Applications open for L’Oréal-UNESCO prize for female scientists
L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Middle East Fellowship is once again looking for worthy candidates for this year’s program. The annual initiative, in partnership with Zayed University in the UAE and under the patronage of Lubna bint Khalid Al-Qasimi, president of Zayed University, aims to recognize and promote women pursuing science in the region.
The initiative supports Arab female scientists and researchers in the region to pursue scientific research by awarding valuable fellowships. This year fellowships of €84,000 ($1,037,80) will be given to six Arab female scientists either holding, or studying for, a Ph.D. in the fields of life sciences or physical sciences and working in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or Yemen.
“When it began 20 years ago, L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science was a first-of-its-kind initiative with a firm belief that the scientific community needs more women to actively pursue new horizons. In our region, the initiative was launched in 2014; and since then fellowships worth 1.5 million dirhams have been given to 18 remarkable women scientists from the region, four of whom were recognized at an international level. Our primary focus is to enable women to pursue an education and a dynamic career in science in the GCC and Yemen,” said Remi Chadapaux, managing director of L’Oréal Middle East.
Supporting women in the research field since 1998, L’OréalUNESCO for Women in Science has recognized and honored 2,800 exceptional female scientists from 115 countries. The foundation has honored 97 awards laureates for excellence in science, including two women who went on to win the Nobel Prize. Through the initiative, 2,723 promising young women scientists received fellowships to pursue their research projects. In 2017, out of the 9,000 applications received worldwide, L’OréalUNESCO for Women in Science awarded 275 fellowships to the most deserving women scientists. The program involved insights and support from over 43 global scientific institutions; and the selection process was carried out by 353 scientists, including 31 L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Laureates.
To apply and for more details, researchers should visit www. fwis.fr and submit the required documents and details between Feb. 18 and May 17.