes of transport: 
 
1. Take the official airport taxi in front of the arrival hall to Hotel Mercure Antwerp City South  
    (address is Desguinlei 94, 2018 Antwerp). 
 
2. You will find the train station directly under the Departure and Arrival Halls of the airport (level -1). 
Take the train to Antwerp Central Station.  
From there on, you can take tram 2 or 6 from ‘De Lijn’ towards the stop ‘Antwerpen De Singel’ 
or a taxi towards the hotel. 
 
3. Take the Airport Express Bus from Brussels Airport to “Rooseveltplaats” -platform B5, on the side of the opera house in the centre of Antwerp. Walk 250 meter to Antwerp Central Station. 
 
From there on, you can take tram 2 or 6 from ‘De Lijn’ towards the stop ‘Antwerpen De Singel’ 
or a taxi to the hotel. 
 
More information regarding the various transport modes to reach the hotel can be found here: 
 
Taxi and limousine service | Brussels Airport 
 
Take the train to the airport |    Brussels Airport 
   
SNCB official website – Buy your train tickets online (belgiantrain.be) 
    
Home – De Lijn 
 
De Decker van Riet – Airport Express – De Decker – Van Riet: Airport Express 
 
Mercure Antwerp City South: Near Business District – ALL (accor.com)

On the following websites, you will find more information on timings and how to buy tickets for the train, tram or bus: 
 
Train: SNCB official website – Buy your train tickets online (belgiantrain.be) 
    
Tram and bus: Home – De Lijn

A Combi Port Course or a Live Port Course in Antwerp takes place from Monday to Friday, for a duration of one week or two weeks. The schedule varies from day to day, but usually classes or company visits are scheduled between 09u00 and 16u30. 
 
There are no activities planned in the evenings and weekends. 
 
You will receive a detailed programme one week before the start of the seminar by e-mail and a physical copy on Monday at the start of the seminar.

APEC is a subsidiary of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and holds its offices in the Port House at the following address:  Zaha Hadidplein 1, 2030 Antwerp, Belgium.  
 
All lectures will take place at the Port House. For site visits in and around the Port of Antwerp and Zeebruges, APEC arranges bus transport.

There is free Wi-Fi at the hotel (check with the reception desk of the hotel) and in the Port House (check with the APEC Project Executive). In Antwerp, it is common for bars and coffee shops (if you consume something) to have free Wi-Fi. You can also access the free Wi-Fi of the city of Antwerp at certain Wi-Fi-zones.

There is no specific dress code. The closing ceremony at the last day of the course (usually on Friday) is however more formal.

It is best to check the weather report before you leave for Belgium. That way, you can adjust your attire to the weather conditions.  An umbrella, hooded jacket and all-weather shoes are certainly not a bad idea, as it can be rainy at times here. 
 
You can check the current weather conditions in Belgium on the website of the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium: Weather Belgium – RMI (meteo.be) 

The online learning platform Canvas is fully web based and therefore accessible globally. Your APEC project executive will send all the necessary information 1 week prior to the start of the course. 
 
Your APEC Project executive will add you to the right course on the online platform. Once this is done, you will receive an automatic e-mail from Canvas to create a profile and thus access the course. 
 
To receive a certificate, we ask you to attend 70% of the live sessions. 
 
If you cannot fulfil any of these requirements due to certain circumstances, please contact your APEC Project Executive. 
 

Upon completion of a Live Port Course in Antwerp, participants get access to the online platform Canvas and enjoy the following benefits: 
 
– Access to the APEC online learning platform up to 2 months after course ending 
– Access to exclusive, downloadable content to support your learning journey, with all   
   presentations from live sessions included. 
– Professional guidance from our colleagues at Port of Antwerp-Bruges International and Port of 
  Antwerp-Bruges. 
 

APEC annually designs several tailor-made training courses for port authorities, terminal operators or logistic companies. These courses can be organised in Belgium or in your country. Feel free to send an e-mail with your requests to apec@portofantwerpbruges.com and we will contact you as soon as possible to co-create a tailor-made solution.

As soon as APEC has received your registration, the Project Executive for that specific course will contact you to confirm your contact details and send you the invoice. You can find the bank details on your invoice. The payment needs to be received by APEC in euros and in full, via bank transfer.

Payment in cash is not allowed.

Contact the APEC Project Executive that is responsible for your course as soon as possible and consult the general conditions, that have been sent to you together with your invoice. 
 

Scholarships are awarded to candidates from countries with whom our government has a bilateral agreement.  As the amount of scholarships is very limited and the demand for them is very high, a scholarship can only be awarded once. If you have received a scholarship in the past, you will no longer be eligible to receive one again. You can however still subscribe for another APEC seminar as a paying participant.

The final date to apply for a scholarship differs from course to course. You can find it on each information page of the port courses. You need to fill in the registration form before this date, indicating that you wish to apply for a scholarship. You will be asked to add your motivation letter and CV during the registration process. 
 
The week after the final date to apply for a scholarship, all the applications will be discussed with our respective partners, upon which the APEC Project Executive will inform you personally of the outcome.

Please note that a scholarship is NOT transferable to another person/course/year.

Contact the APEC Project Executive that is responsible for your course as soon as possible and consult the general conditions, that have been sent to you.