VIB-IPBO Open Doors Fellowship Program for Women Researchers in Africa 2022

The Open Doors Fellowship Program for women researchers in Africa is a holistic program that shall target women researchers in Africa to help them acquire the necessary hard and soft skills to strengthen their placements within their hosting institutions and, ultimately, avoid the dropout before their consolidation stage. Creating an awareness culture within their hosting institutions about recruiting women, supporting them along their tenure track, and adapting policies is also paramount to prevent women’s drop out from STEM research and ensure the next generation of mentors and role models for the younger generation of scientists.  

Our program intends to address the needs of early and mid-career women scientists researching at (inter)national research centers and universities in agricultural-related fields in agro-biotechnology, plant breeding, molecular biology & genetics, microbiology, chemical ecology, plant & soil health. Fellows should be in the process of starting up or consolidating their research teams regardless of whether they hold a project-based research position. 

About VIB International Plant Biotechnology Outreach (VIB-IPBO)

The UGent- VIB International Plant Biotechnology Outreach (VIB-IPBO) is a non-profit scientific organization established in 2000 as a partnership of the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), a world-leading life sciences research institute based in Flanders (Belgium), and Ghent University (UGent). Over the last twenty years, the VIB-IPBO's Vision is to ‘contribute to the participatory engagement of agricultural communities and local actors in LDE to new sustainable agricultural systems, to enable a healthy planet with a sound social, cultural, economic and e... read more

Open Doors Fellowship Program

Aim and Benefits of Open Doors Fellowship Program

• Through the Open Doors, women will enhance their leadership and communication skills and expand their network of colleagues and mentors in Africa and Belgium.
• The Open Doors is a fellowship program where women will improve their competencies and benefit from the training opportunities to increase their chances of leading and participating in new projects, accessing better research resources, and increasing their publication success. 
• The VIB-IPBO team will organise the paperwork to travel to Belgium, purchase flight tickets, and find suitable accommodation for the fellows in Belgium.

Requirements for Open Doors Fellowship Program Qualification

• Women researchers in post-doc positions (for at least three years) and mid-career positions experiencing challenges to progress in their career path due to limited access to capacity-building opportunities and international networks.
• Women researchers can demonstrate that they are implementing their ongoing research in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Benin, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania or South Africa.
• Women with an employment contract in an (inter)national research centre or university in any of the countries listed above for the fellowship’s time (2022-2024).
• Women researchers with an active line of research in the following agricultural-related fields: agro-biotechnology, plant breeding, molecular biology and genetics, microbiology, chemical ecology, plant & soil health.
• Women researchers that are supervising MSc or PhD students and supporting staff.

Interview date, Process and Venue for Open Doors Fellowship Program

There are two modalities in which applicants in Africa and the research institutions in Belgium can generate a research project to drive the research stage in Belgium to channel a  research collaboration throughout the duration of the Open Doors Fellowship Program.

• Modality A: Applicants align with the scope and the requirements of open slots offered by the Belgian research laboratories.
• Modality B: Applicants create a joint project with a counterpart in a Belgian research laboratory of their choice for opening a specific slot.

The VIB-IPBO committee will conduct the first round of selection of the most suitable candidates, based on the excellence of their proposal and the impact of their short research stay. The shortlisted candidates will be called for an online interview in early February 2022 for the final selection process. Based on the interviews, the names of the successful applicants of the Open Doors 2022 program will be announced in the second week of February 2022 on our website.

Documents Required for Application

• A duly filled application (Template for Modality A or B).
• A maximum 3-page CV. Please note that CV with more than 3 pages will not be reviewed.
• A list of publications, including papers, book chapters, technical reviews in indexed journals and patents. Only papers listed in the Web of Science: Master Journal List will be considered valid publications[1].
• A motivation letter from the candidate.
• A signed letter from the applicant’s direct supervisor to indicate how does she/he intend to support the fellow in completing her training program[2]
• A signed letter from the Human Resources Office of the applicant institution indicating the candidate’s contractual situation during the duration of the fellowship program (2 years) and how the centre will support the fellow during the stage in Belgium and after returning to her duty station to complete her training program.
• A signed letter from the research centre in Belgium supporting the applicant’s short research stay (only for Modality B applications).

[1] Publications submitted, accepted or in press: Indicate the date of submission or acceptance and the number of pages submitted. For Publications use the following format: Use the following format: Full authorship as it appears or as it will appear in the original publication (with your name in bold): Year, Title, Publication name and volume, First and last page numbers. Patents: Include the title and names of joint inventors. Posters: Indicate the presenting author with an asterisk (*). Example: Surname, X.X.*. Conferences: Indicate whether institutional, regional, provincial, national or international. Make a distinction between oral and poster presentations. In all cases, indicate whether the publication resulted from work done in the process of completing your undergraduate, master’s or doctoral degree or from other relevant work experience. Updates to your publication record will not be accepted after the application has been submitted.

[2] This includes, but not only, actions to support the fellow to keep her research going on in Africa while the fellow is in Belgium; the commitment of the supervisor to participate in online seminars related to gender-sensitive and gender-equitable practices in the workplace; support the fellow to organize activities meant to increase the visibility of her research; or avail time for training activities of the ODPF.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

For more details,visit VIB-IPBO website