The Early Career fellowship for women scientists is a prestigious award of up to USD 50,000 offered to women who have completed their PhDs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and are employed at an academic or scientific research institute in one of the eligible Science and Technology Lagging Countries (STLCs) [2]. Early Career fellows will be supported to continue their research at an international level while based at their home institutes, to build up research groups that will attract international visitors, and to initiate collaborations and partnerships with industry and the private sector.

The Early Career fellowship is for two years. It provides funding for a wide range of expenses, including equipment, consumables, research visits, exchanges and programmes, teaching and assistance, information resources, product development and linking with industry, outreach, communications and networking, and other expenses. The fellowship does not provide for the fellow’s salary which must be guaranteed by the fellow’s institute. However, the Early Career fellowship can be used to cover the costs of assistance to the fellow for teaching duties not directly related to the fellow’s research in order for the fellow to focus on carrying her own research forward to an international standard.

In addition to the research grant, fellows will also attend two expenses-paid training workshops on leadership and entrepreneurial skills.

All information regarding eligibility, selection, and how to prepare a successful application is available on the OWSD website [3]. 

Please note that an applicant, at the time of application, must NOT have an active research grant or fellowship with The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) [4] or have already submitted an application for a TWAS programme within the same given year. Only one application per year is possible across all TWAS and OWSD programmes. Applicants will not be eligible to visit another institution in that year under the TWAS Visiting Professor programmes. An exception is made for the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation awards (since applications are submitted by a nominator). In addition, the head of an institution who invites an external scholar to share his/her expertise under the TWAS Visiting Professor programmes may still apply for another programme.