Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship

Objectives:

• To build national capacity in frontier areas of Science and Engineering, which are of interest to India by providing research training to PhD students admitted in Indian institutions in overseas universities/institutions of repute.
• To provide an opportunity for performing Indian research students to gain exposure and access to top-class research facilities in academia and labs in specific Overseas Universities.
• To create opportunities to build long-term R&D linkages and collaborations with accomplished scientists and technologists from around the world.
• To tap the expertise gained by these young scientists to strengthen/initiate national programmes in their domain knowledge.

Duration of Fellowship:

• The duration of the research training is up to a period of twelve months. In exceptional circumstances, the fellowship may be extended for six more months' subject to performance evaluation.

1. The selected fellows will be paid a monthly fellowship amount equivalent to US $ 2000, one-time Contingency/Preparatory allowances of ₹60,000/- to cover visa fees, airport transfer charges, medical insurance, etc.
2. The selected fellows will also be provided the shortest route economy class airfare from their place of work in India to the place of the host institute and back. Students should make their own arrangements for accommodation etc.
3. One visit, each by the Indian supervisor to the Overseas Institution where the student is working and overseas faculty to the host Indian Institution of the student is also admissible under the Scheme. The following provisions are made for them to undertake research visits:

• Travel: Both the Indian supervisor and overseas scientist will be provided the shortest route round-trip economy class airfare not exceeding ₹1.5 lakhs per round trip from their place of work to the city of the host institute and back. Any additional cost would have to be borne by the visitors.

• Per-diem (Subsistence Allowance):

Indian Supervisors to Overseas CountryOverseas host to IndiaOverseas host to IndiaUp to 14 days>14 and up to 30 daysUS $ 75 per day up to 30 days₹3000/- per day₹2000/- per day

• Accommodation:

Indian Supervisors to Overseas CountryIndian supervisors to Overseas CountryOverseas host to India****Overseas host to IndiaUp to 14 days>14 and up to 30 daysUp to 14 days>14 and up to 30 daysUS $ 150 per dayUS $ 100 per day₹4500/- per day₹3000/- per day

• Contingencies and related travel costs: Allowance of US $ 250 per visit is provided to both Indian Supervisor and Overseas host to cover the expenditure incurred towards visa fees, travel / medical insurance, airport transfers, and other contingencies.
  Note: For scientists/researchers in regular employment, rules governing payment of salary, leave, medical, gratuity, GPF pension, etc. of the organization/ institution/ university to which the faculty belongs would continue to be applicable. No liability on any of these accounts will be borne by SERB.

1. The scheme is open to Indian nationals only.
2. The applicant should have registered for a full-time Ph.D. Degree in any of the recognized Institutions / Universities in India in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (including Medicine, Pharma, Agriculture, and related S&T areas) disciplines.
3. Part-time and sponsored students are not considered under the scheme.
4. The students who have submitted their thesis for the award of the Degree of Ph.D. are not eligible to apply.

Note 01: The selected fellows while taking up the SERB overseas fellowship should not draw their regular research fellowship in India.
Note 02: The exchange visit of the supervisors should be during the tenure of the Ph.D. work of the applicant. Both supervisors should ensure a residency period of at least two weeks and not exceeding 30 days in their respective foreign institutes.
Note 03: The Indian Institution should ensure the availability of necessary facilities including scientific equipment, infrastructure, research personnel, etc. for facilitating the visit of overseas scientists for undertaking collaborative research. The institution should also extend all necessary administrative support to the proposed work.
Note 04: Purdue faculty may support only one OVDF application per call.

Offline

Application Procedure:

Step 01: Applications are invited from Ph.D. students to work with Overseas Institutions who had signed an Agreement / MoU with SERB for student mobility.
Step 02: The applicants who intend to undertake a research visit to the following Universities with whom SERB had signed an MoU should apply directly to the University:
1. Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA
Contact Person: Ms. Heidi Arola (harola@purdue.edu), Director for Global Partnerships.
More Details available at: http://www.purdue.edu/india/
2. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Contact Person: Ms. Nicole Dewart (uaissp@ualberta.ca), Senior Coordinator, Sponsored Student Program
More Details available at: https://www.ualberta.ca/international/international-relations/asia/student-mobility/serb/serb-students
> Selection Procedure:

The selection would be made among students who obtained an offer letter from an overseas institution to carry out research in chosen areas of interest to India.
Note 01: Purdue faculty may support only one OVDF application per call.
Note 02: The OVDF applicant should contact the above Universities for undertaking this fellowship.

Contact Person:

The contact details of Programme Officer at SERB is given below:
Programme Coordinator, Overseas VDF,
Science and Engineering Research Board
3rd & 4th Floor, Block II, Technology Bhavan, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi-110016
Email : ovdf@serb.gov.in , Phone : 011 - 2655 2210, 011 - 2655 2135