Deadline: January 31, 2024.

The Open Doors Fellowship Program for women researchers in Africa is a holistic program that targets 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 dropping out before their consolidation stage. 

The ODFP targets post-doctoral and mid-career women researchers conducting agricultural research in African (inter)national research centres. Their program aims to contribute to the consolidation of mid-career researchers and avoid them leaking from the scientific pipeline. Therefore, through its unique conceptualization and implementation, the program is tailored to their participants’ training needs to provide a fulfilling, nurturing and empowering learning experience.

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). This requirement is not applicable for the Slot Water and Oxidative Stress Resistance (Slot Identification Number: ODF_06).
• 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.

BENEFITS

The program supports their fellows’ scientific and public visibility because if research outputs are not visible, their fellows aren’t either. To this end, participants receive training on scientific communication and financial incentives to attend congresses and open-access publication fees.

APPLICATION

Documents to fulfil the application process 

• A duly filled application (form below).
• 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).

All these documents are compulsory for a valid application. Submissions shall be reviewed upon receipt of the documents via the form below.

Apply through the OFFICIAL LINK