ETH4D provides grants for mentoring doctoral candidates from low- and lower-middle-income countries. The mentorship is a one-year appointment and comprises the following components:
- Financial support for attending a conference and/or research material
- Mentorship from one ETH professor, senior scientist or postdoc over a period of one year of the mentee’s doctoral studies. We suggest monthly meetings and clearly defined goals of the project, e.g., presentation at a conference, joint publication. ETH mentors are free to serve on the doctoral committee of the ETH4D mentee, but this is not a requirement.
- Research stay at the mentor’s research group (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) for 1-3 months during the mentorship period.
About ETH Zurich
A brief overview of more than 150 years of ETH Zurich history
Established in 1855 as the Federal Polytechnic School, ETH Zurich has, from the outset, been a national centre for education with international appeal, attracting talent from all over the world.
The successful combination of a cosmopolitan outlook with national roots made the young educational institution one of the driving forces behind industrialisation in Switzerland: it brought the necessary expertise into the country, trained technical specialists and helped set up groundbreaking national infrastructures.
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ETH4D Doctoral Mentorship Program
Aim and Benefits of ETH4D Doctoral Mentorship Program
The grant covers expenses up to a maximum of 15k CHF and includes the following:
- Economy roundtrip ticket (max. 2 kCHF) to and from Switzerland for the research stay
- Visa fees
- Travel allowance to attend an academic conference
- Research material (e.g. lab equipment) (max 6 kCHF in total).
- Fees for health insurance
- Local transportation
- Accommodation
- Living allowance for the duration of the research stay at ETH Zurich
Requirements for ETH4D Doctoral Mentorship Program Qualification
- Eligible are doctoral candidates who are registered at a university or research institute in a low- and middle-income country according to the external pageOECD/DAC list. Priority is given to applications from least-developed, lower-income, and lower-middle income countries.
- The application needs to be submitted by the ETH professorship hosting the doctoral candidate. Applications directly submitted by the doctoral candidate will NOT be considered.
Documents Required for Application
- Budget (Downloadtemplate budget (XLSX, 15 KB))
- A single PDF contianing the following
- Project description (see criteria document for points that need to be addressed)
- Work plan for the stay in Zurich in the form of a Gantt chart
- Motivation letter of the doctoral candidate (1 page)
- Most recent university transcripts
- CV of doctoral candidate (max. 2 pages) incl. publications
- One academic reference letter
- Support letter of the hosting ETH professor, including any financial and in-kind contributions
- Doctoral project proposal (if available)
Application Deadline
March 30, 2025How to Apply
For more details, visit ETH4D website.