SERB INDO-US Postdoctoral Fellowship

SERB Postdoctoral Fellowship is a joint effort of Science and Engineering Research Board and Indo-US Science and Technology Forum with the aim to build national capacity in frontier areas of Science and Engineering.Under this fellowship scheme, PhD Scholars from India are provided financial assistance to carry out research in selected areas in an Institute located in the United States of America. SERB is a statutory body under Department of Science and Technology and is commonly known as DST SERB. The candidates have to submit their PhD Certificate/ provisional along with the application.

• Eligibility: To be eligible for the scholarship, candidates should possess a PhD degree and should be younger than 35 years.
• Reward: The eligible candidates will get a monthly stipend of INR 1.9 lakh along with return flight tickets and contingency allowance.
• Application: Applications are to be made online via email and the last date to complete the application process is 28 February 2017

• Type of Fellowship: Fully Paid Fellowship
• Course level: PhD & Research
• Duration of Fellowship:  12 months
• Country for Study: United States of America

Important Dates

The candidates selected for the SERB INDO-US Postdoctoral Fellowship will be awarded monthly stipend, airfare and contingency allowance. The details of the awards are as follows. The award should commence within six months of the announcement of the result.

• Duration: The Fellowship will be awarded for 12 months, with a provision of expansion of 1 year after the evaluation from SERB/ IUSSTF.
• Monthly Stipend: The candidates will get a monthly stipend of 3000 USD (Approx. INR 1.9lakh).
• Contingency Allowance: The candidate will get contingency allowance of Rs. 60,000 to cover up expenses related to US Visa, Medical Insurance and airport transfer. This grant will be settled as per actuals.
• Air Tickets: The candidates will be provided with to & from economy class air tickets from the shortest route from the nearest international airport in India to the USA.
• Overseas Medical Insurance
• Conference Allowance: If this grant applies to the candidate maximum allowance is Rs. 74000

Disbursement of the Fellowship Grant

Research Fellow with no Institutional affiliation in India

• 1 st tranche: 100% monthly stipend of 1 month along with 50% of Overseas Medical Insurance and 100% personal contingent grant
• 2nd tranche: 90% monthly stipend of 3 months
• 3rd tranche: 90% monthly stipend of 4 months
• 4th tranche: 90% monthly stipend of 4 months

Research Fellow with Institutional affiliation in India

1st tranche: 90% monthly stipend of six or twelve months (as approved) along with 50% of Overseas Medical Insurance and 100% personal contingent grant

Do the selected candidates need to sign any bond for the fellowship?

The selected Fellows are supposed to execute a bond stating that the fellowship would be treated as a grant-in-aid if the Fellows return to India after successful completion or else it will be treated as a loan to Fellows who do not come back or discontinue the fellowship midway. Penal interest will also be levied on such candidates.

The applications for SERB INDO-US Postdoctoral Fellowship are to be submitted by email and the details related to the application process are as follow:

• Application Form: The application form and summary of the application are available online on the official website of Indo-US Science and Technology Forum. >> Guidelines to fill the Application form.
• The applications for the scholarship are to be forwarded from the head of the institution/ Department if the candidate is holding a regular position.
• Acceptance: The scholar making application for the Fellowship should have been accepted by the U.S scientific/technological institution, which is internationally recognised as an outstanding institution where major work in the identified area is in progress.
  • The efforts to connect with the Institute for the research are to be made by the candidate himself.
  • Letter of Acceptance from the host U.S Institute is to be provided by the candidate to complete the application process.

Apply Now

SERB Postdoctoral Fellowship Submission 

The candidates are required to complete the submission of the application form online and along with that submit the following documents

• Detailed CV of the Applicant
• CV of the U.S. Host Professor
• Provisional degree/ final PhD certificate
• Letter of acceptance from the U.S. Host Professor
• Statement from the Current Employer (format provided)
• Recommendation Letters (from 2 Referees)
• 3 best research papers/ articles of your choice listing applicant name as first author/ co-author
• Proof of DOB (Please attach scan copy of the supporting document, e.g. Birth certificate/ 10th class certificate/ passport)

The scholarship will focus on the following areas:

• Materials
• Energy
• Sustainable Chemistry
• Quantum Computing & Spintronics
• Complex systems
• Theoretical Mathematical Science
• Big Data
• Mechanobiology / Physical Biology
• Bio-energy
• Genetics to Physiology
• Mental Health
• High-Performance Computation in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics
• Humanoid Robotics
• Cognitive Science
• Mechatronics
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Cyber security, Encryption & decryption
• Petroleum & Petro-Chemical Engineering
• The science of Climate Change, Glaciology, Modelling, Imaging, Algorithms and Combinatorial Optimisations.

SERB Postdoctoral Fellowship Result (Last Year Highlights)

A total of 51 students were selected for SERB INDO-US Post-Doctoral Fellowship from reputed Institutes. Some of them are as follows:

• Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore
• CSIR- National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune
• Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad
• Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
• Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai etc.