TWAS-ICCBS 2024 Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Developing Countries

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants for these fellowships must meet the following criteria:

• Be a maximum age of 45 years on 31 December of the application year.
• Be nationals of a developing country (other than Pakistan);
• Hold a PhD degree in a field of natural sciences;
• Must not hold any visa for temporary or permanent residency in Pakistan or any developed country;
• Be regularly employed in a developing country (other than Pakistan) and hold a research assignment there;
• Provide a certificate of good health from a qualified medical doctor;
• Provide an official Preliminary Acceptance Letter from ICCBS (see sample letter that can be downloaded below or contained in the online application form). Requests for acceptance must be directed to the Director of ICCBS, Prof. Dr. Farzana Shaheen  (  or   or   or  ) who will facilitate the assignment of a host supervisor. In contacting Prof. Farzana Shaheen, applicants must accompany their request for a preliminary acceptance letter with copy of their CV, a research proposal outline and two recommendation letters.
• Provide evidence of proficiency in English, if medium of education was not English.

• Candidates are encouraged to refer to the following resources to test their level of English:

  https://www.daad.de/en/study-and-research-in-germany/scholarships/important-information-for-scholarship-applicants/ (see Point 9)

  https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-levels/online-english-level-test 

  https://www.britishcouncil.org/english/learn-online/englishscore

• Provide evidence of proficiency in English, if medium of education was not English;

• Provide evidence that s/he will return to her/his home country on completion of the fellowship;

• Not take up other assignments during the period of her/his fellowship;

• Be financially responsible for any accompanying family members.

Offered Benefits

ICCBS will provide a monthly stipend which should be used to cover living costs such as food, accommodation, local transportation and incidental minor illness. The monthly stipend will not be convertible into foreign currency.

Application Process

• The deadline for receipt of applications is extended to 15 August 2024 (midnight CEST time).
• Applicants must submit an Acceptance Letter from ICCBS when applying, or by the deadline at the latest. Without preliminary acceptance the application will not be considered for selection
• Reference letters must be on letter-headed paper and SIGNED. The subject line must contain ICCBS/PDoc and the candidate’s surname. N.B. Only signed reference letters can be accepted.
• Please be advised that applicants may apply for only one programme per calendar year in the TWAS and OWSD portfolio. Applicants will not be eligible to visit another institution in that year under the TWAS  Visiting Professor programmes. One exception: The head of an institution who invites an external scholar to share his/her expertise under the TWAS  Visiting Professor programmes may still apply for another programme.
• Applications can only be accepted via the online portal using the apply now button at the bottom of this page. A tutorial on how to use the online application form is available below for download.

Required Documents:

•  Acceptance Letter from ICCBS 
• Reference letters must be on letter-headed paper and SIGNED.
• Downloadable documents

Online Forms Tutorial

Sample acceptance letter