ASEAN-India Research Training Fellowship

The “ASEAN-India Research Training Fellowship (AI-RTF)” is a fellowship scheme initiated by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India. The scheme is launched as an initiative under the ASEAN-India Science & Technology Development Fund (AISTDF) to support young talented researchers/scientists of ASEAN member countries (namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) to carry out research at any of the Indian research/academic Institution.

Objectives:

The AI-RTF scheme is a fellowship scheme with the following objectives:

• To promote the mobility of scientists and researchers from the ASEAN-Member Countries to India and provide them the opportunity to work at Indian R&D/ academic institutions to upgrade their research skills and expertise.
• To facilitate the exchange of information and contacts between the scientists and researchers of India and ASEAN Countries and create a network for building research collaborations.

As a spin-off, the Fellowship awardees may also have the opportunity to get co-supervisors from India for their research projects for Ph.D. or Master’s degrees on their return to their home countries.

Number of fellowships:

Fifty (50) fellowships per year shall be awarded to young scientists and researchers from ASEAN-Member States to get affiliated with Indian academic and R&D institutions.

Duration of fellowships:

The duration of the Fellowship will be for a period of two to six months. No request for extension \ reduction in the duration period shall be entertained after the award of the fellowship.

Management & execution:

ASEAN-India Research Training Fellowship (AI-RTF) program shall be managed and coordinated by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), New Delhi.

Areas in which fellowships are available-

The area/topic of research for availing AI-RTF must be ASEAN-centric and must be aligned with the ASEAN Plan of Action on Science, Technology, and Innovation (APASTI). The fellowship is offered for working on research topics under any of the following broad disciplines:
• Agricultural Sciences
• Biological and Medical Sciences
• Chemical Sciences & Engineering
• Computer Science & Engineering
• Physical Sciences and Mathematics
• Ocean, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
• Engineering Sciences
• Materials, Minerals and Metallurgy
• Science Policy/IPR Management/Technology Transfer & Commercialization
• Other multi-disciplinary areas of Science, Technology and Innovation in alignment with APASTI.
Note: The fellowship is available in all fields of natural & engineering sciences, including mathematics & statistics, except humanities and behavioral sciences.

1. Full financial assistance will be provided to the selected Fellows which includes the following:-
   a) Round trip international airfare by lowest economy class and by the shortest route from the international airport in the home country of the applicant to the international airport nearest to the host institution in India; visa fees, overseas medical insurance, etc.
   b) A consolidated Fellowship amount of Indian Rupees (INR) 60,000/- per month.
   c) One-time grant of INR 40,000/- as research contingency expenses, airport transfers, domestic travel for attending scientific /events, and field trips within India.
   d) Institutional overhead charges @ INR 2,500/- per month.
   e) The allowance as in (a), (b) & (c) will be released to the host institution in India for disbursement to the Fellow. The host Institution will arrange appropriate accommodation for the Fellow on a payment basis.
2. The selected Fellow is advised to take an appropriate policy for health insurance coverage for the period of stay in India. The cost of obtaining an overseas insurance policy is covered and reimbursable under AISTDF.
3. Individual Fellow, or his/ her government/institution, is required to bear the following costs:
   a) All expenses in the home country incidental to travel abroad, including expenditure incurred to obtain passport and visa and for medical examinations and vaccinations as may be required as well as other miscellaneous expenses such as internal travel to/ from the international airport of departure in the home country.
   b) Salary and other related allowances in the home country, if applicable, during the Fellowship period.
4. Neither the AISTDF nor the host institution in India will assume any responsibility whatsoever for the following expenditure of the Fellows during the tenure of the Fellowship:
   a) Compensation in the event of death, disability, or loss of personal belongings or compensation for damage caused by climatic or other conditions.
   b) Travel and other costs incurred by the dependents, who might accompany the Fellows.

1. Indian nationals are not eligible for the Fellowship.
2. Applicant must be holding the nationality of any of the ASEAN Member Countries.
3. Applicant should possess at least a Master’s Degree in any Natural Sciences or an equivalent degree in Technology/Engineering/Medicine / allied disciplines.
4. Applicant should be working/studying and/or affiliated with any national R&D or academic institution in his/her home ASEAN Member Country.
5. The application should be endorsed by the Head of his/her institution confirming that if selected, he/ she will be sanctioned leave for the Fellowship period and will join his/ her duties back in the institution on completion of the Fellowship in India.
6. The upper age limit for the applicant is 45 years as of the date of submission of the application.
7. The applicant should be fluent in the English language.
8. ASEAN applicants who have availed of any fellowship scheme of the Government of India during the last 3 years are not ELIGIBLE to apply.
9. The proposed research work in India must be linked/ connected and add value to any of the ongoing research projects/schemes of the Indian host Institute.

Note 01: It is strongly advised that the applicant, in his/ her interest, should make prior contact with an Indian institution, where work is in progress in his/her area of interest, or with a concerned scientist in India, and obtain consent that the applicant, if selected for the Fellowship, will be accepted to work in the institution on the proposed research project. A copy of such consent letter should be enclosed with the application.
Note 02: In this connection, a suggestive list of Indian academic and R&D institutions has been enclosed with this Announcement to help the applicant, but the applicant is free to contact any other institution in India for his/her affiliation.
Note 03: Securing prior consent from an Indian institution/scientist does not guarantee the selection of an applicant. All applications received shall be scrutinized scientifically by DST. DST shall make the final decision based on the quality of the research proposal submitted by the applicant, the applicant's academic merit, and available slots in the Fellowship scheme.

Obligations of the AI-RTF fellows:

The Fellows will observe the regulations and procedures stipulated below. If they fail to do so, the Fellowship shall be withdrawn.

1. During their tenures, Fellows shall not, either in or outside the host institution, infringe in any way on the human rights of others, including racial or gender discrimination or other forms of abuse.
2. Fellows shall stay in India continuously during the tenure of the fellowship and concentrate on their scientific work at the host institution. Fellows shall not engage in other work, either paid or unpaid, during their tenure.
3. The Fellows shall follow the rules of the host institution and shall not undertake any acts of research misconduct, e.g., fabricating or falsifying research results and misuse of research funds.
4. A Fellow shall submit a fellowship completion research report to the DST/FICCI and ASEAN Secretariat on completion of his/ her tenure. (Format for AI-RTF completion report) 1. Transfer of any type of biological material during the tenure of availing the Fellowship is NOT permissible.

Online

Step 01: The applications are to be submitted only ONLINE at www.aistic.gov.in.
Step 02: Applicants should first register in the ASEAN online portal. Click here to register
Step 03: After successfully registration, the applicant may login to apply for the fellowship.
Step 04: Applicants are required to fill all the mandatory fields in the Profile Detail section under User Profile, which includes Bio-data, photo, Institute Address, etc.
Step 05: Some of the details of the proposal like Project Title, Project summary, Keywords, Objectives of the project, Expected output and outcome of the proposal, etc. have to be entered at the time of proposal submission.
Step 06: After verifying all the filled details, the applicant may submit the application form.
Note 01: Other relevant information of the proposal has to be uploaded as a single PDF file, not more than 10 MB.
Note 02: The hard copies of the application are not required.
Note 03: The applications submitted through any other form or channel shall not be considered.
For More Information About the AI-RTF program, please contact Ms. Sadia Khan (sadia.khan@ficci.com).