Applications Invited for Newton Bhabha Fund PhD Placement Programme 2020-21

About the Organization:

British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. They create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries. They do this by making a positive contribution to the UK and the countries they work with - changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust.

Newton Bhabha Fund PhD Placement Programme 2020-21

The Newton-Bhabha Fund is back with its annual PhD Placement Programme. This year, the fund will offer PhD scholars from India and the UK to spend a period of their study (up to two to four months) in UK higher education institutions. These students will get an opportunity anytime between April- December 2021.

The Newton-Bhabha Fund fosters long-term sustainable research collaborations between UK and India. On behalf of the Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy in the UK and ­ Ministry of Science and Technology in India along with British Council India, the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), we are pleased to invite applications for funding to support short-term PhD placements between UK and Indian institutions.

Aim of the Programme

The programme is envisaged to:

• Develop individual capacity through international training and development opportunities.
• Increase the number of highly trained researchers in the UK and India with international experience, able to contribute to the absorptive capacity for research and innovation and thus bring about economic and social benefits.
• Build cultural understanding and foster long-term sustainable research collaborations.
• Develop international joint training pathways.
• Increase awareness of the research strengths of the UK and India.

Eligibility

In India, the scheme is open only for Indian PhD scholars enrolled at Indian higher education institutions with the following criteria:

• INSPIRE PhD Senior Research Fellows (SRFs) of Batch 2017 are eligible to apply for a STEM and Life Sciences subjects.
• PhD Scholar (other than INSPIRE Fellows) pursuing PhD in the mid-second or third year of Life Sciences are eligible to apply.
• ICSSR Doctoral Fellows or registered PhD scholars (full time) studying in the second or third year of PhD in Social Sciences are eligible to apply.

Cost Covered

• Visa fee, economy class international airfares and overseas travel insurance for PhD scholars.
• In-country costs including accommodation and stipend for PhD scholars.
• Bench fees (if applied for) by UK host university.

Key Dates:

• Deadline:16 August 2020, 16:00 hours UK time (20.30 hours India time)
• Results announcement: November 2020
• Placements to take place: Between April 2021 to December 2021

For more information please check the Link