Biomedical Research Fellowship Programme for India
Margdarshi Fellowships
Margdarshi Fellowship : The format of the India Alliance Margdarshi Fellowship scheme has recently undergone a major revision. Significant changes have been made to broaden its scope and to enable the scheme to attract candidates of the highest caliber. A summary of the changes is provided here.
Vision of the Margdarshi Fellowship Programme :
- The Margdarshi Programme requires a “synergistic effort” between the Host Institution and a scientist with an exemplary track record in biomedical research.
- The Host Institution and the Applicant are encouraged to make a joint effort towards establishing a ‘Center of Excellence’. It is envisaged that this synergy will be effective in opening new opportunities for realizing their common vision.
- By using the expertise of a visionary scientist, this scheme should be used to build institutional capacity and to establish inter-institutional links towards creating a new research programme.
- This will provide institutions an opportunity to identify a highly accomplished scientist from within or from any other institution in India or overseas to set up a research programme of their interest.
- Similarly, interested candidates are encouraged to approach their own institutions or any other institution in India to nucleate a new programme of research using their unique expertise. It is expected that the proposed programme will add value to existing research at the Host Institution in accordance with mutually agreed interests.
- Institutions are therefore expected to demonstrate a strong commitment by proposing robust mechanisms that they will put in place for successful execution of the programme.
- Applicants, especially those from outside India, are expected to demonstrate strong integration within the Host Institution. This could, for example, be through an existing engagement, or any other mechanism that demonstrates commitment.
Provisions :
- Generous personal support for the Fellow
- Salary support for personnel, which may include Assistant Professors
- Equipment and supplies (including animals, if required)
- Funds to attend scientific meetings, support collaborative visits and organize meetings
- Overheads for the Host Institution
India Alliance has not set a cap for the Margdarshi Fellowship scheme. Instead, applicants are requested to share an estimate of their budgetary requirements from the pool of funds, which India Alliance will earmark exclusively for the Margdarshi Fellowship and which may vary from one year to the other. For 2015-16, INR 22 Crore (~ USD 3.5 million; GBP 2.3 million) has been allocated for the Margdarshi programme.
Eligibility :
- Candidates of all nationalities and origins are eligible to apply if they are pursuing or intend to pursue research at an institution in India.
- There is no age limit to apply for the Fellowship. However, Applicants should not use this scheme to propose a post-retirement settlement plan.
- Applicants would normally be expected to be running an independent laboratory for at least 10 years and have an outstanding scientific record.
Eligible candidates should have:
- Demonstrated leadership skills
- Made significant and outstanding contributions in biomedical research
- Mentored young scientists and students
- Attracted extramural funds from peer-reviewed competitive sources
- Established important national and international collaborations
- Maintained high ethical standards of research and financial management
Application Process :
- To apply, the Applicant and the Sponsor(s) should submit a Joint application. This application includes:
- Applicant Form: The Applicant is responsible for creating an application using the online form available on IASys. The Lead Applicant will complete the application form and also invite Sponsor(s) on the application. This leads to creation of separate sponsorship forms.
Sponsorship Form :
- The Lead Applicant and the Sponsor submit their respective forms individually. However, submission of Lead Applicant's form is contingent upon successful submission of the sponsorship form by the Sponsor. It is therefore important for the Sponsorship Form to be submitted within the specified deadline to allow the Lead Applicant to complete the process of submission. If there is more than one institution participating in the programme, both the Primary and the Secondary sponsors will fill in their respective sponsorship forms, which will be made available to the Sponsor(s) by the Applicant through IASys.
- Please note that the Sponsor form has to be filled in by the Sponsor and not by the Applicant. A breach of confidentiality on this matter will disqualify the Applicant.
- Consent Form: he Sponsor should confirm his/her willingness by filling in the consent form. If there is more than one institution participating in the programme both the Sponsors should upload their individual consent forms on the system. A format is included in the application form.
- The joint application will be reviewed by the Margdarshi Selection Committee of India Alliance to assess the eligibility, remit and competitiveness. The review process primarily evaluates applicant’s track record in the proposed area, resources available at the Host Institution, concept of the proposed programme, its potential to create new directions of research at the Host Institution, the extent to which it is a new development, involvement of Sponsor/Host Institution and their commitment to assess the feasibility of the programme.
- Those applications found suitable by the Margdarshi Selection Committee will be sent out for an external review following which there will be an interview with the Margdarshi Selection Committee. This Committee will be the final decision-making body for the award.
Note:
- Applicants may suggest to India Alliance the names of potential reviewers as also names of individuals to be excluded from the review. However, the choice of reviewers will rest with India Alliance and will not be disclosed to the applicant. Fellowships must be started within one year of the award.
- Applicants are reminded that this is a competition and the decision of India Alliance will be final. Applicants are not allowed to write directly to Margdarshi Selection Committee members. India Alliance reserves the right to disqualify an applicant who has breached this condition.
Deadlines : This is an annual competition
- Launch : 2 March 2015
- Application Deadline : 14 May 2015
- Interview : November 2015
Contact Us : Queries should be sent to margdarshi@wellcomedbt.org
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