KSCSTE Kerala Back-To-Lab Post Doctoral Fellowship Programme 2024-25

The candidates for this fellowship will be chosen based purely on merit and a thorough selection process, consisting of the following stages:

• Preliminary scrutiny for eligibility verification
• Technical review by five subject experts
• Presentation of project proposal to the Research Advisory Committee (RAC)
• Meeting and recommendation by RAC
• Execution of agreement and submission of HRA certificate
• Issue of sanction order and release of first instalment

Note:- For detailed information, kindly refer to the 'Scheme Guidelines'.

• Selection is made exclusively based on merit. Any kind of canvassing will result in disqualification.
• Applicants can save their application in progress, return to it later, verify its accuracy, and finally submit it. Once submitted, however, no further changes can be made.
• The candidate should begin the project within two weeks and no later than one month after receiving the sanction order or the first instalment of the funds.
• Upon joining the research centre, the candidate must inform KSCSTE of the project's official start date.
• Candidates are required to submit annual progress reports to KSCSTE on a project-year basis.
• The post-doctoral fellow is required to submit a thorough Final Technical Report (FTR) detailing the research they conducted during their fellowship, upon its completion. The project implemented by the researcher should produce qualitative results, i.e. publications in high-impact journals, patents, social relevance/impact, scope of commercialisation etc.
• Post-doctoral fellows are required to participate in frequent group monitoring workshops to present their work progress. The workshop will examine project progress and consider any technical, financial, or duration-related requests for appropriate decisions by the Council.
• After completing their fellowship, post-doctoral fellows will have to submit consolidated audited statements of expenditure and utilisation certificates to KSCSTE within 3 months after project completion.
• Fellows will be assigned a scientist mentor with significant research experience of 5 or more years to supervise their research work. The mentor will project progress, ensure seamless implementation, and facilitate the timely submission of financial utilisation reports by the institute to KSCSTE.
• The implementing Institute should provide adequate infrastructure, including laboratories, computers, libraries, communication, accommodation, water, and energy to ensure smooth implementation of the project.
• When publishing technical or scientific papers based on project research, fellows are required to acknowledge KSCSTE's support.
• The fellow should not enter a collaboration with a foreign party without approval from the council.
• KSCSTE has the right to end the programme at any moment if it is determined that the project is not being implemented with sufficient progress.
• The researcher is required to submit the financial records and annual progress report of the first project year after it’s over. The RAC will evaluate the first year's work progress before the release of the second grant instalment.
• Extension of the project is allowed under genuine circumstances. Requests for extension must be sent to the director of KSCSTE two months before the initial scheduled date of completion.
• The post-doctoral fellow shall publish the results of the project work in at least one peer-reviewed journal before completion of the project tenure of two years. When the grant is settled, KSCSTE will release the fellowship for the final three months of the second year and the funding for contingencies, following the submission of a copy of the publication or an announcement of the paper's approval.
• The post-doctoral fellow should inform KSCSTE about any achievement, patent submission/publication of any research outcome achieved by the project during or after the project tenure. All publications, patents, and news coverage from the research must acknowledge KSCSTE's support.
• If research findings are to be legally protected, they must be secured before publication.