ELIGIBILITY:

Female candidates are encouraged to apply under this scholarship programme and will be prioritized.

The scholarships are generously funded by participating Coimbra Group member universities, while the Coimbra Group Office manages the application process.

Applicants must fulfill ALL of the following requirements:

Be born on or after 1 January 1981.

Be nationals and current residents of a Sub-Saharan African country (candidates already living and/or studying in Europe will not be considered). Some host universities may restrict eligibility to applicants from specific Sub-Saharan African countries: applicants should consult the “Remarks” section of each university’s offer to confirm if their country is eligible.

Be academic staff members of a university or equivalent higher education institution in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Preferably hold doctoral/postdoctoral or equivalent academic status.

Obtain an acceptance letter/email from a supervisor at the host university confirming their willingness to supervise the work programme during the research stay. This document is mandatory (see more information below).

Apply through the Coimbra Group electronic application process.

Submit only one application to a single university. Multiple applications will not be considered valid.

Submit all information in English.

Please note that the universities listed below (“Participating universities”) are the only eligible host institutions for the 2026 edition of this Scholarship Programme.

Further details about each university, including their research fields, can be found directly on their respective websites.

Participating universities: The following Coimbra Group universities are participating in the 2026 edition of this scholarship programme. Please click on each university to see the specific scholarship conditions offered.

Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași (Romania)

University of Barcelona (Spain)

University of Bergen (Norway)

University of Coimbra (Portugal)

University of Cologne (Germany)

University of Granada (Spain)

University of Graz (Austria)

University of Groningen (The Netherlands)

Heidelberg University (Germany)

İstanbul University (Turkey)

Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany)

The Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland)

University of Padova (Italy)

University of Pavia (Italy)

University of Poitiers (France)

University of Salamanca (Spain)

University of Siena (Italy)

Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (Germany)

BENEFIT:

Amount available for each scholarship: Free accommodation in a university guest residence, a scholarship of 1500 RON (approx. 300€) + reimbursement of travel expenses depending on the distance between Iași and the grantee’s home university (up to 28 Euro for 0-99 km, up to 211 Euro for 100-499 km, up to 309 Euro for 500-1999 km, up to 395 Euro for 2000-2999 km, up to 580 Euro for 3000-3999 km, up to 1188 Euro for 4000-7999 km and up to 1735 Euro for distances over 8000 km).

Amount available for each scholarship: 1,500€ per month (to cover accommodation and living expenses). The university does not fund the travel costs.