WIPO PCT Fellowship Program for Graduate Students 2025 (Stipend Available)

Applications are open for the WIPO PCT Fellowship Program for Graduate Students 2025. The PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) Translation Division of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) organizes a Fellowship Program for assistant terminologists, translators, post-editors, translation technologists, and technical specialists, with the aim of providing training and on-the-job experience at an international organization.

Get latest opportunities in your email

About WIPO PCT Fellowship Program

Opportunity Details

There are five types of Fellowship position:

  • Terminology fellows will be trained in the creation of terminology entries for the PCT Term base and subsequent publication in WIPO Pearl.
  • Translation fellows will be trained in the translation of patent abstracts and patent examination documents.
  • Post-Editing fellows will be trained in the post-editing of machine translation (PEMT) of patent abstracts and patent examination documents.
  • Translation Technology fellows will be trained in the use and support of translation and terminology management systems and machine translation systems.
  • Technical Specialist fellows have prior experience in industry or as a researcher in a specific technical discipline and share their knowledge with PCT translators, and will be trained on the PCT system and the role of translation under the PCT.

Benefits of WIPO PCT Fellowship Program

  • Staff of the PCT Translation Division at WIPO provide training and guidance to participants throughout the period of their fellowship in Geneva. Fellowships may vary in length but usually are not shorter than three months.
  • Fellows are given a monthly stipend of 5,000 Swiss francs (taxable) and are provided with medical cover.
  • Additionally, WIPO will assist with travel and visa arrangements. Fellowships cannot be carried out remotely.

WIPO PCT Fellowship Program Requirements

For the Terminology Fellowship

Candidates should be currently pursuing or be a recent graduate of an advanced degree program (Master’s, Doctorate or an equivalent level degree) in terminology, translation, a related linguistic discipline, or in a technical field provided they have strong linguistic ability. Prior experience in applied terminology would be considered an advantage but is not a requirement, and applicants are expected to work in their native language.

In 2025, applications are invited from native speakers of Arabic, Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, who also have excellent knowledge of English.

For the Translation Fellowship

Candidates should be currently pursuing or be a recent graduate of an advanced degree program (Master’s, Doctorate or an equivalent level degree) in translation, terminology, a related linguistic discipline, or in a technical field provided they have strong linguistic ability. Prior experience in technical translation would be considered an advantage but is not a requirement, and applicants are expected to translate into their native language.

In 2025, applications are requested from candidates working in the following language combinations only:

  • German to English
  • Japanese to English
  • Korean to English

For the Post-Editing Fellowship

Candidates should be currently pursuing or be a recent graduate of an advanced degree program (Master’s, Doctorate or an equivalent level degree) in translation/post-editing, terminology, a related linguistic discipline, or in a technical field provided they have strong linguistic ability. Prior experience in technical translation/post-editing would be considered an advantage but is not a requirement, and applicants are expected to post-edit in their native language (target language).

In 2025, applications are requested from candidates working in the following language combinations only:

  • Chinese to English
  • English to French

For the Translation Technology Fellowship

Candidates should be currently pursuing or be a recent graduate of an advanced degree program (Master’s, Doctorate or an equivalent level degree) in translation technology, translation or a related linguistic discipline including a translation technology component, or in a technical field such as computational linguistics, information technology, or artificial intelligence. Prior experience in translation technology would be considered an advantage but is not a requirement, and applicants are expected to work in English or French.

For the Technical Specialist Fellowship

Candidates should have at least a first degree (Bachelor’s level) in a technical or scientific field and have demonstrated experience in industry or as a researcher, as well as a high level of linguistic ability in English and a second language that is preferably Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish.

Application Date and Process

  • Click on the link to the application website to apply.

Application Deadline

10 March, 2025

Scholarship Application Portal

View details of WIPO PCT Fellowship Program

Apply for WIPO PCT Fellowship Program

Get latest opportunities in your email