PECFAR

PECFAR is a fellowship to facilitate a two-way exchange of young early-career Indian and German researchers through short visits for networking and exploring avenues for collaboration and innovation in applied research.

Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC) established a joint initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Government of Germany invites applications for “Paired Early Career Fellowship in Applied Research (PECFAR)” from early-career Indian and German researchers to explore, connect and network for research collaboration in applied research.

> Aim of the Fellowship: The Fellowship intends to-

• Support Early Career Researchers to network and explore possibilities to grow in applied research.
• Enhance the research capabilities and opportunities in the partner country on various aspects of S&T, entrepreneurship, collaborative research, innovation & lab utilization.
• Create impetus to expand bilateral collaboration & research among young researchers.
• Build well-knitted long-term cooperation with complementary partnerships through networking & interaction.

> Fellowship Details:

• This fellowship is designed to facilitate a pair of Early Career Researchers to have a short visit to India/Germany for networking and explore avenues for collaboration and innovation in applied research.
• The pair will be formed by an Indian and a German Early Career Researcher who shall submit a joint proposal.
• The paired fellows can jointly plan the fellowship visits to the partner country (India/Germany).
• The fellows may also utilize this award to connect and travel to other institutions in India/Germany and enhance their networking.

> Formation of a Pair:

• Applicants shall form a pair consisting of one Indian & German Early Career Researcher holding regular positions in academia/research institution/industry or holding long-term nationally recognized fellowships (4 years and above).
• Applicants are solely responsible for identifying & forming their respective pairs and acquiring acceptance letters from institutes/organizations of the paired fellows.

• PhD students/Post-Docs affiliated with research institutions/industries are also encouraged to form a Pair.

> Duration of Fellowship:

• The duration of the fellowship will be up to 2 months.
• Extension in the duration of the fellowship shall not be entertained.

• Early Career Researchers holding regular positions in academia/research institution/industry or holding long-term nationally recognized fellowships (4 years and above) will be eligible to apply.
• The applicant should possess the minimum qualification as “Masters in Science/Bachelor in Engineering (4 years)”.
• PhD Students/Post-docs affiliated with research institutions/industries may also apply.
• The upper age limit of the applicant should be 35 years.

Note 01: The applicant with institutional affiliation shall submit a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Head of the Institution at the time of the application.

Note 02: Applicants must define a detailed activity plan mentioning their objective, work plan, and expected outcomes for the duration of the fellowship.

Note 03: The Pair must complete his/her visits within 12 months from the initiation of the PECFAR Award.

Note 04: The time gap between the visits of the two Awardees should be less than 6 months.

Note 05: Any change in the proposed date of travel should be intimated to IGSTC 45 days before the visit is planned.

Note 06: The fellows will abide by the conduct, rules, and regulations of the Paired organization & the country.

Note 07: IGSTC will not be responsible for violation of any Rules and regulations by him/her.

Note 08: Each of the Awardees of the Pair must submit UC/SE along with the Fellowship visit report in the prescribed format at the end of their visits.

Note 09: Within 4 weeks of completion of the Fellowship, the Awardees must submit a detailed consolidated Fellowship completion report endorsed by the host institutions in the prescribed format along with representative photos to IGSTC. The travel support for both the Awardees will be reimbursed after the Awardees complete both their visits.

Note 10: The fellows must recognize and acknowledge the IGSTC fellowship in all online/print documents, communications, reports, publications, etc. on work resulting from the fellowship.

The financial support shall be provided as a time grant and it will be limited to:

• Fellowship: € 2300 per month/fellow on a pro-rata basis.
• Single round trip economy class airfare including visa fees and medical/travel insurance approximately ₹1,00,000/- (for Indian fellow) and € 1500 (for German fellow).

Note 1: IGSTC grant is only for covering monthly fellowship, round trip fare, visa, and travel/medical insurance.

Note 2: A one-time grant will be provided to cover the travel, accommodation, and daily expenses.