TWAS-FAPESP Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme for Least Developed Countries (LDC)

Timeline of Call:

• Call Opening Date: 30 November 2023
• Deadline for submission of preliminary proposals: 29 March 2024. The list of selected supervisors is available for download below.
• Announcement of the list of potential supervisors: 12 April 2024
• Deadline for submission of full proposals: 30 May 2024
• Publication of proposals selected by FAPESP and approved by UNESCO-TWAS: August 2024
• Start of approved projects: From 1st September 2024

(Deadlines are intended on midnight BRT — Brasília Time). 

Programme Details

• The Research Support Foundation of the State of São Paulo (FAPESP) and TWAS offer postdoctoral fellowships to be awarded to researchers from Least Developed Countries (LDC), in all areas of natural, applied and social sciences.
• The fellowships will be developed in host institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, lasting from twelve (12) to twenty-four (24) months.
• All FAPESP requirements for the award of these Postdoctoral Fellowships that are available at https://fapesp.br/bolsas/pd (for English see on the right of the web page or https://fapesp.br/en/postdoc) must be considered, together with the terms of this Call for Proposals that can be downloaded below (in English) or available at https://fapesp.br/16501/call-for-proposals-of-unesco-twasfapesp-postdoctoral-fellowships-for-least-developed-countries-ldc
• NB. The Call for Proposals document contains full information, including the Financial Support provided by the Fellowship, the Evaluation process, Scientific Reports and Accountability.
• Applicants must contact potential advisors at universities in São Paulo State, Brazil to obtain a CONDITIONAL acceptance letter (see template that can be downloaded below).
• Main Universities in the State of São Paulo are listed below with the relevant contact details:

1. Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC) https://www.ufabc.edu.br/ (Dalmo Mandelli  rel.internacionais@ufabc.edu.br)
2. Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR) https://www.ufscar.br/ (Marcio Weber Paixão - mwpaixao@ufscar.br, General Secretary for International relations - srinter@ufscar.br, Pedro Sérgio Fadini, Research pro-rector proreitorpq@ufscar.br, psfadini@ufscar.br​)
3. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) https://www2.unesp.br/ (Maria Del Pilar Taboada Sotomayor - m.sotomayor@unesp.br, Marcelli Yamamoto   marceli.yamamoto@unesp.br, Pro-reitoria de Pesquisa - prope@unesp.br, Patrícia da Silva Souza ps.souza@unesp.br)
4. Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) https://www.unicamp.br/unicamp/ (Marcelo Brocchi  prp@unicamp.br and Elias Basile Tambourgi ebt@unicamp.br)
5. Universidade de São Paulo (USP) https://www5.usp.br/ (Ana Paula Magalhães - apmagalh@usp.br and Cíntia Lacerda - cintia.lacerda@usp.br)
6. Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp) https://www.unifesp.br/ (Karen Spadari  - karen.spadari@unifesp.br and Suzan Pantaroto de Vasconcellos - suzan.pantaroto@unifesp.br).

Eligibility

A) Eligibility of supervisors

Invited to participate in this Call as postdoctoral fellowship supervisors are:

1. Principal Investigators (Pesquisadores Responsáveis - PR) for current research projects at FAPESP in the following modalities: Regular (except mobility projects), Thematic Project, Young Investigator, Research, Innovation and Diffusion Centers (CEPID), Engineering Research Centers/Applied Research Centers (CPEs/CPAs), Science for Development (CCD), Public Education Programme and Public Policy Research Programme.
2. Co-Principal Investigators (Pesquisadores Principais – PP) of Thematic Projects, CEPIDs, CPEs and CPAs are also eligible to submit proposals.
3. The ongoing Research Grant from FAPESP must be indicated at the time of the submission of the expression of interest (item 4.1) as a 'linked process' and must be valid until at least September 30, 2024.

The supervisor candidates must also meet the requirements for 'Supervisors’ stipulated in the Postdoctoral Fellowship modality, as described in section 6.2 at www.fapesp.br/bolsas/pd

A submission of more than one proposal in this Call by the same supervisor is prohibited.

B) Eligibility of postdoctoral candidates

Candidates for this postdoctoral fellowship must meet FAPESP requirements (www.fapesp.br/en/postdoc) and meet the following eligibility criteria:

1. Be a permanent resident and native of a Least Developed Country (LDC), listed at http://twas.org/least-developed-countries-ldcs
2. Do not have a temporary or permanent residence visa in Brazil or any developed country;
3. Candidates already in Brazil are not eligible to apply;
4. Hold a doctorate or equivalent degree in an area of natural, applied or social sciences;
5. Apply for the fellowship within seven (07) years from obtaining the doctorate degree;
6. Have official acceptance by a supervisor of a host institution in the State of São Paulo, Brazil;
7. To have oral and written proficiency in the English language, to a level sufficient for the execution of activities outlined in the research project, proven by a formal statement from the Scholarship supervisor.

Submitting your application

Applications must be submitted online to FAPESP according to the following procedure:

1. Expression of Interest Form (available at: https://fapesp.br/16504 )

Candidates for Postdoctoral Scholarship Supervisors should fill out this form to express their interest in hosting the foreign scholarship recipient at their institution.

In this form, it will be necessary to provide the following information:

1. Researcher's name;
2. Ongoing FAPESP Grant number;
3. Grant duration;
4. English abstract of the research project to be developed by the scholarship recipient, specifying their contribution to the ongoing Research Grant from FAPESP

It is not necessary to submit the candidate’s name or any budget in the express of interest.

Supervisor candidates deemed eligible to host the scholarship recipients will be listed, providing their contact information along with the summary submitted in the Expression of Interest form.

The list of Supervisor candidates will be made available at the end of the call's page on April 12, 2024, and will also be disseminated by UNESCO to Research and Higher Education Institutions in developing countries. This is to enable potential Postdoctoral scholarship candidates to find and contact them.

The final deadline for submitting expressions of interest is March 29, 2024.

The definitive list with the names and information of potential supervisors is available for download below.

2. Submission of proposal

After alignment between the supervisor and the scholarship recipient, a proposal under the 'Bolsa no País – Pós-Doutorado' modality should be submitted to FAPESP by the scholarship supervisor, following this specific path in SAGe: Nova Proposta Inicial > + Outras Linhas de Fomento > + Acordos de Cooperação > + UNESCO/TWAS – The World Academy of Science > Bolsas > No País > Pós-Doutorado > + Chamada de Propostas (2023).

The name of the scholarship recipient should be indicated in the 'Beneficiary' field. For this, the scholarship recipient must have previously registered in SAGe - either through their ORCID number or by completing the full registration in 'Not registered?'. All fields marked with (*) must be filled in for the registration to be considered valid.

The following documents are mandatory at this stage:

1. Summary of the Linked Research Grant Project (in English);
2. The Research Project. The research project to be developed by the fellowship candidate must be closely linked to research project of the Grant financed by FAPESP, to which the proposal of this Call will be linked, and must be presented in maximum 4 pages (in English); for full details see HERE.
3. Summary of CV of supervisor (in English); for full details see HERE.
4. Complete PhD academic record, issued as an official document (with stamp and signature or authenticity code). The transcripts must contain: the names of the disciplines in full; possible failures or cancellations of the candidate's registration; the approval criteria (minimum grade) or, alternatively, a statement from the University informing what the criteria are (in English);
5. If the supervisor is not the PI of the linked ongoing Grant, a statement signed by the researcher responsible for the Grant must be presented, agreeing to linking the two proposals (in Portuguese);
6. Statement by the Director of the Host Institution’s Headquarters, according to the model available for download in SAGe (in Portuguese);
7. Information approved by the Host Institution about the institutional infrastructure, according to the model in Annex II available for download in SAGe (in Portuguese);
8. Document describing the Data Management Plan, in maximum 2 pages, prepared according to the guidelines available at www.fapesp.br/gestaodedados (in English);
1. Statement of proficiency in a foreign language. Formal declaration from the responsible person attesting to the beneficiary's proficiency in the required foreign language for the overseas internship (in English).

The following are mandatory documents for contracting (only for approved proposals):

1. Certificate of completion of the beneficiary's Ph.D. degree;
    
2. Proof of leave or resignation for candidates with employment contracts during their stay in São Paulo (in English);

2.1 At FAPESP's discretion, situations may be considered in which the candidate has an employment contract and a leave of absence from the institution of origin -  with or without pay – and which allows exclusive dedication to the research project, as specified in item 6.1 in https://fapesp.br/bolsas/pd;

2.2 In cases where the candidate does not have any employment relationship, a signed statement containing this information must be submitted.

    3. Development plan of the Postdoctoral programme, according to the model available for download in SAGe (in English).

For any inquiries on the online submission procedure, applicants and supervisors must contact FAPESP at chamada-twas@fapesp.br.

NB. The Call for Proposals document (that can be downloaded below and is accessible at https://fapesp.br/16501/call-for-proposals-of-unesco-twasfapesp-postdoctoral-fellowships-for-least-developed-countries-ldc) contains other information including the Financial Support provided under the Fellowship, the Evaluation process, Scientific Reports and Accountability.

Contact Details

• TWAS Fellowships Office
ICTP Campus, Strada Costiera 11
34151 Trieste, Italy
Phone: +39 040 2240-687
E-mail: fellowships@twas.org

• The Research Support Foundation of the State of São Paulo (FAPESP)
E-mail: chamada-twas@fapesp.br