Middle East - 2026 Call for Applications

UNESCO

Khalifa University of Science Technology and Research

6 Annual Endowments

20,000€ for Postdoctoral Researchers

8,000€ for PHD Students

Postdoctoral Researches:

Applicants must meet the following general criteria:

• Being an Arab national.
• Having obtained a PhD in Life or Physical Sciences.
• Working in a Research Laboratory, Institute, or University in one of the GCC countries or Yemen.
• Candidates must be no more than 45 years old (Born in 1981 and beyond, taking into account the year of birth).
• Early-career researchers who are actively engaged in research activities are also eligible. Having obtained a PhD within the last 10 years at the time of application. This 10-year period takes into account career breaks such as maternity leave, medical leave or equivalent. Early-career researchers must meet all general criteria mentioned above regarding the nationality, affiliation and age limit.

PhD Students:

Applicants must meet the following general criteria:

• Being an Arab national.
• Having obtained a Bachelor (B.Sc.) and a Master (M.Sc.) degrees, or equivalent, in Life or Physical Sciences.
• Should be full time student in PhD and having registered during 2025-2026 in the 2^nd year of the PhD program, or one year before the thesis defense.
• Working in a Research Laboratory, Institute, or University in one of the GCC countries or Yemen.
• Candidates must be no more than 35 years old (born in 1991 and beyond, taking into account the year of birth).

The selection criteria of the candidate by the jury are the following:

• The candidate’s outstanding academic record (including number, quality and impact of the publications, conference presentations, patents…).
• The scientific quality of the research project.
• Abide by international ethical regulations in all research steps.
• The innovative approach (rationale, relevance, originality, outputs, applications, etc.) and the expected outcomes of the research.
• The ability of the candidate to communicate and promote sciences to a younger audience and to encourage young Arab female researchers.
• The candidate’s career-path.
• The application will be considered complete if it contains a detailed description of the research project and its methodology.

Consideration with regards to animal testing:

• Any project using experimental protocols likely to generate animal suffering will be rejected, even if it has been approved by an ad hoc ethics committee
• If animal experimentation is to be conducted as part of the applicant's submitted research, it must be described in detail and indicated in what way it cannot be substituted. The necessity of the animal experiments or the lack of alternatives must be justified. Jury members must take a position based on these elements or ask for clarification if necessary.
• A commitment by the candidate not to cause animal suffering during the project for which she is applying for the award will be included in the application forms and must be officially signed.

Grants are exclusively dedicated to the development of scientific research and can under no circumstance be a substitute to the duties of the laboratory vis-à-vis its researchers.

Grants are non-renewable and can be combined with other research grants.