2025 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards

Call for applications for the

2025 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards
for Early Career Women Scientists in the Developing World ‘Inclusive Health’

The call for applications for the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early Career Women Scientists in the Developing World is now open. Deadline for submitting applications is 16 September 2024.

All applications must be submitted online. In order to help you prepare, you can see our application guidelines here for your reference.

The official language for the application is English.

If you are submitting any supporting documents (such as residency certificate, degree certificate, etc.) in a language which is not English, you must attach an (informal) translation into English. Documents in other languages with no accompanying English translation will not be considered.

Eligibility

The applicant must be a woman who has received her PhD in a scientific discipline within the previous ten years and whose current scientific research is related to the area of inclusive health.

Given that from 2022-2026 the awards will respond to the call for action set forth by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), applicants must demonstrate how their research contributes to advancing knowledge in the area of inclusive health and to achieving the SDG3 (Good health and well-being).

The application can include, but is not limited to, references to the SDG3 target areas, e.g. reducing the global maternal mortality ratio; ending preventable deaths of newborns and children; strengthening the prevention and treatment of substance abuse; reducing the number of deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents; ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services; achieving universal health coverage; reducing the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination; strengthening the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; supporting the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and noncommunicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries; increasing health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries; and strengthening the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.

The OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards are offered to women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Applications from women in Social sciences, Humanities, Arts or other are NOT eligible.

Eligible STEM fields:

Agricultural Sciences
Astronomy, Space and Earth Sciences
Biological Systems and Organisms
Chemical Sciences
Computing and Information Technology
Engineering Sciences
Mathematical Sciences
Medical and Health Sciences (including Neurosciences)
Physics
Structural, Cell and Molecular Biology

Any combination of these fields (i.e. interdisciplinarity) is acceptable.

In addition, the applicant must have lived and worked for at least 5 of the last 15 years*in one of the 66 scientifically and technologically lagging countries (STLCs) listed here:

Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Dem. Rep. Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Arab region: Djibouti, Palestine (West Bank & Gaza Strip), Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen.

Asia and the Pacific: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Lao People’s Dem. Rep., Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.

Latin America and the Caribbean: Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay.

*Please note:

The 5 years of residence in the eligible country do not have to be
Applicants can be citizens of any country, provided that they fulfil the above residence

Preference will be given to those candidates not currently (or within the last three years) in receipt of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) awards, fellowships or grants. Please note that OWSD Early Career Fellows and Alumnae are not eligible for these Awards.

If in doubt about your eligibility, please contact owsd@owsd.net.

Prize

Cash prize of USD 5,000.
All-expenses-paid trip to attend a relevant international

The 5 awards will be distributed as follows: one for each of the four regions of the developing world (Africa, Arab region, Asia & the Pacific and Latin America & the Caribbean), plus an additional ¨floating” award for an outstanding candidate from any of these regions.

Applications

Applications for the 2025 awards are invited from women scientists who have made significant contributions in the area of inclusive health, whose research is linked to the SDG3 (Good health and well-being), and have lived and worked for at least 5 years in an eligible STLC.

Applications must be made online, in English, and must include:

Official documentation proving 5 years’ residency in an eligible

The following documents can be submitted as proof of residence as long as the name of the applicant (as written in the online form) appears clearly: statement from the local police office or municipality, population registry office, rental agreement, utilities bills, employment contract. This list is not exhaustive and alternative documents can be considered. Please write to owsd@owsd.net if you are not sure about the eligibility of your documents.

Evidence on how your research contributes to advancing the SDG3 (Good health and well- being).
Motivational statement of no more than 2500 characters describing why you should be selected for this award, the excellent quality of your research, greatest achievements of your scientific career, impact of your work locally/regionally/internationally, and where relevant, any persona/professional challenges you have faced and overcome given your context (for ease, we recommend that you prepare this beforehand and copy-paste into the text box).
PhD certificate
Curriculum vitae
Full list of publications
At least 2 reference letters (reference letters must be prepared on official letterhead and should be written and signed by senior scientists familiar with your research).

The deadline for submission of applications for the 2025 OWSD-EF Awards is 16 September 2024.

Application guidelines and a sample application form can be found here.

Selection

The competition will be judged by a distinguished panel of specialists in the appropriate research areas and who are aware of the challenges facing women scientists in developing countries.

Traditionally, the selection committee has met in person at the OWSD Secretariat based in Trieste, Italy and we have been able to draw on a broad range of expertise from this ‘City of Science’, including the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), the University of Trieste, Elettra Sincrotrone, The International School for Advanced Sciences (SISSA) and the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB). Since 2020, due to the COVID 19 pandemic and the impossibility of holding face-to-face meetings, we had the opportunity to draw on a broader pool of experts based also in the developing world. The Selection Panel is chaired by the OWSD Coordinator with full administrative support from the OWSD Secretariat.

Assessment will be based on the applicant’s achievements in her scientific field, with additional attention paid to evidence of leadership skills, initiative and innovation, as well as to the candidate’s involvement in capacity building, outreach and civic contribution. Research that demonstrates the use of innovative techniques or methodologies (especially with regard to sustainable development), an awareness of the importance of sex and/or gender considerations in research methodology and content and/or interdisciplinary collaboration may be prioritised.

Successful candidates will be informed of their selection no later than 31 December 2024.

Contact

OWSD Secretariat owsd@owsd.net