The Wellcome Trust/ DBT India Alliance invite applications for Margdarshi fellowships from visionary biomedical scientists to lead and nucleate a cutting edge research program in India in collaboration with a host institution. The Fellowship is awarded for five years. Candidates of all nationalities and origins are eligible to apply (not be Indian nationals or of Indian origin). There is no age limit to apply for this Fellowship. Applicants would normally be expected to be running an independent laboratory for 10 years or more and have a strong scientific record. The application deadline is 14 May 2015.
Study Subject(s): The Margdarshi Fellowship is an opportunity for visionary biomedical scientists to lead and nucleate a cutting edge research program in India in collaboration with a host institution.
Course Level: Fellowships are available for pursuing research program at not-for-profit research institute or university in India.
Scholarship Provider: The Wellcome Trust/ DBT India Alliance (an initiative funded equally by The Wellcome Trust, UK and Department of Biotechnology, India)
Scholarship can be taken at: India
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Eligibility:
-Candidates of all nationalities and origins are eligible to apply if they are pursuing or intend to pursue research at an institution in India.
-Candidates need not be Indian nationals or of Indian origin but must already be pursuing or intending to pursue an academic research career in India.
-There is no age limit to apply for this Fellowship. Applicants would normally be expected to be running an independent laboratory for 10 years or more, and have a strong scientific record.
-The following attributes would be expected of eligible candidates: demonstrated leadership skills, made significant contributions in research, mentored young scientists and students, attracted extra mural funds from peer-reviewed competitive sources, established collaborations, successfully initiated programmes of advanced scientific research and maintained high ethical standards.
-To be eligible, an Applicant must be sponsored by a Host Institution located in India. This scheme provides the flexibility of choosing two Host Institutions.
Scholarship Open for International Students: Candidates of all nationalities and origins are eligible to apply (Candidates need not be Indian nationals or of Indian origin but must already be pursuing or intending to pursue an academic research career in India).
Scholarship Description: An opportunity for visionary biomedical scientists to lead and nucleate a cutting edge research programme in India. This scheme is for scientific leaders who already lead their own research laboratory/group and wish to relocate from their current institution (in India or overseas) to a not-for-profit research institute or university in India. The underlying philosophy in launching this fellowship is to replicate global standards of scientific excellence, and minimize disparities in scientific and administrative capacity, among research institutes and universities across India.
Number of award(s): The Margdarshi Fellowship Committee will decide the number of Fellowships to be awarded in a given year and the final budget for each programme based on the quality of the cohort and individual applications.
Duration of award(s): The Fellowship is awarded for five years.
What does it cover? The Fellowship provides:
-Generous personal support for the Fellow
-Salary support for personnel, which may include Assistant Professors
-Equipment, animals and consumables
-Funds to attend scientific gatherings, for collaborative visits and to organize meetings.
-Overheads for the Host Institution
For 2015-16, INR 22 Crore (~ USD 3.5 million; GBP 2.3 million) has been allocated for the Margdarshi programme. This includes the costs requested by the applicant and the host institution, as well as the India Alliance’s contributions on the Fellow’s personal support and institutional overhead charges. Costs requested by the applicant should be commensurate with their proposed program and should be fully justified in the application. Inadequate justifications may result in costs being revised. Detailed budgets are not required at the time of application. However, if short-listed, the India Alliance will seek a detailed justified budget from the applicant prepared in consultation with the host institution.
Selection Criteria: The joint application will be reviewed by the Margdarshi Selection Committee of India Alliance to assess the eligibility, remit and competitiveness. The review process primarily evaluates applicant’s track record in the proposed area, resources available at the Host Institution, concept of the proposed programme, its potential to create new directions of research at the Host Institution, the extent to which it is a new development, involvement of Sponsor/Host Institution and their commitment to assess the feasibility of the programme.
Notification: Interviews will be held in November 2015.
How to Apply: To apply, the Applicant and the Sponsor(s) should submit a Joint application. This application includes:
-Applicant Form: The Applicant is responsible for creating an application using the online form available on IASys. The Lead Applicant will complete the application form and also invite Sponsor(s) on the application. This leads to creation of separate sponsorship forms.
-Sponsorship Form: The Lead Applicant and the Sponsor submit their respective forms individually. However, submission of Lead Applicant’s form is contingent upon successful submission of the sponsorship form by the Sponsor. It is therefore important for the Sponsorship Form to be submitted within the specified deadline to allow the Lead Applicant to complete the process of submission. If there is more than one institution participating in the programme, both the Primary and the Secondary sponsors will fill in their respective sponsorship forms, which will be made available to the Sponsor(s) by the Applicant through IASys. Please note that the Sponsor form has to be filled in by the Sponsor and not by the Applicant. A breach of confidentiality on this matter will disqualify the Applicant.
-Consent Form: The Sponsor should confirm his/her willingness by filling in the consent form. If there is more than one institution participating in the programme both the Sponsors should upload their individual consent forms on the system. A format is included in the application form.
Scholarship Application Deadline: The application deadline is 14 May 2015.
