New Initiatives to Deepen Cooperation with the Developing World

Two ambitious programmes have recently been initiated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) to enhance and deepen scientific & educational cooperation with developing countries. They are:

• CAS-TWAS President's Fellowship for PhD Candidates from Developing Countries
• CAS Fellowship for Postdoctoral and Visiting Scholars from Developing Countries

1. CAS-TWAS President's Fellowship for PhD Candidates from Developing Countries

According to a new agreement between the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS), up to 140 students/scholars per year from the developing world will be sponsored to travel to China for up to four years’ of PhD study and research.

The CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme provides students/scholars from developing countries with the opportunity to pursue PhDs at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and/or the institutes of CAS around China.

Under the terms of the new CAS-TWAS agreement, TWAS will be responsible for providing round-trip travel support for 50 awardees each year to and from China, or for providing one way travel support for 80 awardees each year to China. TWAS will make active efforts to secure additional funds to cover more awardees for travel supports. In addition, TWAS will also cover visa related expenses and a contribution to excess luggage fees for their stay in China of more than 12 months.

CAS will be responsible for a monthly payment to cover accommodation and living expenses.

Successful applicants will receive a monthly stipend (including living expenses, travel expenses and health insurances) of RMB 7,000 (approx. USD 1,100) or RMB 8,000 (approx. 1,250) from CAS through UCAS, depending on whether he/she has passed a qualification test arranged by UCAS for all PhD candidates after admission.

Awardees of the Fellowship will be exempted from tuition fees.

The funding duration of the PhD Program is 4 years, divided into:

• Maximum 1 year study of courses and participation in centralized training at the International College of UCAS (IC-UCAS) on Beijing campus, including 4 months compulsory courses in Chinese Language and Culture.
• Practical research and completion of degree dissertation at UCAS colleges, schools and CAS institutes.

General conditions for applicants:
Applicants should:

• Not take up other assignments during the period of this fellowship,
• Be a national or permanent resident of a developing country other than China,
• Be financially responsible for any accompanying family member.

Applicants for PhD Study Scholarship should also:
Meet the admission criteria set for international students by UCAS (please refer to http://english.ucas.ac.cn/Admissions/Pages/Article.aspx?ID=78)

• Be maximum age of 35 years on 31 December in the year of application
• Have a master degree or in process of obtaining a master degree
• Provide evidence that he/she will return to their home country on completion of the fellowship
• Demonstrate their communication ability in the English or Chinese language
• Have recommendation letters from a TWAS Fellow or two professors in relevant fields.

How to apply for the Fellowship

(1) Download and fill in the “Admission Application Form for International Students of UCAS”

(http://english.ucas.ac.cn/Admissions/Pages/Article. aspx?ID=78) and “Application Form for the CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship” (See the attachment), and submit these two application forms (Supervisor’s Comment Pages not to be included) with the following materials to the Office of CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme at UCAS:

• Notarized photocopy of the highest degree certificate (This year's graduates provide a pre-graduation certificate)
• Notarized photocopy of the transcript of all undergraduate or graduate study
• Curriculum vitae and research proposal
• Photocopy of the first page of a regular passport
• Photocopy of the title page and abstract of each published academic paper
• Foreigner Physical Examination Form
• Payment certification of the application processing fee (RMB 600, see the “Admission Application Form for International Students of UCAS” for more details).

Note：Applicants may submit scanned copies of the required application document via email. After receiving the offer of the scholarship, applicants are required to send the original notarized photocopy of their highest degree certificate and the original notarized photocopy of the transcript of their undergraduate or graduate study to IC-UCAS. The detailed requirements and contact information of IC-UCAS will be provided in the admission offer documents sent to the awardees.

(2) Contact professors affiliated with UCAS colleges, schools and CAS institutes (http://english.ucas.ac.cn/Academics) and get agreement from a Professor to be your tutor (supervising professor).

(3) Send the Supervisor’s Comment Pages in the “Application Form for the CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship” to your tutor (supervising professor), and ask him/her to fill in the comment pages. Make sure that your tutor (supervising professor) will send the comment pages directly by himself/herself to the Office of CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme at UCAS.

(4) Obtain recommendation letter(s) from a TWAS member (see the http://twas.ictp.it/mbrs for TWAS members list) or from at least two professors in relevant fields. Make sure that your recommenders will send the recommendation letters directly by themselves via mail or email to the Office of CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme at UCAS.

(5) The applicants who really need fund for international travel to and from China, should make a written statement and send the paper together with the “Application Form for the CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship” to the Office of CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme at UCAS. CAS will coordinate with TWAS to process and make decision on travel support issues.

Application Deadline: 15 June 2013
Contact Information

Office of CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Add.: 19A Yuquanlu, Beijing, 100049 China
Tel: 86-10-88256424; 86-10-88256206
Fax: 86-10-88256207
E-mail: president-fellowship@ucas.ac.cn

What is CAS

CAS is the single largest public research and education system in China in natural sciences and high technology, comprising 12 branches, 2 universities and over 100 institutes across China, with around 60,000 staff and 50,000 postgraduate students. It hosts 89 national key labs, 172 CAS key labs, 30 national engineering research centers and about 1,000 research sites/field stations throughout the country. It is also a merit-based learned society with five academic divisions and 727 members. CAS has been dedicated to addressing national strategic needs and regional/global challenges.

Read more about CAS: http://english.www.cas.cn/

What is TWAS
TWAS, the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, is an autonomous international organization, founded in 1983 by a distinguished group of scientists from the South under the leadership of the late Nobel laureate Abdus Salam of Pakistan. It was officially launched in Trieste, Italy in 1985 by the secretary-general of the United Nations. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable development in the South.

Read more about TWAS: http://twas.ictp.it/

What is UCAS

UCAS is a research-intensive university with around 40,000 postgraduate students, supported by more than 100 institutes (research centers, laboratories) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Founded in 1978, it was originally named the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the first graduate school in China with the ratification of the State Council.
UCAS is headquartered in Beijing with 4 campuses and is authorized to grant doctorate degrees in 39 primary academic disciplines, offering degree programs in ten major academic fields, including science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, education and management science. UCAS is responsible for the enrollment and centralized management of the PhD candidates of the CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme.

Read more about UCAS: http://www.gucas.ac.cn/site/1

What is USTC

USTC is a comprehensive university including science, engineering, management and humanity science, oriented to frontier science and high technology. It was established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 1958. It was moved to Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province, in 1970. USTC is now a prominent Chinese university, which is the member of the C9 League consisting of the top 9 universities in China and enjoys high reputation worldwide. USTC is regarded in China as “The Cradle of Scientific Elites.” It has around 1500 faculty members, 7200 undergraduates, and 9000 graduate students (2600 PhD candidates). USTC has 14 faculties, 27 departments, graduate school and software school. USTC is responsible for the enrollment and management of the PhD candidates of the CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme admitted by USTC.

Read more about USTC: http://www.ustc.edu.cn/

Enclosure: Application Form (you may download the form from the following link: http://english.ucas.ac.cn/Admissions/Pages/Article.aspx?ID=144)