CEFIPRA/Government of France/Government of India - Raman-Charpak Fellowship

What the Raman-Charpak Fellowship gives you

You will receive funding to carry out research in the other country for 2 to 5 months. Indian students will go to a laboratory or university in France, whilst French students will go to one in India. If you are from India, you will receive 1,010 EUR per month for living costs, local travel and accommodation, as well as social security. If you are from France, you will receive 40,000 rupees per month for living costs and up to 45,000 rupees per month for accommodation. In both cases, the programme also covers a return economy-class flight between India and France, travel and health insurance, and visa and registration fees. You may apply for up to an additional 500 EUR (or the equivalent amount in rupees) if you take part in a seminar, workshop or conference during your stay. The scholarship is administered by the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Excellence in Research (CEFIPRA) and jointly funded by the Indian and French governments.

Who can apply

• Level: You are a PhD student (from India or France) or a French Master’s student (Master’s 1 or Master’s 2).
• Study year (Indian PhD): You are in the 2 or 3 year of your PhD programme at a recognised Indian university or research institute.
• Study year (French PhD/Master): You are enrolled on a PhD or Master’s programme at a recognised French university or research institute.
• Nationality and residence: Indian applicants must be Indian citizens and live in India; French applicants must live in France.
• Where you go: Indian students are conducting research in France, whilst French students are doing so in India.
• Age: On 1 April of the year of conscription, you will be no older than 30.
• Field: Your work falls within one of the following eight fields: atmospheric, earth and environmental sciences; materials science; physics; chemistry; engineering; life and medical sciences; mathematics and computer science; or agricultural sciences.
• Ready project: Before applying, you will have already agreed on a research project with an Indian and a French supervisor.
• No earlier CEFIPRA funding: You have not yet received any funding from CEFIPRA and are not permanently employed by a university or institute.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted online via the CEFIPRA portal. The deadline for applications is 10 December. Applications sent by post or submitted after the deadline will not be considered. Following an initial review and shortlisting process, a joint expert committee comprising Indian and French assessors will make the final decision. The results are expected to be announced at the end of March.

How realistic are your chances?

This funding scheme is very narrowly defined. You must be an Indian or French PhD or Master’s student participating in the 30 programme within one of eight academic disciplines, and you must have a research project that has already been approved by two supervisors from both countries. This last point is the key selection criterion, as it requires sound planning and existing contacts in both countries. If you already have this agreement in place and clearly meet the criteria, the small, well-matched pool of applicants will work in your favour.