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Applicants' Portal

It is a very well thought and well designed fellowship program for
women in science. This is definitely going to impact our
research career.
Dr Anique Godjo
Research Assistant; Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Parakou, Benin.

                          Who are eligible candidates?

Researcher in the lab

 

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.
Researcher in the lab
odfp

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).

All these documents are compulsory for a valid application. Submissions shall be reviewed upon receipt of the documents via e-mail to ipbo@vib-ugent.be.

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.

footnotes

[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, and 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 conducted while completing your undergraduate, master’s or doctoral degree or other relevant work experience. Updates to your publication record will not be accepted after the application has been submitted.

[2] This includes not only actions to support the fellow to keep her research going on in Africa while the fellow is in Belgium, but the letter should also inform about the commitment of the supervisor to a) participate in online seminars related to gender-sensitive and gender-equitable practices in the workplace; b) support the fellow to organize activities meant to increase the visibility of her research;  and/or c) avail time for training activities of the ODPF.

 

 Modalities of the ODFP for the short research stay in Belgium

modalities

There are two modalities (A & B) in which applicants in Africa and the research institutions in Belgium can generate a research project to channel a research collaboration throughout the Open Doors Fellowship Program.

 

 

If your research activity and profile match the requirements of a receiving institute listed on the IPBO website, you can apply to the Open Doors Fellowship Program with modality A. 

Step 1 - Find a matching Flemish lab by consulting the list you can find under the Open Slots menu. 

Step 2 - Fill in the online application form. At this stage, the ODFP applicants should demonstrate how the research stay in the Belgian lab will impact their line of research in Africa, clearly define the objectives of the short research stay in Belgium, and highlight synergies that will arise from this collaboration. A tentative work plan for the proposed research will be required. 

Step 3.- The first round of selection will take place by the end of January. Candidates who fulfill the criteria and demonstrate the alignment and complementarity of the intended work will be invited for an online interview, regardless of the chosen modality (A or B).

Step 4.- Online interviews will take place in February. The selection panel will comprise the VIB-IPBO coordinators, the ODFP advisory board, and the representatives of the receiving laboratories in Belgium (one member).

Step 5.- Final selection of the awardees will occur by the 1st week of March. The VIB-IPBO will lead the process of travel arrangements and visas.

Step 6.- The ODFP awardees will join their receiving institutions in Belgium from the 1st of May for 8 weeks (minimum) up to 12 weeks (maximum) under the ODFP sponsorship.

 

Modality B allows you to create your application with a Belgian research institute of your choice. 

To apply for the Open Door Fellowship Program, 

Step 1.- The receiving laboratory in Belgium shall:

  • Present the group's research line(s) and activities, including a list of commonly used technologies (i.e. bioinformatics, genetic engineering, chromatography, sequencing, metabolomics, metagenomics).
  • Summarise (max. 400 words) the research project(s) that an ODFP fellow could contribute with her/their research.

Step 2.- Apply for the Open Door Fellowship Program before the deadline by illustrating how the stay in the Belgian laboratory will impact your line of research in Africa, clearly defining the objectives of the short research stay in Belgium, and highlighting synergies that will arise from the collaboration. A tentative work plan for the proposed research will be required.

Step 3.- The first round of selection will take place by the end of January. Candidates that fulfill the criteria and demonstrate the alignment and complementarity of the intended work will be invited for an online interview, regardless of the chosen modality (A or B).

Step 4.- Online interviews will take place in February. Both the fellow applicant and the Belgian laboratory host will be invited. The selection panel will comprise the VIB-IPBO coordinators, the ODFP advisory board, and the representatives of the receiving laboratories in Belgium (one member).

Step 5.- Final selection of the awardees will occur by the 1st week of March. The VIB-IPBO will lead the process of travel arrangements and visas.

Step 6.- The ODFP awardees will join their receiving institutions in Belgium from the 1st of May for 8 weeks (minimum) up to 12 weeks (maximum) under the ODFP sponsorship.