Applications for the OWSD Early Career Fellowship Programme 2024 are now open (USD 50,000 award)!

OWSD Early Career Fellowship Programme

The OWSD Early Career Fellowship programme is a prestigious award of up to USD 50,000 offered to women who have completed their PhDs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and are employed at an academic or scientific research institute in one of the listed Science and Technology Lagging Countries (STLCs). The OWSD Early Career fellows are supported to establish environments at their institutions where they can maintain an international standard of research and attract scholars from all over the world to collaborate.

The 2024 OWSD Early Career Fellowship programme Call for Applications is now open.

Deadline for completed online applications: 14 March 2024 (at 23:59 Rome time)

IMPORTANT: Please note that the duration of the 2024 OWSD OWSD Early Career Fellowship programme will be 24 months instead of 36 as in previous years.

Please note that an applicant, at the time of application, must NOT have an active research grant or fellowship with The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) or have already submitted an application for a TWAS programme within the same given year. Only one application per year is possible across all TWAS and OWSD programmes. Applicants will not be eligible to visit another institution in that year under the TWAS Visiting Professor programmes.

However, candidates can still apply to the OWSD-Elsevier foundation awards (please note that previous OWSD-EF winners are also eligible).

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PURPOSE

The OWSD Early Career Fellowship programme is administered by OWSD with funds generously provided by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.

The OWSD Early Career Fellowship programme supports early career women scientists to lead important research projects in those countries which have been identified as especially lacking in scientific and technological resources.* The fellows will undertake their research projects in one of the eligible countries and applicants must demonstrate that they have spent significant periods of time in that country (at least 5 years in total). Applicants must also have a guarantee of employment at the institution where they intend to carry out the research.

During the 2-year OWSD Early Career Fellowship programme, fellows will build on their leadership and management skills, develop connections with a variety of public and private sector partners to potentially convert their research into marketable products or guarantee its impact on a broader scale. By improving their communication and outreach skills, fellows will also learn to effectively present their research to various audiences, thus attracting new collaborators and potential funders to ensure the sustainability of the research project.

By supporting an increasing number of Early Career fellows, OWSD is creating a network of outstanding women scientists who can provide mentorship and be role models for the next generation of women leaders in STEM.

* as defined by the TWAS-OWSD Coordinating Committee.

FELLOWSHIP SUPPORT

The OWSD Early Career Fellowship programme is for two years and provides up to USD 50,000.

Please note that the OWSD Early Career Fellowship programme does not provide for the fellow’s salary which must be guaranteed by the fellow’s institution.

The fellow’s institution must waive any overhead or indirect costs on the research project. However, applicants can include in their budget break-down any direct costs for support from the institution that will directly benefit the research project (for example, lab technician’s time, maintenance and utilities costs, administrative officer’s time, etc.).

The OWSD Early Career Fellowship programme entails an initials:

• An inital advance payment of 33% percent of the total grant value
• Reimbursements of expenses made with funds advanced by the Administering Institute
• Support for direct procurement done by the OWSD Secretariat on fellows’ behalf (only for purchases above USD 4,500)

Overhead and indirect administrative costs are not eligible. If these costs are included, the application will be disqualified.

A non-exhaustive list of eligible expenses is presented below to help with the development of your application.

a) Research-related costs

Equipment

• Necessary equipment to build up research units or set up a lab
• Training in use of equipment
• Maintenance of equipment

Consumables

• Expendable supplies that will be consumed or replaced (e.g. glassware, solvents, feed, reagents)

Research visits, exchanges and programmes

• Attendance at international scientific meetings (e.g. travel, accommodation, meals, registration, visa)
• Hosting visiting scholars and/or establishing a visiting scholars programme
• Organizing and hosting scientific events (e.g. seminar series, international symposium, themed workshops, regional and international conferences)
• Organizing exchange programmes with national/international scholars

Teaching and Assistance

• MSc, PhD, Post doctoral researchers
• Research assistants (e.g. to gather information and data)
• Teaching assistants
• Family care assistance (e.g. childcare costs in order for fellow to undertake research project, travel support for family members)
• Other assistant (based on applicant’s needs, e.g. casual labour)

Field work

• Transportation (e.g. car rental, public transport, airfare)
• Board and lodging
• Sample collection and analysis
• Hospitality fees (e.g. dinner with research partners in the field)

Publication costs  (e.g. in peer-reviewed journals, open source)

Information resources

• Subscriptions (e.g. journal, library)
• Literature (e.g. books, reprints, photocopies)
• Library resources

IT facilities

• Computer hardware
• Computer software
• Computer services (internet connections, technical support, database development)

Training

• Science communication (e.g. writing for publication, presentation skills)
• English language courses (for improved science communication)
• Specialist courses for team leader and project staff or group training sessions (e.g. long-distance learning)

Other

• Monitoring and evaluation costs (to measure the impact of the research project)
• Rent paid for land or premises used in a research activity
• Any other support costs directly related to the research project (e.g. lab technician’s time, maintenance and utilities costs, administrative officer’s time, etc.)

b) Linking with industry and other partners

• Visits to companies, private sector (e.g. travel, board and lodging costs)
• Product development (e.g. patent, prototype, Intellectual Property costs)
• Technology transfer
• Licensing costs
• Research-to-product related expenses
• Training (e.g. understanding/developing IP and patents, research-to-product training, communicating with industry, business, management and marketing skills)
• Scaling up of teaching programmes and/or ‘training the trainers’  (e.g. offering specialist courses at PhD level to ensure level of training in given discipline is adequate)

 A downloadable list of appropriate industry, private or civic partners for collaboration is available here.

c) Outreach, communication and networking

• Website development
• Communications materials (e.g. flyers, posters)
• Dissemination  (e.g. development of stakeholders contact database for information sharing)
• Networking (e.g. development of online community/forum, linking with OWSD members and National Chapters, science academies)
• Mentoring (e.g. establishing a mentoring programme with partners in industry)
• Translation of project-related documents
• Training (e.g. social media, language courses necessary for communicating research)
• Other costs needed to undertake outreach activities

A downloadable list of the above eligible expenses is available here.

Please note that this list is not exhaustive. In addition, selection for a fellowship does not imply that all costs requested will be automatically granted. The Selection Committee will evaluate each expense requested in the proposed budget and take a final decision on related costs to be awarded.

Additional support provided by OWSD:

Two training workshops per fellowship on managing the grant, leadership, outreach and entrepreneurial skills.

• The first workshop (held in Trieste, Italy, soon after being awarded the fellowship) will establish communication and networking between fellows and provide guidance on how to set up a lab, manage a research group and link with industry. Fellows will present their research projects and work plans and receive feedback.
• The second workshop (held towards the end of the second year of the fellowship) will provide feedback on the fellows’ work and discuss the best ways to ensure the research project is sustainable beyond the duration of the fellowship. This workshop will be hosted by one of the four OWSD regions, possibly by an appropriate OWSD national chapter or national academy.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible to apply for the OWSD Early Career Fellowship programme applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. Eligible countries

• Applicants must have been resident in one of the listed Science and Technology Lagging Countries (STLCs) for at least 5 years. The 5 years do not have to be consecutive.
• Applicants can be citizens of any country, provided that the above residence requirement is fulfilled.

2. Eligible employment

• At the time of application, applicants must provide proof of being employed at the university or research institute where the research project will be carried out. If employment has not yet commenced, a proof of employment offer and confirmation of acceptance is required.
• The institution where the research project will be carried out must be in one of the listed STLCs.
• Applicants must provide evidence that they will receive a salary from their university/research institute for the duration of the two-year fellowship.

3. Eligible STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

• Agricultural Sciences
• Astronomy, Space and Earth Sciences
• Biological Systems and Organisms
• Chemical Sciences
• Computing and Information Technology
• Engineering Sciences
• Mathematical Sciences
• Medical and Health Sciences
• Neurosciences
• Physics
• Structural, Cell and Molecular Biology

Research project proposals from other fields (social science, education, etc.) are not eligible and will not be taken into consideration.

4. Eligible academic qualification

• PhD in one of the above listed study fields.
• PhD awarded not more than 10 years prior to application.

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