COMSTECH Research Fellowships for Least Developed Countries in OIC Countries

Islamabad: The Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) has announced an open call for research fellowships targeting young scientists and engineers from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) that are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The initiative, offered in partnership with COMSTECH’s Centres of Excellence (CCoE) member institutions, aims to strengthen research capacity across the Islamic world by giving early-career researchers hands-on exposure at leading OIC research centres.

Under the programme, selected fellows will spend six to twelve months at a relevant centre of excellence chosen from a list of participating host institutions across OIC member states. The fellowship is designed to help promising researchers build technical skills, gain access to advanced laboratories and facilities, and establish long-term collaborative networks with scientists in other Muslim-majority countries.

Eligibility and Qualification Requirements

The fellowships are open to citizens of least developed OIC countries, or to researchers employed by a research institution based in an OIC member state. Applicants must hold at least a Master’s degree for graduate-level placements, or a Ph.D. for post-graduate research positions, and must be actively engaged in research work in the natural sciences, applied sciences, or engineering and technology.

An age limit applies: candidates applying for graduate-level fellowships must be no older than 35 years, while those applying for post-graduate fellowships must be under 45. COMSTECH has indicated that preference will be given to young scientists at the start of their research careers, with particular encouragement extended to women scientists and to applicants currently based in least developed OIC countries.

Terms of the Award

Successful applicants will have their international airfare covered by COMSTECH at low-cost rates, while host institutions will be responsible for accommodation, a subsistence allowance, research supervision, and local mentorship during the fellowship period. Fellowships are initially granted for six to twelve months but may be extended if recommended by the host institution.

Selection will be made jointly by a review committee comprising representatives of COMSTECH and the relevant host institution, based on the scientific merit of each application.

How to Apply

Unlike many international scholarship programmes, this call does not follow a fixed annual deadline — applications and nominations are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year. Interested candidates must submit their applications directly by email to COMSTECH Headquarters in Islamabad, at khazima@comstech.org or comstech@comstech.org.

A complete application must include:

• A duly filled application form
• A scanned copy of a valid passport
• A CV of no more than five pages, including a list of publications
• A supporting statement from the head of the applicant’s home institution
• Two reference letters from senior scientists familiar with the applicant’s work (the head of the home institution may not serve as one of the two referees)
• Copies of M.S./Ph.D. degrees and relevant university transcripts

Background

COMSTECH is the Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of the OIC, headquartered in Islamabad. It functions as the OIC’s principal platform for coordinating scientific research, technology transfer, and capacity-building among its 57 member states, with a particular focus on narrowing the science and technology gap between developed and developing Muslim-majority nations. The Centres of Excellence (CCoE) network comprises leading research and higher-education institutions nominated across OIC countries, which host visiting researchers, share laboratory infrastructure, and jointly supervise fellowship recipients.

Fellowship and scholarship programmes of this kind have become a recurring instrument through which COMSTECH pursues its capacity-building mandate, particularly for researchers from the OIC’s least developed member states — a category that includes several countries in Africa, South Asia, and parts of the Middle East that face persistent gaps in research funding and infrastructure. By subsidising travel costs and pairing fellows with established host institutions, the programme is intended to lower the barriers that often prevent early-career scientists in these countries from accessing advanced research environments.

For further information, applicants may contact COMSTECH Secretariat at 33-Constitution Avenue, G-5/2, Islamabad, or via phone at +92-51-9220681-3.