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.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants have to be women researchers fulfilling all the following criteria:
- Applicants are post-doc female scholars (minimum one year after defending their PhD) or in mid-career positions who experience challenges to progress in their career path due to limited access to training, infrastructure and international networks. There are no age limits.
- Scholarship candidates should be national and resident in one of the VLIR- UOS scholarship countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania or Uganda); or employee of a target organization in one of these countries (candidates exceptionally can have a different nationality). Candidates from Nigeria will also be supported despite not being VLIR-UOS scholarship countries through our program.
- Applicants' research fields must be plant breeding, agrobiotechnology, molecular biology and genetics, microbiology, chemical ecology, plant & soil health, livestock or aquaculture.
- Applicants must have an active employment contract in a High Education institution or an (inter)national research centre in any of the countries listed above for the duration of the fellowship (20 months), where they conduct research and teach.
- Applicants are supervising MSc or PhD students and supporting staff.
Offered Benefits
Through the Open Doors, women will enhance their leadership and communication skills and expand their network of colleagues and mentors in Africa and Belgium. Therefore, the Open Doors is a fellowship program where women will improve their competencies and benefit from the training opportunities to increase their chances of leading and participating in new projects, accessing better research resources, and increasing their publication success.
Application Process
All these documents are compulsory for a valid application. Submissions shall be reviewed upon receipt of the documents via e-mail to .
Incomplete applications will be notified via e-mail to the applicants, who will have ten days to provide the missing documents. After this period, incomplete applications will be rejected.
Required Documents:
Documents to fulfil the application process
- A duly filled application ( Template for Modality A or B).
- A motivation letter from the candidate.
- A maximum 3-page CV. Please note that a CV with more than three pages will not be reviewed.
- Soft copies of the academic transcripts of the PhD and the diploma.
- A list of publications, including papers, book chapters, technical reviews in indexed journals and patents. Only articles in the Web of Science: Master Journal List will be considered valid publications [1].
- A signed letter from the applicant's direct supervisor to indicate how she/he intends to support the fellow in completing her training program [2]
- An official signed letter from the Human Resources Office of the applicant's institution to prove that the applicant has a valid contract in SSA for the duration of the fellowship. The letter also should inform on what support the fellow will receive during the training period. An HR focal point should commit to participating in the four webinars related to gender-equitable practices in the workplace during the 20 months of the fellowship.
- A signed letter from the research centre in Belgium supporting the applicant's short research stay (only for Modality B applications).
