Guidelines and Application Form
With the funding of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation under the Programme ‘Bioinoculants for Food Security in Africa (B-INOC AFRICA)’, which focuses on applied high-impact science in agri-food, the ICGEB offers SMART Fellowships at selected laboratories. Proposals must clearly demonstrate how the research will contribute to food safety and security or benefit the agricultural sector, supported by a solid basis of preliminary data.
Closing Dates for Applications:
31 MARCH 2026, 23:59 CET
To Apply
The programme promotes the mobility of researchers from a list of eligible countries (see below) and, exceptionally, from other ICGEB Member States to conduct research in laboratories where the Principal Investigator has been awarded a Bioinoculants research grant by ICGEB.
Mobility is intended to foster skill development, provide hands-on training in technologies available at the host laboratory, and strengthen bilateral cooperation. Proposals should demonstrate clear evidence of strong collaboration between the two laboratories.
Applicants should focus on the impact for the fellow’s career, the benefit to the applicant’s home laboratory and the suitability of the receiving laboratory. Applicants should contact the Host Laboratory prior to submitting the application (see list above) and ensure that the proposal content is aligned with the Host Laboratory capacity.
Click here to view the list of host laboratories.
Eligibility
The call is open to Researchers of the following nationalities: Burkina Faso, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea (Guinea-Conakry), Ivory Coast, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda (Researchers from other ICGEB Member States are exceptionally eligible).
There is no age limit. However, preference is given to young scientists at the beginning of their research career. Applicants should be either registered for a PhD or have obtained their PhD degree within the last 5 years and be actively working in a research Institution or company active in research and development. Young scientists holding an MSc or equivalent can apply.
Awards are not intended to prolong visits begun under other auspices; to support participation in courses, workshops or symposia or as bridging fellowships between, or prior to, long term stays funded by ICGEB or other organizations.
Subject area
Eligible topics are: bio-fertilisers, bio-pesticides, bio-inoculants for food production and microbiome-based products and solutions that impact in a significant and practical way the agricultural and food value chains.
Financial Support
Awards are for a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 9 months. The fellowship covers international economy return travel, health insurance plus subsistence of the fellow only. The stipend for PhD fellowships is USD 1,500 (one thousand five hundred) per month, while the stipend for Postdoctoral fellowships is USD 2,000 (two thousand). Additionally, a USD 500 monthly bench fee can be paid directly to the receiving laboratory based on the recommendation of the ICGEB Fellowships Committee. The fellowship stipend will be paid by bank transfer directly to the fellow’s bank account. Upon joining the receiving laboratory, ICGEB will transfer the bench fee allocation to the receiving laboratory, which will be responsible for the management of the funds and the certification of expenditures to ICGEB. The receiving laboratory is expected ensure that adequate provisions are in place for the specific research project and to make the bench fee allocation available to the ICGEB SMART Fellow immediately, free from any administrative overhead costs. ICGEB makes no financial provision, nor can it provide administrative support for family members of participants in the programme.
Bench fee
The bench fee allowance is a contribution to the implementation of the research project proposal presented by the candidate. The receiving laboratory is expected to use the entire bench fee allocation to the benefit of the approved research-training programme.
Any unspent balance left will have to be returned to ICGEB. Funds can only be used to cover the purchase of laboratory consumables that that are directly related to the SMART Fellow’s research activities including: general labware, cryoware, glassware and plasticware, chemicals and reagents, cell culture consumables, pipettes and pipette tips, microplates PCR and qPCR consumables. The following items are not considered eligible costs: Costs of maintenance, repair, running or insurance of existing assets belonging to the Host Institute; Purchase of equipment, office furniture or fittings; Computer hardware or software; Office stationary; Travel costs; Literature; Administrative costs, and overhead expenses of the Institute Bank charges.
Submission
Please complete this application online. Only one application per call is accepted for each candidate.
Documents to be uploaded
Please note that you will be requested to upload the following documents (pdf files):
(i) Your full CV
(ii) The full CV of the Head of the Receiving Laboratory (complete with list of publications)
(iii) A valid identification document (passport or identity card)
Note on Home and Receiving Laboratories
Please note that after you provide the requested details on the Home and Receiving laboratories in the dedicated section on the online application, an automatic notification with a dedicated link will be sent to the Head of the Home lab and to the Head of the Receiving lab asking them to confirm and complete the data you entered by the closing date of the call.
Please note that applications without this section completed by both labs by the set deadline will not be considered for the selection. Therefore, we strongly suggest you submit your application well in advance to allow timely completion from both Home and Receiving laboratories.
Selection
The ICGEB Fellowships Selection Committee will evaluate complete applications received by the closing date. Both successful and unsuccessful candidates will be notified of the outcome by e-mail only. Please note that the selection might take several weeks according to the number of applications received.
Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we are unable to provide individual feedback to all applicants at the end of the selection process.
The main criteria for selection include the scientific excellence of the project, the qualities of the candidate’s CV and the potential benefit for the home country.
ICGEB will positively value any additional support provided by the receiving institute to the fellow’s living expenses (i.e. a direct contribution for living expenses, guest house accommodation, etc.).
Final report
Successful candidate will jointly prepare a final scientific report with the host supervisor highlighting the achievements attained during the period of the Fellowship. The host Institute will submit a signed financial statement reporting the expenditure covered by the bench fee allowance received.
Awareness Workshops
Member States may also request targeted Awareness Workshops to be held for the scientific community in their country, where participants can interact with ICGEB scientists and obtain specific information on CRP grants and fellowships.