Early Career Fellowship

The OWSD Early Career Fellowship is a prestigious award of up to USD 50,000 for women researchers in STEM in Science and Technology Lagging Countries (STLCs)

The Fellowship awards up to USD 50,000 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 listed Science and Technology Lagging Countries (STLCs). 

Fellows are supported to establish environments at their institutions where they can maintain an international standard of research and attract scholars from all over the world to collaborate.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

OWSD regrets there will be no call for Early Career Fellowship applications in 2025. This is due to global circumstances affecting our funding sources. We are doing our best to secure funding for fellowships in the future, and any relevant information will be shared on this page.

If you would like to be part of our future Early Career Fellowship success, either by hosting candidates or offering funding, see our support OWSD page.

The fellowship programme supports early career women scientists to lead important research projects in those countries which have been identified as especially lacking in scientific and technological resources.*

During the 2-year fellowship, fellows build on their leadership and management skills, develop connections with a variety of public and private sector partners to potentially convert their research into marketable products or guarantee its impact on a broader scale. By improving their communication and outreach skills, fellows will also learn to effectively present their research to various audiences, thus attracting new collaborators and potential funders to ensure the sustainability of the research project.

By supporting an increasing number of Early Career fellows, OWSD is creating a network of outstanding women scientists who can provide mentorship and be role models for the next generation of women leaders in STEM.

* As defined by the TWAS-OWSD Coordinating Committee.

The Early Career Fellowship programme has: 

  • Supported women scientists to establish environments at their institutions where they can maintain an international standard of research and attract scholars from all over the world to collaborate.
  • Improved access to resources and training opportunities in science and technology for talented women researchers from STLCs. 
  • Increased the scientific productivity and creativity of women scientists in STLCs. 
  • Empowered talented women to assume leadership roles in science and technology.
  • Encouraged women scientists to contribute to the sustainable development of their home countries.
  • Enabled women scientists from the South to collaborate and network on a regional and international level.

OWSD Early Career Fellowships support women scientists based in the Global South, to build up sustainable research capacity in their regions. It is intended that fellows will become leaders and role models, ultimately establishing research centres of excellence and inspiring a new generation of women scientists.

Attachments

    Black female scientist delivering training
    Black female scientist in a lab
    Woman scientist beside a lake
    Women in a discussion group
    Woman in a snowy landscape with an observation tower in the background
    Woman in a field in sunlight
    Woman scientist in a lab
      Black female scientist delivering training

      EC CHINA: training extract tannins from tree bark

      Black female scientist in a lab

      EC CHINA: setting up a freeze dryer for drying tannin extract

      Woman scientist beside a lake

      EC Fellow Maura Quezada Aguilar, Guatemala: identifying at-risk oak species

      Women in a discussion group

      EC fellows at the 2025 workshop in Trieste, Italy

      Woman in a snowy landscape with an observation tower in the background

      EC fellow, Priscilla Muheki, physicist from Uganda: pictured during a research stay at a snowy observatory station

      Woman in a field in sunlight

      EC Fellow Mbolatantely Fahazavana Rakotondramanana,Madagascar, works alongside farmers to develop biofortified rice

      Woman scientist in a lab

      EC Fellow, Tahmina Foyez, Bangladesh, in the lab

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