International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program (Borlaug Fellowship Program) for Turkiye.
The Borlaug Fellowship Program promotes food security and economic growth through collaborative research. The program offers training for agricultural research, leadership, and agricultural policy to university faculty, researchers, and government officials in Turkiye.
Competitively selected Fellows will work one-on-one with a U.S. mentor who will coordinate the training program. After completion of the 12-week fellowship, the mentor will visit the Fellow’s home institution to continue collaboration on the research topic. USDA will select U.S. host institutions and mentors for each fellow. The 2023 Borlaug Fellowship Program is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Global Programs (GP), Fellowship Programs (FP).
The application deadline for the 2023 Borlaug Fellowship Program is June 23, 2023.
Objectives
- Provide early to mid-career agricultural economists, research scientists, faculty, and policymakers with one-on-one training opportunities in the fields of agricultural policy and research (see acceptable research areas below).
- Provide agricultural economists, research scientists, faculty, and policymakers with practical experience and exposure to novel perspectives and/or new technologies that can be applied in their home institutions.
- Foster collaboration and networking to improve agricultural productivity and trade.
- Facilitate the transfer of new economic, scientific, and agricultural technologies to strengthen agricultural practices.
- Address Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures that will ensure our trading partners use science and risk analysis as a foundation for food safety regulations and SPS measures that mirror U.S. food and agriculture safety standards.
Research Topics
- Biotechnology – Innovative Plant Breeding: to research on new and innovative breeding techniques, such as gene mapping, gene expression, gene deletion, gene introduction, marker-assisted plant breeding, DNA mapping, and other techniques and tools for agricultural purposes.
- Climate Smart Agriculture: to develop or implement new sustainable practices, including mitigations for agriculture’s contributions to climate change and adaptations to ensure agricultural resilience to counter the negative impacts of climate change on agricultural and food production.
Length of Fellowships
Fellowships last approximately 12 weeks at a university or research institution located in the United States. All program proposals must include goals that are achievable within that timeframe. Fellowships will take place as early as spring/summer 2024 or as late as summer 2025. After completing the U.S.-based portion of the fellowship, the mentor will visit the Fellow’s home institution approximately one year after the U.S. portion of the training.
Eligibility Requirements
Candidates will be evaluated, interviewed, and selected based on the following criteria:
- Citizen of Turkiye
- Proficiency in English reading, writing, and speaking skills
- Master’s degree or higher with at least two years of practical experience (minimum) after degree completion
- Currently employed by a university, government ministry, research institution, or other scientific institution
- Intention to continue working in Turkiye for a minimum of two years following return from the United States
- Early/mid-stage of professional career (2-10 years of experience preferred; candidates with more than 15 years of experience are weakly competitive; candidates with 20 years or more experience will not be considered)
- Proposal must be directly related to one of the approved research areas listed above. USDA will not consider proposals for other countries and/or topics.
Application Requirements
Eligible candidates must apply by returning a completed application to AgAnkara@state.gov no later than June 23, 2023.
Applicants must include the following information to have a completed application considered:
- Application form
- Detailed program proposal and research action plan, that includes answers to all questions on the application
- Signed approval from applicant’s home institution
- Two letters of recommendation (academic and professional preferred)
- Copies of diploma(s) for all college/university degree(s) received
- Transcripts
- Copy of passport identification page
Contact Information
For questions related to the application process please contact:
USDA-Foreign Agricultural Service Ankara
1480 Sokak No. 1, Cukurambar Mahallesi
06530 Cankaya, Ankara, Turkiye
AgAnkara@state.gov
Additional information is available on the website:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/programs/borlaug-fellowship-program
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