Deadline: 8th October 2023
Applications are now open for the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards 2024 for early career women scientists . These awards reward and encourage women scientists who work and live in eligible developing countries and who are at the early stages of their careers, often having overcome great challenges to achieve excellence in research.
From 2022 to 2026, the awards will respond to the call to action provided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2024 Awards are being given in the area of water, sanitation and hygiene (SDG6).
Prizes
- Cash prize of US$ 5,000.
- All-expenses-paid trip to attend a relevant international conference.
The 5 prizes will be distributed as follows: one for each of the four regions of the developing world (Africa, the Arab region, Asia and the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean), plus an additional "floating" prize for an outstanding candidate from any of these regions.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be women who have obtained their doctorate in a scientific discipline within the last ten years and whose current scientific research is related to the field of water, sanitation and hygiene.
- In addition, the candidate must have lived and worked for at least 5 of the last 15 years* in one of the 66 scientifically and technologically backward countries (STLCs) listed here:
- Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Dem. Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
- Arab region: Djibouti, Palestine (West Bank and Gaza Strip), Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen.
- Asia and the Pacific: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Lao People's Democracy, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, East Timor, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, East Timor, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.
- Latin America and the Caribbean: Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay.
*Note:
- The 5 years of residence in the eligible country do not have to be consecutive.
- Applicants can be citizens of any country, as long as they fulfil the above-mentioned residency requirement.
Eligible STEM fields
- Agricultural Sciences
- Astronomy, Space and Earth Sciences
- Biological Systems and Organisms
- Chemical Sciences
- Computing and Information Technology
- Engineering Sciences
- Mathematical Sciences
- Medical and Health Sciences (including Neurosciences)
- Physics
- Structural, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Any combination of these fields (i.e. interdisciplinarity) is acceptable.
Application
Applications must be made online, in English, and must include:
- Official documentation proving residency of 5 years in an eligible STLC.
- The following documents can be submitted as proof of residence, as long as the applicant's name (as written on the online form) appears clearly: statement from the local police or municipality, population registry office, rental agreement, utility bills, employment contract. This list is not exhaustive and alternative documents can be considered. Write to
- Evidence on how your research contributes to the advancement of SDG6 (Drinking water and sanitation).
- Short biography of approximately 350 words describing your journey to becoming an exceptional scientist (to make it easier, they recommend that you prepare this in advance and copy and paste it into the text box)
- Doctorate certificate
- CV
- Full list of publications
- At least 2 reference letters (reference letters must be prepared on official letterhead and must be written and signed by senior scientists familiar with your research)
