TWAS-SISSA-Lincei Research Cooperation Visits Programme
UNESCO-TWAS with the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei and SISSA
Three-month funded research visits to laboratories in Trieste and Udine, Italy for scientists from least developed countries who hold an MSc and are under 40. Travel and subsistence are covered. Deadline 31 October 2026. Ghana is not eligible: LDC nationals only.
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Eligibility
- Who can apply
- Ldc
- Education required
- Masters completed
- Age
- up to 40 (Applicants must be a maximum age of 40 years on 31 December of the application year.)
- Fields
- Natural sciences, Mathematics, Environment
- Residency
- Applicants must hold a research position in a least developed country, and applicants already on site in the host country are not eligible.
- Also required
- Must be a national of a least developed country (UN DESA list); Ghana is not an LDC and is therefore not eligible
- Must hold an MSc or higher degree
- Research proposals must fall under sustainability science and support the UN Sustainable Development Goals
- Only applications in the scientific fields listed on the programme page and in the application form are considered
- Eligible host institutions are SISSA, ICGEB, INFN (one supervisor), OGS, University of Trieste, University of Udine, IOM-CNR, Area Science Park and Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste
- Women scientists are encouraged to apply
About this opportunity
UNESCO-TWAS, the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei and the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) fund young scientists from least developed countries to spend three months at a research laboratory or centre of excellence in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy, carrying out a collaborative research project or training internship. The stated purpose is twofold: to build the capacity of promising researchers at the beginning of their careers, and to catalyse links that lead to further collaboration. The next deadline is 31 October 2026.
Eligibility is tight. Applicants must be nationals of a least developed country as listed by UN DESA and must hold a research position in a least developed country; that includes many African countries such as Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Mali, Senegal, Zambia, Madagascar and Sudan, but it does not include Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria or South Africa. You must hold an MSc or higher, be at most 40 years old on 31 December of the application year, and you cannot already be on site in Italy. Women scientists are explicitly encouraged to apply.
Eligible host institutions are SISSA, ICGEB, INFN, OGS, the University of Trieste, the University of Udine, IOM-CNR, Area Science Park and Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, and only applications in the scientific fields listed on the programme page are considered - at SISSA these run across physics, neuroscience and mathematics. Research proposals must fall under the umbrella of sustainability science and be relevant to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, through UNESCO-TWAS, cover travel expenses and subsistence costs for the stay in Italy.
- Level
- Master's, PhD, Postdoc, Early career
- Where
- Italy
- Duration
- 3 months
- Difficulty
- High · about 6 weeks to prepare
Funding
Fully funded
- travel
- stipend
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, through UNESCO-TWAS, cover travel expenses and provide subsistence costs for the stay in Italy. The programme page does not state a figure.
What you will need
- Research proposal
Applications are submitted only through the TWAS online portal and only while the call is open. The programme page states that only applications in the scientific fields listed in the application form are considered; it does not publish a full document checklist.
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