Paired Early Career Fellowship in Applied Research (PECFAR)

What is the Paired Early Career Fellowship in Applied Research (PECFAR)?

The Paired Early Career Fellowship in Applied Research (PECFAR) is a bilateral mobility fellowship that funds short exchange visits for young researchers moving between India and Germany. It is run by the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC), a joint initiative of India's Department of Science and Technology and Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and on the Indian side falls under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

According to IGSTC, PECFAR is meant to facilitate a two-way exchange of early-career Indian and German researchers through short visits for networking and for exploring avenues for future collaboration. The distinctive feature of the scheme is that researchers apply as a pair: one from India and one from Germany; rather than as individuals, so that the visit builds a genuine cross-border partnership from the outset.

Key features

• Supports short research visits of about 1 to 2 months.
• Open to early-career researchers from both India and Germany.
• Requires a paired application: one Indian and one German researcher.
• Focus on applied research and building collaborative links.
• Administered by IGSTC, the Indo-German bilateral science body.

Because this is a niche bilateral scheme with limited published detail, the exact living allowance, travel and insurance amounts are set out in each open call. Applicants should treat the IGSTC call document as the authoritative source for current figures rather than relying on secondary summaries.

Who is eligible for PECFAR?

You can apply if:

• You are an early-career researcher as defined by IGSTC (typically a post-PhD researcher in the early years of an independent career).
• You have a counterpart in the other country — an Indian applicant pairs with a German applicant and vice versa.
• You have a host institution in the country to be visited that agrees to receive you.
• Your work falls within the applied-research focus of the call.

You cannot apply if:

• You want to apply alone; PECFAR is a paired fellowship, so a solo application from either side is not eligible.
• You are outside the early-career window defined by IGSTC.
• You do not have a confirmed host in the country to be visited.
• You are not affiliated with an institution in India or Germany. The scheme is strictly bilateral between the two countries.

This is not a scheme a student or the general public applies to for a personal benefit; it is a professional research-mobility fellowship for institution-based early-career researchers.

What documents are required for PECFAR?

How to apply for PECFAR

1. Watch the IGSTC website (igstc.org) for the open PECFAR call and read the eligibility, benefits and deadlines in the call document.
2. Identify your paired partner, an early-career researcher in the other country (Germany for an Indian applicant, India for a German applicant).
3. Agree a joint activity plan describing the networking and collaboration you will pursue during the visit.
4. Obtain host-institution consent in the country to be visited.
5. Submit the joint online application through the IGSTC portal within the call window, uploading both CVs and the plan.
6. If selected, complete the grant and travel formalities advised by IGSTC before starting the exchange visit.

What does PECFAR cover?

PECFAR is a mobility fellowship, so its support is built around the cost of a short research visit rather than a project grant. In broad terms, such IGSTC exchange fellowships meet the visiting researcher's living costs during the stay, international travel between India and Germany, and related items such as visa and travel insurance. The purpose is to remove the financial barrier to a first exchange visit so that the paired researchers can meet, work together and lay the groundwork for a larger collaboration or joint proposal later.

What PECFAR is not is a salary, a degree scholarship or a long-term research grant. The visit is short, one to two months, and outcome-focused on networking and exploring collaboration. Any continuation into a full joint project would go through IGSTC's larger bilateral programmes, for which a successful PECFAR visit can be a stepping stone. Because the precise living allowance, travel and insurance amounts are fixed in each call, applicants should read the live IGSTC call document for the exact figures rather than rely on secondary summaries.

Help and contact

• Administering body: Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC)
• Portal: igstc.org

IGSTC does not publish a general public helpline for PECFAR; queries are handled through the contact details on the IGSTC website and within the specific call notification. Because PECFAR is a small, periodically-run bilateral scheme, always confirm the current benefit amounts, early-career definition and deadlines in the live IGSTC call before applying.