Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for this Fellowship, applicants must meet the following criteria: 

• are a female and are a citizen of a developing country or emerging economy where women are underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines*. You are not eligible to apply if you hold dual citizenship, of which one is the citizenship of a developed country. (N.B. If you have been awarded a Faculty for the Future grant and, after the award, you obtain citizenship of a developed country, the grant will be discontinued as of the date of such additional citizenship)
• are preparing for a PhD degree or post-doctoral research in a STEM discipline. The Faculty for the Future program does not fund Master level studies; – are enrolled, admitted or have applied to a host university/research institute abroad (applications are no longer accepted where a candidate has not yet applied to a university). If you are applying for a sandwich course, the final degree must be awarded by the Host University abroad or jointly (i.e., but not solely from the home country university)
• hold an excellent academic record
• are committed to go back to your home country or region upon completion of your studies to contribute to its socio-economic development; – have a proven record of teaching experience in your home country and can demonstrate your commitment to going back home to: i) an academic or research position in a STEM faculty; ii) and/or to using your knowledge to become a STEM entrepreneur to help resolve regional challenges in your local community/region; iii) and/or to demonstrating leadership by contributing to the public sector using your scientific skills to help provide evidence-based support for STEM policy making, including topics of gender representation
• can demonstrate leadership skills, active community outreach and have a track record in encouraging girls and women into STEM.

If you do not meet these criteria, please do not apply for a grant, as your application will not be retained in the selection process.

*Faculty for the Future focuses on developing and emerging countries where women are underrepresented in STEM disciplines.

Qualifying a country as advanced, developing or emerging, is a complex and often controversial topic. Faculty for the Future does not draw on one single source or list but constitutes its eligible country list from a number of sources which allows incorporation of development status with regard to science, gender and education for example.

The most significant sources drawn upon are the UN Human Development Index (HDI), the UN Gender Inequality Index (GII), the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS), Female and Education Ratio (FER), including indicators of female participation in STEM in tertiary education and the UIS STEM enrolment in Tertiary Education. The Faculty for the Future country list is reviewed every year and as levels of development fluctuate, a country may be on the list one year and not on the list the following year, and vice versa.