STEP Program Applications Open

ICTP works to offer a range of support to scientists of all ages: not all careers start or develop in the same way. For PhD students, guidance and specific expertise on their narrowly-focused project can be key, and in developing countries, this expertise can sometimes be hard to find. That's where the STEP program comes in.

STEP is short for Sandwich Training Educational Program, and the program aims to enrich the doctoral studies of students from developing countries by providing access to advising, conferences, and research support. With a STEP fellowship, PhD students study at their home universities but have the financial support to visit ICTP or a collaborating institute for a three- to six-month stay each year for three successive years. Physics and mathematics students from a wide range of fields work are encouraged to apply.

The deadline for applying to the STEP program is approaching: apply by August 15, 2017.

STEP students have a co-advisor at their home institution, and a co-advisor at a scientific institution in or around Trieste. A number of institutions have joined the STEP program and accept STEP students, including SISSA, Elettra, and the University of Trieste, a total of 14 institutions in all. ICTP, IAEA, and OFID (the OPEC Foundation for International Development) offer fellowships for PhD students, covering various specialties.

Read more about the work of one of ICTP's STEP students, and about the OFID Fellowship launch.