2016 Research Training Fellowship for Developing Country Scientists (RTF-DCS)

Application Deadline: Friday, 17th June 2016

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: Any developing country

To be taken at (country): India

Brief description: The NAM S&T Centre invites applications from the scientists, technologists and engineers of the developing countries for the award of Fellowships under the ‘Research Training Fellowship for Developing Country Scientists (RTF-DCS)’ scheme for the years 2016-2017. The RTF-DCS Programme aims at capacity building of the developing countries in the fields of Science and Technology through the affiliation of their scientists with Indian scientific and academic Centres of Excellence.

Eligible Fields of Study: Agricultural Sciences; Biological and Medical Sciences; Chemical Sciences; Physical Sciences and Mathematics; Earth Sciences; Engineering Sciences; Materials, Minerals and Metallurgy; and Multi-disciplinary and other areas.

About the Award: The Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-Aligned and Other Developing Countries (NAM S&T Centre) is presently implementing a Fellowship programme titled ‘Research Training Fellowship for Developing Country Scientists (RTF-DCS)’ to provide opportunity to young researchers of the developing countries for their capacity building in science and technology through their affiliation with premier academic and research institutions in India to carry out short-term research work. Under the programme, full financial support is provided to the research fellows for their international travel, subsistence allowance, research contingency, domestic travel in India, etc. The RTF-DCS programme has been sponsored by the Government of India, Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Technology.

Type: Postgraduate Science Research Fellowship

Eligibility: 

• Candidate should be working in a national R&D or academic institution in his/her home country. The application should be endorsed by the Head of his/her institution confirming that if selected, he/she will be sanctioned leave for the Fellowship period and will join his/her duties back in the institution on completion of the Fellowship in India.
• Scientists/researchers from any developing country below 40 years old (as on January  1, 2016) and possessing at least a Post Graduate Degree in any Natural Science subject or an equivalent degree in Technology/Engineering/Medicine/allied disciplines.

Selection Criteria: Selection will be made by a High-Level Selection Committee based on the quality of the research proposal submitted by the applicant and their academic merit.

Number of Awardees: 50

Value of Fellowship: Full financial assistance to the Fellows, including:

• A round-trip international airfare by excursion/economy class,
• A monthly Fellowship amount of Indian Rupees (INR) 35,000 [about US$525 at the current exchange rate] (non-taxable) to cover accommodation, meals  and  other miscellaneous expenses and
• A one-time grant of INR 30,000 [about US$450] for research contingency and domestic travel, including airport transfers, visiting research institutions, attending scientific events and field trips within India, subject to the approval of the research supervisor. The Indian host institutions will also be suitably compensated for their services for implementation of the programme.

Duration of Fellowship: The Fellowship is for a period of six months. Therefore, the interested applicants must be absolutely certain about their availability for six months, if selected for this Fellowship.

How to Apply: Application for the award of the Fellowship should be submitted to the NAM S&T Centre in the enclosed format along with the following enclosures:

• Curriculum Vitae (in MS Word format, not more than two Pages), including Professional and Research Experience and a list of latest publications (Not more than five)
• Research Proposal with Objectives, Scope of Work, Plan of Action, Methodology and Deliverables (in MS Word format).
• Recent Passport size Photograph.
• Copy of Relevant Pages of Passport
• Copy of an endorsement from present employer, duly filled in and signed, along with Signature of the applicant. Take a print out of the format of ‘Endorsement of Present Employer’ appended at the end of this Announcement and attach a scanned copy of the appropriately filled up document along with the application form).
• A copy of the letter / email (if obtained) from any Indian scientist/institution with consent to accept you to work with them, if you get selected by the NAM S&T Centre.
• The application form must be filled up only in typed script (NOT HAND WRITTEN). Incomplete and illegible applications will be rejected.
• All the enclosures as above must be submitted along with the application. Applications without any of the enclosures as mentioned at i. to v. above will be rejected.

Applications should be submitted to the NAM S&T Centre in the prescribed format enclosed in the Brochure. Candidates should download the Application Form by CLICKING HERE.

Only electronic communication will be accepted. Candidates are advised not to send hard copies of the application or any other document. The completed application form and other enclosures as listed in Section-VIII, Paragraph 1 of the Brochure should be sent as attachments to rtfdcs15@gmail.com

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details

Award Provider: The Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-Aligned and Other Developing Countries (NAM S&T Centre)

Important Notes: To prepare the proposal, the applicants should carefully study the material available in these guidelines. It is advisable for an applicant (though not mandatory, but may be useful for their final selection/placement)to make a prior contact with a concerned Indian scientist or an institution in India where work is in progress in the area of interest to the applicant, and obtain consent that they, if selected, will be accepted to work in the institution on the proposed research project. A copy of the consent letter, if available, should be enclosed with the application. A suggestive list of Indian academic and research institutions has been enclosed with the Announcement, but the applicant is free to contact any other institution in India about which information may be gathered through Internet search or other means.