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PAIRED EARLY CAREER FELLOWSHIP IN APPLIED RESEARCH (PECFAR) GUIDELINES

  • ABOUT IGSTC
  • Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC), established asa joint initiative of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Government of Germany to facilitate and promote Indo-German collaboration in Science and Technology (S&T) through substantive interactions between researchers of both India & Germany.

  • AIM OF THE FELLOWSHIP
  • The Fellowship intends to:

    • Support Early Career Researchers to network and explore possibilities togrow in applied research.
    • Enhance the research capabilities and opportunitiesin the partner country on various aspects of S&T, entrepreneurship, collaborative research, innovation & lab utilization.
    • Create impetus to expand bilateral collaboration & research among young researchers.
    • Build well-knitted long-term cooperation with complementary partnerships through networking & interaction.
  • FELLOWSHIP DETAILS
    • This fellowship is designed to facilitatea pair of Early Career Researchers to have a short visit to India/Germany for networking and exploring avenues for collaboration and innovation in applied research.
    • The pair will be formed by an Indian and a German Early Career Researchers who shall submit a joint proposal.
    • The duration of the fellowship will be up to 2 months.
    • A one-time grant will be provided to cover the travel, accommodationand daily expenses.
    • The paired fellows can jointly plan the fellowship visits to the partner country (India/Germany).
    • The fellows may also utilise this award to connect and travel to other institutions in India/Germany and enhance their networking.
  • HOW TO FORM A PAIR?
    • Applicants shall form a pair consisting of one Indian & German Early Career Researchers holding regular positions in academia/research institution/industry or holding a long-term nationally recognized fellowships (4 years and above).
    • Applicants are solely responsible for identifying & forming their respective pairs and acquiring acceptance letters from institutes/organizations of the paired fellows.
    • PhD students/Post-Docs affiliated with research institutions/industries are also encouraged to form a Pair.
  • FINANCIAL SUPPORT
  • The Financial support shall be provided as one time grant and it will be limited to:

    • Fellowship: € 2300 per month/fellowon pro rata basis.
    • Single round trip economy class airfare including visa fees and medical/travel insurances approximately ₹ 1 lakh (for Indian fellow) and € 1500 (for German fellow).
  • HOW TO APPLY?
  • INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF THE APPLICATION
    • Please check your eligibility before applying for the fellowship.
    • Application must be submitted online via “Application Portal
    • To start the online application, you must register on the portal first using your email address.
    • Please enter a correct working email address when you register in the portal, as it will send a link for verification.
    • Registration can be done by any one of the members of the Pair. Please note that should be initiated by only one member of the Pair. In case it is done by both the members the portal may block the email ID of the one who registers later.
    • Once the registration is completed, he/she can add his/her partner from India/Germany. The one who registers in the portal first (from the Pair) will be known as the Primary applicant. The Partner will receive a link for registration and filling up the information.
    • In case you do not receive an email for verification, please check your ‘SPAM’ or ‘JUNK’ folder. If you still fail to find the email, please reach us at pecfar@igstc.org.
    • Both fellows (from India & Germany) must individually complete their application and save it as a draft version. The final submission of the application will be done by the Primary applicant only.
    • It is the responsibility of the Primary applicant to make sure that the application is completed by his/her partner before final submission.
    • Applicants must strictly follow the instructions given for application submission. Failure to do so may result in the rejection of the application.
  • DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR APPLICATION SUBMISSION
    • No Objection Certificate from the Parent institution.
    • Invitation Letters certified from the Host Institutions
    • Proof of Date of Birth (Scan copy of Passport/ Aadhar Card).
    • Proof of Education Qualifications arranged in reverse chronological order.
    • Proof of Current Employment/Fellowship Award Letter.
  • SELECTION PROCEDURE /EVALUATION
  • A joint selection committee of experts shall review the applications based on credentials of the pairs, feasibility, scope and quality of the joint proposal plan for the fellowship duration and expected outcomes (including future plans emerging out of the visit, value addition to the parent organization of the fellows). The decision of the committee shall be considered final and binding.

  • CONDITIONS & REQUIREMENTS
    • The applications should be submitted via “online application portal”. Submissions by any other means will not be accepted.
    • The applicant with institutional affiliation shall submit a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Head of the Institution at the time of the application.
    • Applicants must define a detailed activity plan mentioning their objective, workplan and expected outcomes for the duration of the fellowship.
    • IGSTC grant is only for covering monthly fellowship, round trip-fare, visa, travel/medical insurance.
    • The Pair must complete his/her visits within 12 months from the initiation of the PECFAR Award. The time gap between the visit of the two Awardees should be less than 6 months.
    • Extension in the duration of the Fellowship shall not be entertained.
    • Any change in the proposed date of travel should be intimated to IGSTC 45 days before the visit is planned.
    • The fellows will abide by the conduct, rules, and regulations of the Paired organization & the country. IGSTC will not be responsible for violation of any Rules & Regulations by him/her.
    • Each of the Awardees of the Pair must submit UC/SE along with the Fellowship visit report in the prescribed format at the end of their visits.
    • Within 4 weeks of completion of the Fellowship, the Awardees must submit a detailed consolidated Fellowship completion report endorsed by the host institutions in the prescribed format along with representative photos to IGSTC. The travel support for both the Awardees will be reimbursed after the Awardees complete both their visits.
    • The fellows must recognize and acknowledge the IGSTC fellowship in all online/print documents, communications, reports, publications, etc. on work resulting from the fellowship.
  • CONTACTS
  • For queries
    Phone: + 91- 011 -2654 3500
    E-mail: pecfar@igstc.org