The Open Doors Fellowship Program for women researchers in Africa is a holistic program that shall target women researchers in Africa to help them acquire the necessary hard and soft skills to strengthen their placements within their hosting institutions and, ultimately, avoid the dropout before their consolidation stage. Creating an awareness culture within their hosting institutions about recruiting women, supporting them along their tenure track, and adapting policies is also paramount to prevent women’s drop out from STEM research and ensure the next generation of mentors and role models for the younger generation of scientists.
Our program intends to address the needs of early and mid-career women scientists researching at (inter)national research centers and universities in agricultural-related fields in agro-biotechnology, plant breeding, molecular biology & genetics, microbiology, chemical ecology, plant & soil health. Fellows should be in the process of starting up or consolidating their research teams regardless of whether they hold a project-based research position.
Application Process
Required Documents:
- A duly filled application (Template for Modality A or B).
- A maximum 3-page CV. Please note that CV with more than 3 pages will not be reviewed.
- A list of publications, including papers, book chapters, technical reviews in indexed journals and patents. Only papers listed in the Web of Science: Master Journal List will be considered valid publications[1].
- A motivation letter from the candidate.
- A signed letter from the applicant’s direct supervisor to indicate how does she/he intend to support the fellow in completing her training program[2]
- A signed letter from the Human Resources Office of the applicant institution indicating the candidate’s contractual situation during the duration of the fellowship program (2 years) and how the centre will support the fellow during the stage in Belgium and after returning to her duty station to complete her training program.
- A signed letter from the research centre in Belgium supporting the applicant’s short research stay (only for Modality B applications).
[1] Publications submitted, accepted or in press: Indicate the date of submission or acceptance and the number of pages submitted. For Publications use the following format: Use the following format: Full authorship as it appears or as it will appear in the original publication (with your name in bold): Year, Title, Publication name and volume, First and last page numbers. Patents: Include the title and names of joint inventors. Posters: Indicate the presenting author with an asterisk (*). Example: Surname, X.X.*. Conferences: Indicate whether institutional, regional, provincial, national or international. Make a distinction between oral and poster presentations. In all cases, indicate whether the publication resulted from work done in the process of completing your undergraduate, master’s or doctoral degree or from other relevant work experience. Updates to your publication record will not be accepted after the application has been submitted.
[2] This includes, but not only, actions to support the fellow to keep her research going on in Africa while the fellow is in Belgium; the commitment of the supervisor to participate in online seminars related to gender-sensitive and gender-equitable practices in the workplace; support the fellow to organize activities meant to increase the visibility of her research; or avail time for training activities of the ODPF.
