Benin

Application Deadline: 11 September 2015 (Extended)
In recognition of young women scientists from scientifically lagging developing countries who have made significant contributions to science.

The Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early Career Women Scientists in the Developing World are designed to recognize and highlight the achievements of women scientists working and living in developing countries who have made significant contributions to the advancement of scientific knowledge.

Each year a total of five winners are selected, one from each of the following regions: Latin America and the Caribbean; East and South-East Asia and the Pacific; Arab region; Central and South Asia; Sub-Saharan Africa (see complete list of countries below).
The awards are assigned in the following fields :
2016: Biological Sciences: agriculture, biology and medicine
2017: Engineering Sciences: engineering, innovation and technology
2018: Physical Sciences: chemistry, maths and physics

ELIGIBILITY
Nominees must have received their PhD within the previous 10 years and be a female scientist living and working for 3 years immediately prior to the nomination in one of the following developing countries:

Sub-Saharan Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo Dem. Rep., Congo Rep., Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Latin America and the Caribbean: Belize, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname.
East and South-East Asia and the Pacific: Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kiribati, Korea DPR, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam
Arab region: Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen.
Central and South Asia: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.

Benefits

• The winning women of the 2016 edition will be celebrated for their research excellence.
• Each winner will receive USD 5,000, generously contributed by the Elsevier Foundation and all-expenses-paid attendance at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in February 2016 in Washington, D.C., USA, where the awards ceremony will take place.
• The ceremony and conference provide invaluable networking opportunities for the candidates.

Winners may also be asked to act as mentors to selected young women scientists undertaking PhD scholarships through the OWSD South-South PhD programme, and will receive training in this regard.

NOMINATIONS

Nominations are invited from senior academics in the relevant fields, e.g. members of national science academies, OWSD members, TWAS Fellows, ICTP visiting scientists and staff, heads of departments, heads of universities, etc.

Self-nominations or nominations by selection committee members are not accepted.
Please note that the following documents must be submitted:
1. This nomination form, signed by the nominator. Please save in the format SURNAME_Initial_NomForm.doc (e.g. SMITH_A_NomForm.doc if the candidate’s name is Ann SMITH);
2. The candidate’s curriculum vitae including full list of publications (SURNAME_Initial_CV.doc);
3. Three reference letters. Referees must send signed letters as attachments via e-mail directly to OWSD; the subject line must contain “Elsevier_Reference_NOMINEE’S SURNAME”. Alternatively, letters should be sent by post in sealed envelopes.

• Nominators should send an email message to [email protected] with Elsevier Foundation Award Nomination in the subject heading and include the first 2 attachments.
• All documentation (including referees’ letters) must be received by 1 September 2015.

If you opt for a postal submission, print and complete this nomination form, have it signed by the nominator, include the attachments above and post to:

• OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards – c/o Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) – ICTP Campus – Strada Costiera 11 – 34151 Trieste, Italy

SELECTION PROCESS

• The selection process will be administered by OWSD and TWAS with input from the Elsevier Foundation and based on achievements in the field, with particular attention paid both to the nominees’ contribution to capacity-building in their region, as well as international impact.
• The winners will be informed of their selection in November/December 2015.

Download the Application Form

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World