Through its Sandwich Training Educational Programme (STEP), ICTP and its UN partner, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), offer fellowships to PhD students from developing countries in the fields of physics and mathematics.
STEP’s goal is to strengthen the scientific capability of young scientists and researchers from developing countries to better contribute and serve the scientific, technical, and economic development of their home countries. STEP fellowships enrich their doctoral studies by giving students access to ICTP’s and the IAEA’s international community and world-class research and training facilities.
With a STEP fellowship, PhD students study at their home universities but have the financial support to visit ICTP or a collaborating institute for a three- to six-month stay each year for up to three successive years. Fellows work on their PhD theses with their advisors at their home institutes and co-advisors at the hosting institutes. Their PhD is awarded at their home institutes.
Fellowships are awarded on the merit of a thesis project proposed by students and their home country advisors. The STEP fellow is assigned to an appropriate host institute with a designated co-advisor.
IAEA Fellowships: Financial support is provided by the IAEA Department of Technical Cooperation through the IAEA Technical Cooperation Fund. Candidates should be from an IAEA member state. The IAEA must receive an official endorsement for the fellow from the fellow’s country. Fields of research include:
- atomic and nuclear physics
- nuclear, isotope and laser techniques applied to:
human health
agriculture
biotechnology and biophotonics
water resources and environmental studies
- synchrotron radiation and applications
- medical radiation physics
ICTP Fellowships: Fellowships are also provided by ICTP, within its scientific and technical competence, to candidates from developing countries in the fields listed below:
- condensed matter and statistical physics
- high energy physics
- mathematics
- earth system physics
- applied physics (including micro- and nano-electronics, fluid dynamics)
- quantitative life sciences
e-mail: step@ictp.it