Hindustan Unilever Women PhD Fellowships

About

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is one of the leading fast moving consumer goods companies in India, operating in Indian markets for over 85 years. HUL works to create a better future every day and has a track record of contribution to the society and supporting strong social causes.
HUL is sponsoring fellowships for five women PhD students studying in the Indian Institute of Science, whose research areas are aligned with the four Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — Health & Hygiene, Clean Water & Sanitation, Nutrition & Fortification and Climate Action & Sustainability.

Entitlements

• Monthly fellowship amount of Rs 70,000
• Annual grant for Rs 2,00,000.
• The fellowships will be for a period of five years.

Application Details

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Last date for submission of application (including recommendations): 21st October 2024
Announcement of fellowship selections: approximately 31 October 2024
Fellowship effective date – 1st August 2024

Eligibility:

• Women students enrolled in the PhD programme at IISc are eligible to apply after completing 12 months in the programme. Women students enrolled in the Integrated PhD programme are eligible to apply after completing 36 months in the programme, provided they have satisfied
  the requirements of the Master’s degree.
• A student can apply only once to the HUL fellowship. PhD students can apply only in their second year in the programme. Integrated PhD students can apply only in their fourth year in the programme.
• The fellowship is for students whose research topic is related to one (or more) of the areas mentioned above.
• The applicant should have completed courses worth at least 12 credits as part of the PhD programme requirement, or 64 credits as part of the Integrated PhD programme, and obtained a minimum aggregate CGPA of 8 (on a scale of 10) in those courses.
• Students receiving a comparable fellowship, such as the PMRF, or support from another company or institution (other than scholarships from IISc and government agencies) are not eligible to apply for the HUL fellowship. The financial support from this fellowship will replace the student’s scholarship and travel grant from IISc or government agencies.

Required Documents:

• Applicant’s CV/resume (maximum 2 pages). Links to the applicant’s website and publications, if any, may be given in the resume.
• Applicant’s research proposal that clearly describes the problem being studied, the direction and plans for future work, and relevance to the areas mentioned above (maximum 3 pages, excluding references).
• Letter of recommendation from the applicant’s primary PhD advisor.
• Letter of recommendation from the applicant’s department chair or DCC chair.

How to apply:

• The applicant should first create an account (using her IISc email ID) at https://hul-fellowships.iisc.ac.in/ and follow instructions to validate it.
• The applicant should then login at the same web page, enter all the required information, upload the CV/resume and proposal (both as PDF files) and submit the application.
• The applicant will receive a confirmation of submission. The applicant’s primary advisor and DCC chair will also receive emails prompting them to submit their recommendations.
• The applicant’s advisor must send a recommendation for the applicant to the DCC chair of the applicant’s department.
• The DCC chair must write a separate recommendation for the applicant, or request one from the department chair, and upload both recommendations as PDF files at https://hul-fellowships.iisc.ac.in/IIScAdmin/. The DCC chair will be able to view all the applications from their department on this webpage.

Queries on the fellowship and reports of difficulties encountered during the application process should be sent by email to fellowship.hul@iisc.ac.in.

Last date for submission of application (including recommendations): 21st October 2024
Announcement of fellowship selections: approximately 31 October 2024
Fellowship effective date – 1st August 2024

Financial Support:

HUL has currently funded the fellowship for 3 years, but it is expected to renew it every 3 years. If renewed, each HUL fellow will be supported for a duration of 5 years (subject to approval by the review the committee, as detailed below). The financial support includes a
monthly stipend of INR 70,000 and an annual grant of INR 2,00,000, to be utilized for attending an international conference, purchasing a laptop (once over the duration of the fellowship), miscellaneous research expenses (as per IISc rules).

Assessment of progress:

There shall be a review after 12-18 months of the award/renewal of the fellowship. The fellowship will be continued if the performance of the student is found satisfactory by the review committee. The review will be conducted by a panel of IISc faculty. If found necessary, HUL scientists may be invited to be in the panel.

Termination of Fellowship:

IISc reserves the right to terminate a student’s HUL fellowship in any of the following cases:

• The student is found to be ineligible to receive the fellowship, at any point of time during the entire duration of the fellowship.
• It is found that the student furnished false or misleading information in the application or during the reviews.
• Adverse report on the student is received from the institution.
• The student has indulged in misconduct, misbehaviour, or corrupt practices.
• The progress of student’s research work is found to be unsatisfactory.
• The student has violated any of the terms and conditions of the fellowship.
• The student has been found to have indulged in plagiarism or unethical practices.

Termination or cancellation of a fellowship will be done only after giving the student a fair opportunity to present her case.

Selection Process:

• From the qualifying applications, 5 students will be selected for the fellowship by a selection panel of IISc faculty, as per IISc norms for student fellowships.
• Applications will be assessed based on the research proposal, academic achievements of the applicant and recommendations of the advisor and DCC/department chair.
• The research proposals will be evaluated for their novelty, scientific merits, and relevance to the research areas in Sustainable Development Goals

Queries on the fellowship and reports of difficulties encountered during the application process should be sent by email to fellowship.hul@iisc.ac.in.