COMSTECH Opens Fellowship Applications for Refugee Scientists

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Islamabad: The OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technical Cooperation (COMSTECH), invites applicants for the first cycle of the COMSTECH Science in Exile Fellowships Programme for Displaced and Refugee Scholars and Scientists to submit applications until December 15, 2023.

The fellowships programme aims to support displaced and refugee scientists to stay up-to-date in their field, maintain meaningful careers, and be in a position to help rebuild their countries once conditions allow. Until then, these professionals can be valuable assets for the countries in which they arrive.

The Fellowship Programme would provide scholarships to displaced and refugee scholars and scientists who have not yet found a safe and long-term host country an opportunity to pursue their studies or research a at institutions or universities of the COMSTECH Consortium of Excellence (CCoE).

A total of 10 research fellowships and 10 post-doctoral research fellowships are being offered for the year 2024 under the programme, which would be hosted by the COMSTECH Consortium of Excellence Member Universities and Research Institutions.

About the eligible nationality, the official of COMSTECH informed me that the displaced or refugees from Afghanistan, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen are eligible to apply for the programme.

The maximum age limit for a research fellowship is 35 years, and for a post-doctoral research fellowship, it is 45 years. The duration of the fellowship is six months.

About the terms of the scholarships, the official informed that the applicants should be displaced or refugee scholars and scientists who are currently living in any OIC Member State and hold the right to live and study in the respective country or be able to travel to Pakistan.

The programme is not suitable for scholars at risk who need specific assistance to leave their home country. The scholarship winners are responsible for arranging the logistics and safety of their own relocation.

Those who are travelling from outside Pakistan will be eligible for a one-time economy-class return air ticket for the entire duration of the fellowship.

The applicants who hold citizenship or permanent residency in Pakistan or have a safe stay in other countries are not eligible to apply.

The minimum degree requirements are an M.S. or MSc for a research fellowship and a PhD for a post-doctoral research fellowship in the relevant field of study, while 10 research fellowships and 10 post-doctoral research fellowships are being offered.

The areas of research are Agricultural Sciences, Structural, Cell, and Molecular Biology, Biological Systems and Organisms, Medical and Health Sciences, Inc., including Neuroscience, Chemical Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Astronomy, Space and Earth Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics, while the language of instruction is English.

The fellowships are offered for six months. The host institutions may provide free accommodation for research fellows and post-doc research fellows, upon their requests.

The applicants may apply for only one of the two types of fellowships offered under the COMSTECH Science in Exile Fellowships Programme.

The applicants must complete the application form and send it to events@comstech.org along with the required documents as mentioned at the web link: https://comstech.org/comstech-science-in-exile-fellowships-program/.