Engineering for Development (ETH4D) Doctoral Mentorship Program 2025 (Fully Funded to ETH Zurich, Switzerland)

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About Engineering for Development (ETH4D) Doctoral Mentorship Program

ETH4D provides grants for mentoring doctoral candidates from low- and lower-middle-income countries.

The mentorship is a one-year appointment and comprises the following components:

• Mentorship from one ETH professor, senior scientist or postdoc over a period of one year of the mentee’s doctoral studies. We suggest monthly meetings and clearly defined goals of the project, e.g., presentation at a conference, joint publication. ETH mentors are free to serve on the doctoral committee of the ETH4D mentee, but this is not a requirement. 
• Research stay at the mentor’s research group (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) for 1-3 months during the mentorship period. 
• Financial support for attending a conference and/or research material

More information can be found in the DownloadETH4D Doctoral Mentorship Programme Criteria document (PDF, 183 KB). If you wish you read more about the selection criteria, you may do so Downloadhere. (PDF, 50 KB)

For more information about finding a supervisor, see this page. 

• School: ETH Zurich

Benefits of Engineering for Development (ETH4D) Doctoral Mentorship Program

The grant covers expenses up to a maximum of 15k CHF and includes the following:

• Economy roundtrip ticket (max. 2 kCHF) to and from Switzerland for the research stay
• Visa fees
• Travel allowance to attend an academic conference
• Research material (e.g. lab equipment) (max 6 kCHF in total).
• Fees for health insurance
• Local transportation
• Accommodation
• Living allowance for the duration of the research stay at ETH Zurich  

Engineering for Development (ETH4D) Doctoral Mentorship Program Requirements

Eligible are doctoral candidates who are registered at a university or research institute in a low- and middle-income country according to the external pageOECD/DAC list. Priority is given to applications from least-developed, lower-income, and lower-middle income countries.

The application needs to be submitted by the ETH professorship hosting the doctoral candidate. Applications directly submitted by the doctoral candidate will NOT be considered.

Application Date and Process

Application Document 

• Budget (Downloadtemplate budget (XLSX, 15 KB))
• A single PDF contianing the following 
  • Project description (see criteria document for points that need to be addressed)
  • Motivation letter of the doctoral candidate (1 page)
  • Most recent university transcripts 
  • CV of doctoral candidate (max. 2 pages) incl. publications
  • Two academic reference letters
  • Doctoral project proposal (if available)
  • Support letter of the hosting ETH professor, including any financial and in-kind contributions
  • Work plan for the stay in Zurich in the form of a Gantt chart

Please read the DownloadEligibility Criteria and Application Requirements (PDF, 183 KB) before applying.

All application documents must be written in English submitted via the online application form. 

Application Deadline

15 October, 2024

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