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Graduate Assistantships in Developing Countries

IMU/CDC established in 2017 the Graduate Research Assistantships in Developing Countries (GRAID) Program.

The Program provides modest support for emerging research groups, working in a developing country listed in Priority 1 or 2 of the IMU  Definition of Developing Countries, making it possible for them to fund their most talented students to study full-time as graduate research assistants and pursue a Master or PhD graduate degree in mathematics, thereby fostering the growth of a mathematics community.

It is assumed that the emerging research group has an ongoing collaboration with an international mathematician. Applications must be made by a Team consisting of a Principal Investigator plus his or her research group and an International Partner. The Principal Investigator should be a university professor in mathematics holding a PhD, working at a university or research centre in a developing country listed in Priority 1 or 2 of the IMU Definition and the International Partner should be a mathematician working at a university or research centre not based in any of the countries listed in Priority 1 or 2 of the IMU Definition.
 
The students will receive a monthly stipend to study full-time and pursue a Master or PhD graduate degree in mathematics and they will be supported additionally by linking their research with an international mathematician.

Funding for the graduate research assistantships will be provided by voluntary donations from mathematicians or mathematical institutions worldwide.

Below you can find the information how to apply.

 

Call for Applications

The next deadline to apply is 2025/03/15, 11:59PM USA Eastern time.

The application form will be made available from November 2024.

Amount of Support

The amount of the stipend per graduate research assistant should not exceed USD 3,500 per year. The exact amount will be decided by the GRAID Committee on a case-by-case basis depending on the local cost of living. One Team can apply for up to 3 graduate research assistantships.

The following costs can be covered by the stipend:

  • Accommodation expenses of the graduate research assistant
  • Basic living expenses

Duration of the Support

For PhD students the stipend will typically cover 4 years depending on satisfactory progress based on annual reports. Extensions for up to 6 months will be decided at the discretion of the GRAID Committee.

Master students will typically be funded for 1 year. Extensions for up to 6 months will be decided at the discretion of the GRAID Committee

Application Process

We invite applications from Teams consisting of:

  1. the Principal Investigator (PI) plus his or her research group, and
  2. the International Partner.

Requirements of the Teams

(A.) The Principal Investigator should be a university professor in mathematics holding a PhD and live and work in a university or research center in a developing country listed in Priority 1 or 2 of the IMU CDC Definition of Developing Countries, and who is already training mathematics Master’s or PhD students, and who is part of a research group.

(B.) The International Partner should be a mathematician working in a university or research center not based in any of the countries listed in Priority 1 or 2 of the IMU CDC Definition of Developing Countries.

The International Partner and Principal Investigator should be in regular contact, for instance using modern communication technology. At the time of application there should be an active and ongoing collaboration between the International Partner and Principal Investigator.

The Principal Investigator will be responsible for ensuring smooth sustained communication in the Team between:

  • the graduate research assistants,
  • the International Partner, and
  • the GRAID Committee.

Administration and Contact

The Program is administered by members of the GRAID Committee. For further details and inquiries please send an email to the Secretary of the GRAID Committee: graid.secretary@mathunion.org

Review and Oversight

Review of Progress

The GRAID Committee will evaluate annually whether progress is being made by each graduate research assistant by reviewing the submitted reports.

In their annual reports, graduate research assistants should give a list of courses taken, briefly describe work carried out, list scientific papers completed, and give a brief plan for the next year. Where relevant, papers should be uploaded to international preprint repositories, e.g., arXiv. All papers and scientific presentations should acknowledge support from IMU and the GRAID Program.

The Principal Investigator as well as the International Partner also submit confidential progress reports for each graduate research assistant in their group. These reports include a brief description of the past and planned work of the overall working group.

Prior to each annual discussion of new applications, the GRAID Committee will assess the different graduate research assistants and whether they remain in good standing.

Review of the GRAID Program

At the end of 5 years, the GRAID Program shall be reviewed by the IMU and CDC.

Call for Donations to the GRAID Program

Mathematicians wishing to donate to GRAID can do so via the Friends of IMU website http://friends-imu.org/donate/#graid.

Donations can be to the general GRAID Program or, as the Program rolls out, to a targeted donation to an already supported Team.

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