International Climate Protection Fellowships for Developing Countries in Germany, 2014

Federal Environment Ministry’s (BMU) is funding International Climate Protection Fellowships for Non European and developing countries’ applicants. Up to 20 International Climate Protection Fellowships are granted annually for a period of one year in Germany. Fellowships are available for prospective leaders to conduct a research-based project in the field of climate protection and climate-related resource conservation during a one-year stay in Germany. Funding covers fellowship amount per month which includes a mobility lump sum and a contribution towards health and liability insurance. Online application will be submitted by 15 March 2014.

Study Subject (s): The fellowship is awarded in climate protection and climate-related resource conservation.
Course Level: This fellowship is for pursuing research prgramme in Germany.
Scholarship Provider: Federal Environment Ministry’s (BMU) International Climate Initiative.
Scholarship can be taken at: Germany
Eligibility: -Applicants must demonstrate clearly visible leadership potential based either on experience in initial leadership positions or on appropriate references.
-They must also have completed their first university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) less than 12 years prior to the start of the fellowship (1 March 2015) with outstanding results.
-Furthermore, they must have extensive professional experience in a leadership role (at least 48 months at the time of application) or hold a further academic or professional qualification.
-They are also expected to have gained initial practical experience through involvement in projects related to climate protection and climate-related resource conservation.
-In addition to applicants with a background in the natural and engineering sciences, candidates who have been engaged in legal, economic and societal issues relating to climate change are encouraged to apply for this programme.
-Graduates who are interested in spending time studying or training in Germany should apply to the programmes offered by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) or other funding organizations.
-Post-doctoral researchers wishing to pursue an academic research project should apply to the Georg Forster or Humboldt Research Fellowship Programme for Postdoctoral Researchers (up to four years after completion of doctorate) or for Experienced Researchers (up to 12 years after completion of doctorate).
Scholarship Open for Students of Following Countries: Prospective leaders from the following non-European threshold and developing countries may apply for research fellowship: Afghanistan, Ecuador, Madagascar, Samoa, Algeria Egypt, Malawi, Sao Tomé and Príncipe, Angola, El Salvador, Malaysia, Senegal, Antigua and Barbuda, Equatorial Guinea, Maldives, Seychelles, Argentina, Eritrea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Mauritania, Somalia, Bangladesh, Mauritius, South Africa, Belize, Fiji, Mexico, South Sudan, Benin, Micronesia, Fed. States, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Gabon, Morocco, St. Kitts and Nevis, Bolivia, Gambia, Mongolia, St. Lucia, Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, St. Vincent and Brazil, Grenada, Myanmar, the Grenadines, Burkina Faso, Guatemala, Sudan, Burundi, Guinea, Suriname Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, Swaziland ,Guyana, Nauru, Syria, Cambodia, Nepal, Cameroon, Nicaragua, Cape Verde, Haiti, Niger, Tajikistan, Central African Republic, Honduras, Nigeria, Tanzania, Chad, Niue, Thailand, Chile, India, Timor-Leste China, PR of Indonesia, Togo, Colombia, Iran, Pakistan, Tonga, Comoros, Iraq, Palestinian territories, Tunisia, Congo, Dem. Rep. of Palau, Turkmenistan, Congo, Rep. of the Panama, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Costa Rica, Jordan, Paraguay, Cote d’Ivoire, Peru, Uganda, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Uruguay, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Kiribati, Dominica, Korea, Dem. PR of Rwanda, Dominican Republic ,Kyrgyzstan, Vanuatu, Djibouti ,Venezuela, Laos, Vietnam Lesotho, Lebanon, Yemen, Liberia, Libya, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
* The list of developing countries is based on the information of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD. For the International Climate Protection Fellowship Program European threshold and developing countries have been excluded from this list.
*The fellowships target prospective leaders from non-European emerging and developing countries, who are engaged in the field of climate protection and climate-related resource conservation in non-governmental organisations, public administrations, politics, academia or business in their countries.
Scholarship Description: The global challenge posed by climate change can only be met by cross-border international collaborations. This programme makes a contribution to this by enabling future decision-makers and multipliers to conduct a research-based project in cooperation with specialist colleagues in Germany. Funding is available for project proposals which address issues directly relating to climate protection as well as adaptation to climate change, e.g. in the area of climate-related resource conservation. The project should facilitate the mutual exchange of knowledge, methods and techniques between the fellows and their hosts in Germany, taking into account the question of practical applicability in the fellows’ countries. Contacts to various institutions in different sectors (universities, research institutes, ministries, environmental authorities, companies, non-governmental organizations, etc.) in the context of the project are expressly welcomed. In addition to financing the project, the fellowship aims to facilitate and promote the development of long-term contacts and collaborations with colleagues in Germany.
In the course of group programme events (introductory seminar, training courses, final meeting) during the fellowship year, fellows should gain an overview of climate protection and climate-related resource conservation as well as the important actors in these fields in Germany. Another objective of the programme is to create cross-border, cross-disciplinary networks amongst the fellows as a precondition for building an international expert network on climate protection and climate-related resource conservation. As a long term objective, networking should be extended to include scientists working in these fields in the respective countries who are members of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s network of excellence.
Number of award(s): Up to 20 International Climate Protection Fellowships are granted annually.
Duration of award (s): The following timetable for the one-year stay in Germany is designed to facilitate networking amongst the fellows and is mandatory for everyone:
- January, February 2015: intensive language course in Germany (optional)
- March 2015: introductory seminar – April 2015
- February 2016: work on project at host institutes in Germany – June 2015: Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Annual Meeting including reception held by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany – Autumn 2015: several-day training course
- January/February 2016: final week including reception held by the leadership of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Fellowships may be extended by up to three months on application.
What does it cover? The fellowship amount reflects the fellow’s academic and professional qualifications, current position and professional experience and is currently set at 2,150 EUR, 2,450 EUR or 2,750 EUR per month. This includes a mobility lump sum and a contribution towards health and liability insurance.
Allowance for research costs to be paid to the hosts in Germany amounting to 800 EUR per month (for projects in the natural and engineering sciences) and 500 EUR (for projects in the humanities and social sciences); Language fellowship for a one- to two-month intensive language course in Germany immediately prior to the start of the fellowship; when a fellowship has been granted, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation may provide financial support for improving fellows’ language skills while they are still in their own countries.
Fellows with little or no knowledge of German are strongly advised to take a two-month intensive language course in Germany;
-Lump sum for the fellow’s travel expenses if the costs are not borne by a third party;
-Europe allowance for a maximum of one to two months spent studying or researching at an institution in another European country during the fellowship, provided that this is necessary to carry out the project in question.
-Family allowances for visits by family members lasting at least three months (up to 326 EUR per month for the marital partner and up to 234 EUR per month for each child);
-For single parents accompanied by children under the age of 18 on stays of at least three months, an allowance is available (400 EUR per month for the first child, 100 EUR for every additional child);
-Additional extension of the fellowship by up to three months if children under 12 also accompany the fellow to Germany;
-Extensive alumni funding after successfully completing the stay in Germany, especially support for networking with collaborative partners in Germany during the fellow’s entire career.
Selection Criteria: Not Known
Notification: After reviewing the applications, an independent selection committee will decide, probably by the beginning of July 2014, which candidates will be invited to participate in a selection meeting in Germany lasting several days. This selection meeting will take place from 16 to 19 September 2014 and applicants will be given the opportunity to outline their project to the selection committee and the other applicants as well as to attend individual interviews held by the selection committee. At the end of the meeting the selection results will be announced.
How to Apply: Applications must be submitted online.
Scholarship Application Deadline: The completed application form including all the necessary additional documentation must be submitted by the closing date for applications (15 March 2014).
Further Official Scholarship Information and Application