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Opportunities in São Paulo institutions for researchers from less developed countries

Launched in partnership with UNESCO/TWAS, the call welcomes proposals for postdoctoral fellows who are not resident in Brazil to make significant scientific contributions to current FAPESP Grants.

FAPESP announces the launch of a call for proposals in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), through its program The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).

Through the call, up to 20 FAPESP postdoctoral fellowships are offered to researchers from less developed countries to carry out research on projects with current FAPESP Grants.

Scholarships will be awarded in all areas of natural, applied and social sciences to be implemented in institutions in the state of São Paulo. The duration of the scholarship may vary from 12 to 24 months.

Researchers who are born and live in one of the 46 least developed countries are eligible for this call, included in a list provided by the United Nations and available at http://twas.org/least-developed-countries-ldcs. Candidates who already reside in Brazil or who have a temporary or permanent residence visa in Brazil or in any developed country are not eligible for the postdoctoral fellowship.

"World-class research is carried out in the state of São Paulo and I am sure that researchers from LDCs [least developed countries] who spend time doing their work there will benefit enormously from its active scientific community and its interdisciplinary perspective," said Romain Murenzi, executive director of TWAS.

"TWAS will play a crucial role in creating and maintaining collaborations between researchers and research institutions in the state of São Paulo with partners in the developing world. In this way, our cooperation with these regions should grow and strengthen through this partnership," said Marco Antonio Zago, president of FAPESP.

Interest and Eligibility

The researchers responsible for current FAPESP grants have until March 29, 2024 to express interest in receiving the foreign scholarship holder at their institution, filling out the form in the call notice which must contain, in addition to information about the current Research Grant, a summary in English of the research project to be developed by the scholarship holder specifying his/her contribution to the grant. It is not necessary to submit the name of the scholarship recipient at this stage.

The next stage will pre-select candidates to supervise the postdoctoral fellowships. On April 12, a list of candidates considered eligible to receive the scholarship holders should be published by FAPESP and published by UNESCO in research and higher education institutions in developing countries, so that potential candidates for postdoctoral fellowships can find and contact them.

After alignment between supervisor and scholarship holder, a fellowship in the postdoctoral modality must be submitted by the Fellowship supervisor to FAPESP, via SAGe (https://fapesp.br/sage), by May 30, 2024, this time it is mandatory to indicate the name of the grantee – which requires him to register in advance with SAGe.

FAPESP will be responsible for selecting the proposals. The list of candidates will be submitted for approval by UNESCO/TWAS. The final decision will be made jointly by FAPESP and UNESCO/TWAS through a Steering Committee.

Principal Investigators for current research projects at FAPESP in the following modalities: Regular (except mobility projects), Thematic Project, Young Investigator, Research, Innovation and Diffusion Centers (RIDCs), Engineering Research Centers/Applied Research Centers (ERCs/ARCs), Science for Development (CCD), Public Education Programme and Public Policy Research Programme are invited to participate in this Call as postdoctoral fellowship supervisors. Co-Principal Investigators of Thematic Projects, RIDCs, ERCs and ARCs are also eligible to submit proposals.

Regarding the Scholarship Holders, the call requires that candidates have defended their doctorate for a maximum of seven years; proficiency (oral and written) in English that is sufficient for the exercise of the activities foreseen in the research project; and present official acceptance by a supervisor of a Host Institution in the state of São Paulo.

The call can be accessed at https://fapesp.br/16501.