HEIAS Annual Fee Waiver 2026
Each year, the IAU reserves a dedicated budget to offer a HEIAS Annual Fee Waiver to one IAU Member institution. This Fee Waiver provides access, free of charge, to selected online modules of the HEIAS services, allowing institutions to strengthen their internationalisation strategy through structured, expert-led support.
Applying institutions may choose between Module 1 of the Planning and Strategy service or Module 1 and part of Module 2 (excluding the site visit) of the Assessing Strategy and Monitoring Achievements service. The selected modules are delivered fully online, with no obligation to continue beyond the free components.
If, after having completed the module(s) covered by the Fee Waiver, the institution wishes to continue with the other modules of the chosen HEIAS service, the standard HEIAS fees will apply. There is no obligation to proceed beyond the module(s) covered by the Fee Waiver, and the service may conclude at that stage.
Eligibility criteria
In order to be eligible, a university applying for this annual free online HEIAS must be:
An IAU Member Institution in good standing;
Located in a low-income country according to the IAU membership criteria or able to demonstrate that they are facing a particularly difficult financial situation.
Application criteria
The application may be submitted by any individual working at the institution, but it must be endorsed by the academic leadership and submitted on behalf of the whole institution. A letter signed by the head of the institution demonstrating this commitment is required. In order to apply, institutions must complete the online application from.
In the application form, the applying institution must identify the HEIAS programme it would like to pursue, explain briefly the reasoning behind the choice, and detail what it aims to achieve thanks to the HEIAS Annual Fee Waiver.
If the institution is not located in a low-income country, it must also demonstrate that it is facing difficult financial conditions and therefore in need of a fee waiver. Failure to do so will make the application ineligible. HEIs located in low-income country are exempt from this requirement.
The deadline for submitting applications is Friday 27 February 2026.
Selection Criteria:
Institutions will be evaluated based on their application. Criteria for selection will also consider geographic balance between the different regions of the world, the type of institution, and the type of service requested, compared to previous recipients of the Fee Waiver.
Timeline:
Applications will be evaluated in March 2026 and the selected institution will be informed by Friday 27 March 2026 at the latest.
The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be finalized in April 2026.
The HEIAS service will start immediately after the signing of the MoU.
HEIAS Annaul Fee Waiver 2025 Recipient
In 2025, the HEIAS Annual Fee Waiver was awarded to the University of Petra, Jordan.
