LONDON, Apr 13: Imperial College London on Thursday invited applications for a unique fellowship programme to help nurture the next generation of leading women scientists from India and other South Asian nations.
In partnership with the British Council, the fully funded Early Academic Fellowships are being offered to women from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to spend up to a year at Imperial College London.
The fellowships have been created to help address the under-representation of women in STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – and offer a springboard for scholars to launch research careers.
“Imperial is one of the world’s most international universities. Much of our success is due to the global talent we attract,” said Professor Mary Ryan, Imperial’s Vice Provost (Research and Enterprise).
“Every young scientist should have the same opportunities to develop their ideas and career, and we need to support those under-represented and disadvantaged financially. This new Fellowship programme will remove some of the barriers faced by women scientists in South Asia and enable the next generation of rising stars to access a world-class research ecosystem and fulfil their potential,” she said.
The research placements will support candidates to contribute to science and innovation for sustainable development in their home countries, designed to help successful applicants become ambassadors to inspire future generations of women to pursue a career in STEM. Applicants will be required to demonstrate their financial need, how they seek to inspire future generations of women to pursue a career in STEM and how the Fellowship would enable them to contribute to socio-economic development and capacity building in their home country. The deadline to apply is May 19, with the first placements of six to 12 months to begin in September.
“The British Council Women in STEM Fellowship is a dream come true. Thanks to this scholarship, I can expand my work, ideas, skills, and abilities. It is an extremely unique opportunity as it has supported women to go out and achieve their dreams,” said Dr Shashi Arya, Current Fellow from India who is based at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial.
Arya, who is researching electronic waste (e-waste), says her research aims to understand and provide an advanced and sustainable solution to the growing threat of e-waste.
“My work at Imperial is to propose and come up with innovative and cost-effective solutions to minimise the problems and maximise possible potential benefits. Working at Imperial opens up many new avenues and hopefully, it will facilitate my career path by paving the way for collaborations with a wide range of local and international companies and organisations involved in e-waste management and circular economy,” she said.
Another Indian Fellow, Dr Kasturi Singh, is based at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial and is researching tropical cyclones dynamics and climatology.
“My research focuses on the impact of the size of the initial disturbances on the intensification process of the system. We are using weather research and forecasting to simulate tropical cyclones,” said Singh.
Successful candidates for 2023-24 will receive a monthly stipend and support from the college with other expenses, such as travel and research costs. Fellows will have a supervisor/mentor in the department/institute as well as access to Imperial’s academic and professional support provided to all early career academics. (PTI)
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