ICMR-DHR INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME FOR INDIAN BIOMEDICAL SCIENTISTS
One of the major mandates of ICMR and DHR is to augment capacity strengthening of Indian biomedical scientists. This international fellowship programme is intended to create a pool of talented health research personnel by facilitating advanced training and exposure to the latest advancements in knowledge through interaction with the international scientists in their respective field of work.
I. SHORT TERM INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS FOR SENIOR INDIAN BIOMEDICAL SCIENTISTS
The purpose of Short Term Fellowships (meant for senior scientists) should be more towards the establishment of international research collaborations and gain expertise for establishment of expertise/technologies not available in the parent Indian Institute.
Areas for fellowships
Emerging areas in clinical/medicine/health sciences
Duration of Fellowships
15 days to 3 months
Number of Fellowships
Twenty five (25) fellowships per year
Age limit
Below 57 years as on last date of receipt of application
Financial Support
A stipend of US$ 3000 per month which includes accommodation and other expenses. For duration of 15 days – upto 30 days stay, a maximum of US$ 3000 will be paid.
Advance stipend will be given as equivalent amount in Indian currency to Fellow and the balance of about 10% stipened will be granted on return after completion of fellowship and due adjustment on submission of utilization certificate/original receipts.
Return economy class excursion airfare (by Air India ) through shortest possible route.
Contingency grant of maximum of Rs. 50,000/- (which includes the cost of visa, taxi charges from place of duty to airport and back, overseas mediclaim insurance expenses reimbursable on submission of original receipts/bills on return). No other charges/expenditure is admissible.
Eligibility Criteria
The applicant should be a citizen of India and working in the country.
The applicant should possess an M.D/M.S/Ph.D degree (M.D./ M.S./ M.D.S. or MBBS/BDS/ MVSc./ M.Sc./M.Pharma/M.Tech or equivalent with Ph.D. in health / biomedical research) with at least fifteen years of experience (for availing the fellowship for 15 days) and atleast ten years of experience (for availing the fellowship for 1-3 months) in teaching/research in a recognized Institute after obtaining the requisite qualification.
The application should be forwarded by the Employer/Head of the Institution with a statement that the candidate will be considered as a full time employee of the Institution during the period of his/her fellowship.
The applicant should submit a letter of acceptance from the host Institute where he/she proposes to work during the fellowship.
The applicant should submit a plan of proposed training for availing the fellowship in the prescribed format.
The recognition letter from All India Council for Technical Eduction (AICTE) for candidates belonging to Private Colleges/Universities should be submitted.
The applicant should not have availed any similar fellowship of duration of one month or above from any of the agency of the GoI/State Govts in the last 3 years.
II. LONG TERM INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS FOR YOUNG INDIAN BIOMEDICAL SCIENTISTS
For the Long Term Fellowships (meant for young scientists) the aim should be to learn new techniques, understand research methodology, be engaged in some meaningful research and get exposure to international scientific environment. It is expected that the scientist on return will develop a research project based on the training abroad.
Areas for fellowships
Emerging areas in clinical/medicine/health sciences
Duration of Fellowships
6 to 12 months
Number of Fellowships
Forty (40) fellowships per year
Age limit
Below 45 years as on last date of receipt of application
Financial Support
A stipend of US$ 3000 per month which includes accommodation and other expenses.
Advance stipend will be given as equivalent amount in Indian currency to Fellow and the balance of about 10 % stipened will be granted on return after completion of fellowship and due adjustment on submission of utilization certificate/original receipts.
Return economy class excursion airfare (by Air India ) through shortest possible route.
Contingency grant of maximum of Rs. 50,000/- (which includes the cost of visa, taxi charges from place of duty to airport and back, overseas mediclaim insurance expenses reimbursable on submission of original receipts/bills on return). No other charges/expenditure is admissible.
Eligibility Criteria
The applicant should be a citizen of India and working in the country.
The applicant should possess an M.D/M.S/Ph.D degree (M.D./ M.S./ M.D.S. or MBBS/BDS/ MVSc./ M.Sc./M.Pharma/M.Tech or equivalent with Ph.D. in health / biomedical research) with at least three years teaching/research experience in a recognized Institute after obtaining the requisite qualification.
The application should be forwarded by the Employer/Head of the Institution with a statement that the candidate will be considered as a full time employee of the Institution during the period of his/her fellowship.
The applicant should submit a letter of acceptance from the host Institute where he/she proposes to work during the fellowship.
The applicant should submit a proposed plan of training for availing the fellowship in the prescribed format.
The recognition letter from All India Council for Technical Eduction (AICTE) for candidates belonging to Private Colleges/Universities should be submitted.
The applicant should not have availed any similar fellowship of duration of one month or above from any of the agency of the GoI/State Govts in the last 3 years.
Guidelines Governing the Fellowship
The individual scientist availing this Fellowship would be addressed as an ICMR-DHR International Fellow (ICMR-DHR IF).
The candidate should correspond with the International Institute/Laboratory to be visited for their placement. A letter of acceptance from the Institute to be visited overseas is required to be produced along with the application form. Once selected, the Fellow will not be allowed to change the mentor/foreign lab other than the one mentioned in the application
All necessary formalities with regard to visa application and overseas mediclaim insurance cover should be taken care of by the Fellow.
The Fellow will be entitled to air travel by Air India (both ways) in economy class (excursion fare) by the shortest route from the place of duty .
Parent institute may continue to pay salary and other benefits such as leave, medical gratuity, GPF, pension as applicable to the fellow candidate while he/ she is away for the fellowship as per the parent Institut’s rules/norms. No liability on any of these accounts will be borne by ICMR/DHR.
The Fellows will be required to execute a will/legal/service bond of Rs. 5.00 lakh to the parent Institute that he/she belongs to and will serve the parent Indian Institute for a period of at least 3 years after return from International fellowship.
If the Fellow does not return to India or gets a job overseas on completion of the fellowship or fails to fulfill any of the above requirements, he/she will be liable to reimburse the whole of the expenditure incurred during the fellowship period, including the airfare, from the Guarantees in one lump sum within one month of the completion of the term of the Fellowship and remit it to the ICMR. An undertaking to this effect on a Rs.50/- non-judicial stamp paper however will be required to be submitted by the Guarantees, in case of selection of Fellow.
The Fellow should submit a final work report (in the prescribed format) on the research and training activities undertaken in the foreign Laboratory/Institute during the fellowship period. This should be submitted within 2 weeks of his/her return.
A progress report (in the prescribed format) evaluating the performance of the Young fellow by the Mentor from the host institution should also be submitted.
The Utilisation Certificate (in the prescribed format) should be submitted by the Fellow within 2 weeks of return for final adjustment of stipened/bills.
The fellowship should begin within the same financial year and must be completed before 31st March of the next year. Dates once decided will be treated as final as it involves lot of ground work and processing at ICMR-DHR.
Total claim bills on the budget head of fellowship will be reimbursed not exceeding the specified amount.
In the event of cancellation of travel ticket due to change of the date of visit/change of sector of journey or any other reasons, the cancellation charges and difference of fare, if any, will be met by the Fellow.
ICMR-DHR will not be liable for anything whatsoever including GOI clearances, medical insurance etc., beyond the specified duration of stay (as approved by selection committee) of Fellow in the foreign country.
In case a Fellow withdraws/refuses to undertake the fellowship at the last minute he/she will be “de-barred” for succeeding two years from availing the ICMR-DHR International fellowship.
Selection Criteria: Screening of applications will be done by the ICMR-DHR and the short listed candidates will be considered by the Selection Committee for awarding the fellowship.
The selection of the candidate will be based on the evaluation of the merit of the candidate and the training needs in the field of medical research by a Committee of eminent scientists.
