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Scope of the programme

EMBL is among the world’s highest ranked scientific research organisations aimed to explore the secrets of life. EMBL integrates 27 member states and employs close to 1800 people across its six research sites in Heidelberg, Barcelona, Grenoble, Hamburg, Cambridge (Hinxton) and Rome. EMBL has research groups studying the basic principles of life at the scale of atoms to ecosystems, understanding life in context of its surroundings, including a long history of developing methods and technologies to support such research.

UNESCO is the main agency within the United Nations that aims to promote global peace and security, through the promotion of international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication and information. UNESCO works with science organisations to share ideas and establish standards, promote dialogue between scientists and policy makers, and enable the development of deeper international cooperation in science.

This initiative follows the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between EMBL and UNESCO to promote greater collaboration in the areas of open science, capacity building in developing countries, sharing of scientific resources and the promotion of gender equality in science.  

The current call targets advanced female PhD fellows, postdoctoral scholars, and tenure-track group leaders holding a primary affiliation with a research group/programme based in Africa. Applications are especially welcomed from eligible candidates among the fellows of the UNESCO’s Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), and the L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women In Science (FWIS) awardees, who have demonstrated research excellence, and intend to use this placement opportunity to simultaneously expand their research program and contribute to capacity building in their home institution/region/country.

The successful candidate(s) will be hosted by an EMBL research group leader and participate in an ongoing project within the team for between 3-6 months. The candidate(s) will have the opportunity to acquire new wet lab and/or computational skills relevant to their own research and benefit from EMBL’s state-of-the-art infrastructure and its vibrant scientific community to build an international scientific network beyond borders.

EMBL provides financial and logistic support to the successful candidates through the Scientific Visitor Programme Office, covering the costs for visa, travel and accommodation for the duration of their stay. Further funding may be made available on a discretionary basis, taking into account information provided in the application form.

The 2026 Fellowship programme is kindly supported by the Friends of EMBL, EFU (European Foundation for Urology) & the Runnebaum Stiftung.

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Participating groups

See top of this page for details on the projects offered by the groups above during the 2026 call.

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Eligibility

This call is open to all female scientists;

• With primary affiliation with an African institution
• Who are active PhD researchers, Postdoctoral fellows and tenure-track group leaders (5 years or less)
• Who must provide a support letter from a supervisor/mentor with approval of leave of absence if selected for the programme

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How to apply

Candidates are invited to apply for this opportunity via EMBL’s e-recruitment system (see button at the top of the page)

To apply: 

1. Download and fill the pdf application form available at the top of this webpage. Review the application guide to fill in the form.

2.  In the application form, complete all relevant details to the fullest extent possible and indicate your two preferred projects (project list attached above) with justification of your selections.

3. Create a concise curriculum vitae/resume (maximum of 2 pages) and provide a valid ORCID ID where all your peer reviewed publications are included. 

4. The letter of support on official letterhead paper should contain the contact information from your supervisor (for PhD/postdoc applicants), or Department/Institution Head (for early career group leader applicants) and should state their support for your stay at EMBL. The letter should also confirm that you continue to receive your stipend/salary during and after your stay at EMBL following your return to your home institution.

5.  To submit your application on EMBL’s online jobs portal, please create a profile and upload your completed application form, curriculum vitae, and letter of support. All supporting documents should be uploaded in the CV/Cover Letter section, where multiple PDFs can be attached. If you have any questions or encounter any issues, please contact us at vp@embl.org

6. Please plan and submit your application by the advertised deadline. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered for evaluation.

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Important dates

14 February 2026: Call opens for applications 

12 April 2026 (23:59 CET): Deadline for submission of applications

May 2026: Pre-interviews for shortlisted candidates with project hosts. 

May/June 2026: Final Panel Interview of top candidates proposed by project hosts

June 2026: Result announcement

August-September 2026: Typical start of residency, or as agreed with EMBL host

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Selection procedure

• EMBL project hosts will review all applications which list them in the priority list, and invite select candidates for a pre-interview via videoconferencing.

• Project hosts nominate their top candidate(s) of choice to the fellowship committee for a panel interview by videoconferencing. 

• The top 3-4 candidates from the panel interview are awarded the residency and notified by June 2026 to arrange their visit with the EMBL hosts. 

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Contact

Should you have any questions, please get in touch with the Scientific Visitor Programme Office.
Email: vp@embl.org