IRA RESEARCH GRANTS
IRA will (subject to availability) award research grants each year in following categories,
Trainee
1. Five for DM/DNB/Fellowship residents (up to Rs 2 Lac each)
2. Two for MD residents (up to Rs 1 Lac each)
3. Two MBBS student’s summer projects (up to Rs 50,000 each)
Mentor/guide must be a Life Member of the IRA.
Proposals for categories 1, 2, 3 shall be capped at two submissions per year from a single principal investigator/mentor/guide
Non-trainee IRA members
Five projects - (up to 10 lakhs per project)
Project shall be of at least two years duration.
The research should pertain to issues relevant to India. In such proposals, funding for multicentric studies shall be given priority.
Funding shall be provided for consumables as well as for the manpower.
A principal investigator/ single mentor/guide may have a maximum of two ongoing projects at the same time.
In a single funding cycle, only one project can be funded for a single principal investigator/ single mentor/guide
FUNDING CYCLES
The numbers of actual research grants and quantum available would be advised by the secretary of the IRA to the committee.
The funding shall be evaluated in the following three cycles,
January to April
o Proposal received by 15th March shall be considered
o Proposals shall be reviewed and a decision communicated to applicant by 30th April.
May to August
o Proposal received by 15th July shall be considered
o Proposals shall be reviewed and a decision communicated to applicant by 31st August.
September to December
o Proposal received by 15th November shall be considered
o Proposals shall be reviewed and a decision communicated to applicant by 31st December.
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Research proposals shall be submitted in the prescribed format (vide infra) in PDF format via the IRA research portal - https://www.indianrheumatology.org/grants.
The format for the research proposal (please see enclosed) has been adapted from the format for submission of research proposals to the Indian Council of Medical Research.
A call for proposals shall be sent out every January, May and September 1st week by the IRA via email to all members and through the IRA newsletter along with the prescribed format for research proposal.
Proposals which are not in the required format will be rejected without assignment of any reasons.
The principal investigator (or guide, in case of student projects) should submit a mandatory declaration (please see enclosed) that this project is not under consideration for funding by any other funding agency currently. The applications should be forwarded by the head of the department of the applicant in the prescribed format. The grantees should credit IRA for the funding, submit an abstract related to the project to IRACON, as well as keep in consideration the Indian Journal of Rheumatology for the full manuscript.
EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS
Proposals shall be evaluated by the members of the research committee. If the chair of research committee deems it so, then external review might be sought for any particular proposal.
As the submission is allowed round the year, appraisal of them would also take round the year as they come so as not to overburden the members.
Appraisal
1. Screening criterion: Is the proposal ethical from viewpoint of human/ animal research (as applicable) – note – studies that fail to meet this criterion are automatically rejected.
2. Proposals shall be scored between 1 to 10 in each of the following domains. Each of these five points are scored between 10 (excellent) and 0 (poor).In addition, descriptive comments are provided by the reviewers.
a. Background adequately justified?
b. Aims and objectives clearly defined? There should not be more than three primary objectives and not more than five secondary objectives for a particular study.
c. Does the research work have a potential to eventually (need not directly) translate into clinical care?
d. Does the research work have novelty? Research work simply replicating something done elsewhere (even if it has not been done in India – exception: epidemiological studies) shall score low on this point.
e. Overall impression of the proposal.
3. The chair of the Research appraisal committee shall review the comments received and make a final decision based on several additional factors such as overall scope and relevance for the IRA and taking also into account member’s comments and scoring.
4. The decision of research appraisal committee would be final and binding.
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Research proposals shall be submitted in the prescribed format (vide infra) in PDF format via the IRA research portal - https://www.indianrheumatology.org/grants.
The format for the research proposal has been adapted from the format for submission of research proposals to the Indian Council of Medical Research.
A call for proposals shall be sent out every January, May and September 1st week by the IRA via email to all members and through the IRA newsletter along with the prescribed format for research proposal.
Proposals which are not in the required format will be rejected without assignment of any reasons.
The principal investigator (or guide, in case of student projects) should submit a declaration that this project is not under consideration for funding by any other funding agency currently. The applications should be forwarded by the head of institution/ hospital of the applicant in the prescribed format. The grantees should credit IRA for the funding, submit an abstract related to the project to IRACON, as well as keep in consideration the Indian Journal of Rheumatology for the full manuscript.
FUNDING
a. 70% of grant would be released upfront on submission of letter of IEC clearance.
b. The second installment of 20% shall be provided on receiving a suitable progress report (at least after one year, can be anytime after 6 months of receiving the funding)
c. The final installment of 10% shall be released after the said work has been published in a peer-reviewed journal that is indexed either in Scopus, Medline, Pubmed Central or Web of Science. If the said journal is not indexed on one of these databases, then this final installment shall not be provided.
It is desirable that study funded by the IRA should be submitted to its official organ, the Indian Journal of Rheumatology.
It is mandatory that abstracts of IRA funded research should be submitted to the IRA’s annual conference.
It is mandatory that IRA should be formally acknowledged for the funding provided.
Prior to recommending a proposal for funding, the committee would ascertain from the investigator that the approval of the project (title should be identical) by their relevant research ethics committee has been obtained.
For Format - Download from - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iSw4m15mTm8yEH7aavAHhj0o4ltFGUHM/view?usp=sharing
For Mandatory Declaration form - https://drive.google.com/file/d/10RhwDm87yvNhSTYTodF23u9KHxW1sN-x/view?usp=sharing
APLAR Grant Applications for 2023 is now open for application till 15th April 2023. Grants that are available for applications are:
Kindly refer to the attached files for the announcement letter and application form.
Please note that Applicants are to use the attached forms to apply for the above grants and submit together with the required documents requested in the form.
The closing date for application is Wednesday, 15th April 2023.
Joyce Ann Casenas (Ms)
Secretariat | Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology
Phone: (65) 6774 5201 | Fax:(65) 6774 5203 | Email: secretariat@aplar.org
Address: 1 Scotts Road #24-10, Shaw Center, Singapore 228208For application forms - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/116YjJjMJiJu0Quc08y_HSKD8q1GL7oHU?usp=share_link
1. | Applicant Particular | Provide name, Date of birth, workplace, contact number and email address of the applicants. |
2. | Abstract Details | Provide abstract title and result |
3. | Cover Letter | Cover letter making a (need-based) case for your selection for the travel grant. The letter should specify if and how the applicants get funded for their training (for example whether they need to work to pay for living expenses and/or to conduct their research), if they have access to travel funds to attend conferences (through their schools/hospital or grants), and if and how they have exhausted the travel funds. |
4. | Letter from Direct Supervisor | A letter from their direct supervisors confirming the applicant’s source of funding during the year (i.e., a scholarship, a stipend, or any other research funding) and verifying that the applicants does not have access to other travel funds. |
1. | Applicant Details | ||
Name | : | ||
Date of Birth | : | ||
Institution | : | ||
Department | : | ||
Country | : | ||
Phone | : | ||
E-mail address | : | ||
2. | Abstract(s) submitted to APLAR Conference | ||
Abstract Title(s) | : | ||
Abstract Result Abstract Not accepted Abstract Accepted as Oral Presentation Rapid Fire Presentation Poster Presentation |
|||
3. | Letters Enclosed | ||
CV with photograph Cover Letter Letter from my direct supervisor |
|||
4. | Consent | ||
I have read and agree to the terms and restrictions | |||
5. | Signatures | ||
I certify that the statements made herein are true, complete, and accurate to the best of my knowledge. I am aware that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or claims may disqualify me as a future applicant. | |||
Applicant Name: Date |
Candidates to mail to IRA Secretary with cc to President, IRA (debashisdandacmc@hotmail.com)
Number of fellowships : 3
Amount : INR 100,000
Eligibility : Completed 3 Years of Physician/Pediatrician Training plus1 year experience in any Rheumatology centre in the home country from the Developing World or those Nations having opportunities in the home country.
Requirements :
Indian Rheumatology Association, though Indian Journal of Rheumatology has an undergraduate Rheumatology fellowship program. The program will encourage UGs to undertake rheumatology research projects and will support them with these fellowships. The completed projects will be presented at the annual rheumatology conference of Indian Rheumatology Association (IRA).
All under-graduate medical students from both government and private institutions are eligible to submit a proposal for consideration. A panel of judges will review research proposalsBased on the recommendations of this panel, the award will be given to the 05 best proposals. Each fellowship will carry a grant worth Rs 5,000.
Please send project proposals to: injorheumat@gmail.com.
The ACR/IRA International Fellows Exchange Program was established in 2016 with the goal of providing opportunities for a foreign medical graduate visiting the United States to: observe clinical rheumatologic care of patients; gain a basic overview of the American medical system; and establish relationships with colleagues and mentors that will support his/her in their medical and research career.
The program recognizes outstanding work of rheumatology fellows in both laboratory and clinic- based research, and provides exposure to the exciting work being done by colleagues in other countries. This exchange program allows participants to share knowledge and experience, and creates opportunities for collaboration. In addition, the program fosters the alliance between ACR and IRA and assists in identifying future leaders within both organizations. In 2019, the program will support one exchange observership in India, and one exchange observership in the US.
Who is Eligible?
Trainees who are:
To Apply:
All candidates must provide the following:
Duration and Timing:
Four-week training activity at an academic institution in the US or India to attending the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA from November 7-13, 2019.
Evaluation:
Each fellow will be required to complete a program evaluation that includes a brief report.
Last date is 20th May 2019
IRA-ACR fellow exchange results.
From ACR:
Taha Ahmed Fathullah Qaradaghi
Consultant Rheumatologist, Head of Bone Densitometer & Osteoporosis Center, Sulaimanyiah Internal Medicine teaching hospital_ Rheumatology Section.
From IRA:
Dr Rakesh Pilania DM, Pediatric Rheumatology from PGIMER Chandigarh.
The following documents need to be enclosed with the application
Applications may be sent preferably by email to s.venkatachalam@nhs.net
One copy of the application should be sent to IRA Secretariat : secretary.ira@gmail.com
As young researchers, we often hesitate to go to reputed international conferences despite our work being accepted for presentation. The huge financial burden that is often associated with these travel plans are undoubtedly the chief deterrents, and rightly so. But being young is a great advantage as there are numerous options to explore for funding for conferences. This section will provide you with an overview of various funding options available. It does need a lot of efforts but "no gain without pain". Remember you cannot obtain funds from two agencies for the same conference and/or research work.
Name of the funding agency: ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research)
Who is eligible?
Age: No age limit for non-ICSU (International Council of Scientific Unions ) sponsored events; <35 years for ICSU sponsored events
Criteria:
Amount covered: Up to full reimbursement of the actual return airfare in economy class by Air-India + VISA fees and conference registration.
What are the aspects covered by the funding: Full excursion class air fare by shortest route, airport tax and visa fees. Registration fee is provided to young scientists in addition to the above support (max. of Rs 1,50,000/-)
When do you get to know that the funds are approved?
About four weeks before the commencement of the Conference
When do you get the funds? (Before/ During/ After) After the conference(after submission of claim documents)
Are the funds directly paid to your account? Yes
How early should you apply for this grant?
How to apply:
Website/ Link to the application: https://icmr.nic.in/content/international-travel-non-icmr-scientists
Enclosures
Do you have to submit a brief report towards end? Yes
How much is the usual time taken to process the funds? 2-3 months after the date of conference
How long do we need to wait if we wish to reapply to same funding agency? Three years
Comments/ Tips to increase success rate:
Unlike DBT and DST grants, The application completed in all respects together with enclosures needs to be sent to
The Director General,
Attention: Dr. N. C. Jain, Scientist-G & Head, Division of Human Resource Planning & Development (HRD),
Indian Council of Medical Research, V. Ramalingaswami Bhawan, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi-110 029.
Note : You can’t avail funding from two Govt institutes for a same conference or paper.
Your Name: Vikas Gupta, Avinash Jain
Email ID (optional): vikasg86@gmail.com, avinashjain@outlook.com
Name of the funding agency: Indian Rheumatology Association (IRA)
Who is eligible?
Age: Less than 35 year
Criteria: a) Original Research b) First author of best ten abstractsget the bursary
Amount covered: Travel, Registration and Stay
What are the aspects covered by the funding: as stated above
When do you get to know that the funds are approved?Four to eight weeks before the commencement of the conference
When do you get the funds? (Before/ During/ After) – A team from IRA will connect with you and get all the arrangements done.
Are the funds directly paid to your account? IRA team will take care of the booking, stay and registration unless you have done it on your own. In that case, reimbursement can be claimed.
How early should you apply for this grant?At the time of abstract submission, there will be an option if you wish to apply for bursary.
How to apply:
Website/ Link to the application – It is a part of Indian Rheumatology National conference and is a part of abstract submission process.
Documentation needed – None but an abstract!
Do you have to submit a brief report towards end?No
How much is the usual time taken to process the funds?It is taken care of beforehand.
How long do we need to wait if we wish to reapply to same funding agency?You can reapply for the next conference unless chronological age catches up with you
Comments/ Tips to increase success rate: Be original!!
Your Name: Avinash Jain
Email ID (optional) – avinashjain@outlook.com
Name of the funding agency:DBT (Department of Biotechnology)- CTEP[Conference, Travel, Exhibition and Popular Lectures] division
Who is eligible?
Age: No age limit; Those less than 50 years given preference
Criteria:
Amount covered: Up to full reimbursement of the actual return airfare in economy / excursion class by Air-India.
What are the aspects covered by the funding: Airfare
When do you get to know that the funds are approved?2-3 months before the date of travel/conference
When do you get the funds? (Before/ During/ After)After the conference(after submission of claim documents)
Are the funds directly paid to your account?No
How early should you apply for this grant?12-24 weeks before the date of conference
How to apply:
Website/ Link to the application: https://www.dbtctep.gov.in/staticApply.htm
Documentation needed
The following documents are required to be uploaded while submission through online portal:
The Department upon selection will initially issue a sanction letter indicating the amount of the grant. The sanctioned amount subject to actuals will be released to the scientist only on his/her return to India after participation in the conference and on submitting the following documents:
Do you have to submit a brief report towards end?Yes
How much is the usual time taken to process the funds?6-12 months after the date of conference
How long do we need to wait if we wish to reapply to same funding agency?Three years
Comments/ Tips to increase success rate:
Application needs to be submitted online. No hard copies are to be sent.
Your Name: Vikas Gupta
Email ID (optional): vikasg86@gmail.com
Name of the funding agency:DST(Department of Science & Technology)- SERB [Science & Engineering Research Board] division
Who is eligible?
Age: No age limit; Less than 35 years for those seeking financial assistance for attending training programmes and short-term schools/workshops/courses
Criteria:
Amount covered: Economy class air-fare by shortest route, airport-tax and visa fees. Registration Fee is provided to young scientist in addition to the above support.
What are the aspects covered by the funding: Economy class air-fare by shortest route, airport-tax and visa fees. Registration Fee is provided to young scientist in addition to the above support to a maximum of one lac rupees.
When do you get to know that the funds are approved? 1-2 months before the date of travel/conference
When do you get the funds? (Before/ During/ After) After the conference(after submission of claim documents)
Are the funds directly paid to your account? No
How early should you apply for this grant? 60-90 days before the date of conference
How to apply:
Website/ Link to the application: https://www.serbonline.in/SERB/HomePage.do
Documentation needed
Application Stage:
Claim Reimbursement Stage:
Do you have to submit a brief report towards end? No
How much is the usual time taken to process the funds? About 6 months after the date of conference
How long do we need to wait if we wish to reapply to same funding agency? Three years
Comments/ Tips to increase success rate:
Note : You can’t avail funding from two Govt institutes for a same conference or paper.
Application needs to be submitted online. No hard copies are to be sent.
Your Name: Vikas Gupta, Avinash Jain
Email ID (optional): vikasg86@gmail.com, avinashjain@outlook.com
Name of the funding agency: CSIR, New Delhi
Who is eligible?
Age: Below 40 years
Criteria: Poster/oral presentation/chair a session or as a Keynote Speaker at the event
Amount covered: 50% to 100% of air fare/total fare
What are the aspects covered by the funding : Air fare only. Air travel should be taken only with Air India and booked through Air India website or through government of India approved travel agents namely viz. M/s Balmer Lawrie & Company, M/s Ashok Travels & Tours and IRCTC as warranted under Govt. of India.
When do you get to know that the funds are approved? A month before departure
When do you get the funds? (Before/ During/ After) After
Are the funds directly paid to your account? No, institute account
How early should you apply for this grant? 2 months
How to apply:
Website/ Link to the application: http://csirhrdg.res.in/tg_NEW.htm"
Documentation needed: Detailed in link
Do you have to submit a brief report towards end? Yes
How much is the usual time taken to process the funds? 1.5-2 months
How long do we need to wait if we wish to reapply to same funding agency? 3 years
Applications need to be sent to In-charge, Symposia and Travel Grant Unit, CSIR Human Resource Development Group, Room 302, CSIR Complex, (Opposite Institute of Hotel Management), Library Avenue, Pusa, New Delhi – 110012, India
Phone: 011-25841037
This section of the website will help fellow residents to share and learn the procedure of exchange programme. This should not only apprise them of the ongoing programmes but also help them to learn how to apply. Applying is just the first step. There are multiple difficulties faced starting from visa to accommodation and expenses and the list is quite extensive. This will serve as a platform to reach the candidates who have availed this fellowship as their experiences and tips will be valuable. You can write your queries directly to the concerned person or to indianrheum@gmail.com as this will help us to update the sections in a timely manner and put up all the queries/FAQs here.Let's share, help and work together.
Name of the programme: ACR-IRA International Fellows Exchange programme
Duration of the programme: 4 weeks
Dates when programme/fellowship was availed: 4 weeks prior to ACR in Sep-Oct’18 (it may be 4 weeks after the ACR as well).
Your name and email address(optional): Debanjali Sinha and deban.s@gmail.com
Funding organisation and funds provided: Fifty percent each from ACR and IRA. Maximum of 3000 USD from ACR. The rest from IRA.
When do you get the funds? (Before/ During/ After)After
Are the funds directly paid to your account? Yes
Place/ hospital of the fellowship/programme: Chicago/ University of Chicago Medicine
What does the programme offer:
Give a brief overview:
From Kolkata to the windy city: The IRA-ACR International Exchange Program
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR)- Indian Rheumatology Association (IRA) International Fellows Exchange Program was developed in 2016 to foster scientific collaboration between members of the ACR and junior rheumatologists representing the IRA.
Background
In regards to my background, I trained in Rheumatology from the Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, India for 3 years from 2015 to 2018. I learned about this exchange program partly from the IRA website and partly from my mentor, Prof. Alakendu Ghosh. Through this award, I could travel to Chicago for a month from September-October 2018 and rotate in the Rheumatology Section at The University of Chicago and was followed by attending and presenting an abstract at the ACR annual conference.
I was able to work with diverse attendings at Chicago and was impressed by the approach of the entire health-care team to the patients and their families. I witnessed how the physicians would patiently listen to their concerns and how every minute aspect of diseases and management plans would be explained to the patients. I had the opportunity to discuss the approach to each patient with the faculty and fellows and learned a lot from this dialogue.
The University of Chicago runs subspecialty focused clinics. These focused clinics gave me the opportunity to delve into nuances of specific disease states and management options. I was also part of the team looking at consults from different departments. These cases were not only interesting, but also a bit of a challenge, having to deal with difficult cases that were referred from different departments.
The ACR Conference
I attended the ACR annual conference and participated in the fellows in training programme.
I had submitted a poster on “ Assessment of treatment responses, with special reference to Remission using Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score (JADAS) in the different categories of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis” and was able to present my research to the ACR community at the national meeting. This gave me the opportunity to exchange ideas that will allow me to expand my project.
What did you gain (4 points):
What could you have done better (4 points):
Was the funding enough/ did you get alternative sources? Yes/no
How to apply: I had to submit a CV along with personal statements regarding how this exchange program will be enriching my future career plans, to the IRA secretory.
What is the age limit? 40 years
Do you have to submit a brief report towards end? Yes
How did you manage accommodation and food? Accommodation through Airbnb.
Do you suggest anything/ anyplace that should not be missed?
What are the collaboration options you got from this visit?
VISA information:
https://in.usembassy.gov/visas/
Name of the programme:
IRA ACR exchange programme 2017
Duration of the programme:
4 weeks
Dates when programme/fellowship was availed:
Oct 2017
Your name and email address(optional):
Latika Gupta, drlatikagupta@gmail.com
Funding organisation and funds provided:
IRA ACR
When do you get the funds? (Before/ During/ After)After
Are the funds directly paid to your account? Yes
Place/ hospital of the fellowship/programme:
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
What does the programme offer:
What did you gain (4 points)
What could you have done better (4 points)
None
Was the funding enough/ did you get alternative sources?
Not entirely enough, not availed
How to apply:
Link provided on advertising website- through email
What is the age limit?
No idea
Do you have to submit a brief report towards end?
No
How did you manage accommodation and food?
By self
Do you suggest anything/ anyplace that should not be missed?
That’s a matter of personal prerogative
International House for accommodation is a safe recommendation
What are the collaboration options you got from this visit?
Numerous
VISA information: (Provide weblinks and/or specific information that helped you during the VISA process including type of visa)
VFS India
Name of the programme: APLAR fellowship
Duration of the programme: 6 months
Dates when programme/fellowship was availed: June- Nov 2017
Your name and email address(optional): Abhra Chandra Chowdhury, abhracnmc@gmail.com
Funding organisation and funds provided: APLAR , 14000$
When do you get the funds? (Before/ During/ After) $13000 after supervisor sent joining report
$1000 after submitting report to APLAR
Are the funds directly paid to your account? Yes , needed to create bank account in the country you are visiting
Place/ hospital of the fellowship/programme: Musgrave park hospital , Belfast , UK
What does the programme offer:
Was the funding enough/ did you get alternative sources? Funding is enough
How to apply: Advertisement comes out in APLAR website as well as on www.indianrheumatology.org. Last date usually in beginning of march. Need to apply with relevant documents to APLAR.
What is the age limit? 40 years or less
Do you have to submit a brief report towards end? Yes
How did you manage accommodation and food? From the grant.
Do you suggest anything/ anyplace that should not be missed? See addendum
What are the collaboration options you got from this visit?
VISA information: (Provide weblinks and/or specific information that helped you during the VISA process including type of visa)
I had major problem in getting visa. I had applied initially to GASLINI INSTITUTE which is one of the world’s best institutes for pediatric musculoskeletal imaging, who had accepted my proposal. However the Italian consul general refused my visa saying that they do not recognize observership. Subsequently I had toreapply to a different institute in UK and this time I got easily.
Addendum:
BEST OF LUCK FOR APLAR FELLOWSHIP
Name of the programme:
ARA APLAR fellowship 2018
Duration of the programme:
2 weeks
Dates when programme/fellowship was availed:
May 2018
Your name and email address(optional):
Latika Gupta, drlatikagupta@gmail.com
Funding organisation and funds provided:
ARA
When do you get the funds? (Before/ During/ After)After
Are the funds directly paid to your account?Yes
Place/ hospital of the fellowship/programme:
Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
What does the programme offer:
It provides attachment to a unit with stay arrangements for 3 days post conference
What did you gain (4 points)
What could you have done better (4 points)
Spent more time there!
Was the funding enough/ did you get alternative sources?
Not entirely enough, not availed
How to apply: ARA website
What is the age limit?No idea
Do you have to submit a brief report towards end?No
How did you manage accommodation and food?
Stay was booked by them
Travel by self
Do you suggest anything/ anyplace that should not be missed?
That’s a matter of personal prerogative
What are the collaboration options you got from this visit?
A few
VISA information: (Provide weblinks and/or specific information that helped you during the VISA process including type of visa)
VFS India
Name of the programme: India Institute Fellowship Scheme under University of Birmingham (UoB)
Duration of the programme: Six months
Dates when programme/fellowship was availed: September 2018 to March 2019
Your name and email address(optional): Avinash Jain, avinashjain@outlook.com
Funding organisation and funds provided: India Institute
Please note:
Visiting fellows are expected to cover their own visa fee, travel and medical insurance, and other domestic travel expenses incurred during their stay.
When do you get the funds? (Before/ During/ After) Tickets are being done by the India Institute beforehand and living expenses are provided after landing on the first working day. You will get a debit card with a top-up after subtraction of accommodation charges (Around 1000pounds). You can take out cash before handing over the debit card to the institute before leaving. There are generally no charges on using in ATMs especially the ones that mention Free cash. They may warn you that charges “MAY” be deducted. You can use it unless a message on ATM screen is displayed with charges that “will” be deducted. The debit card does not have WiFi features, so it is important to carry a credit card from India with Wifi enabled features as it will be needed for traveling on buses which are now WiFi enabled or you need to buy online tickets on the mobile App and get the tickets scanned. If you plan to stay longer, you can open an account in HSBC which is easiest and get a local currency card. You can carry a multi-currency card from India as you may need it for a day or two if you land on a non-working day and wait for the debit card to be given to you on a working day. But remember, even these cards are not Wifi enabled.
Are the funds directly paid to your account? As far as travel is concerned, either they book it for you or you get reimbursement directly transferred to your accountwhen you mail them the reimbursement form with the copy of ticket(s). For your monthly expenses, you will receive a debit card on arrival, as mentioned above.
Place/ hospital of the fellowship/programme: Institute of Clinical Sciences, UoB
What does the programme offer:
Give a brief overview
The fellowship scheme aims to:
The first step is to collaborate with an international faculty/department at University of Birmingham and write a project with them. This is followed by an application for the fellowship. For instance, I did a project on Impact of Rheumatoid arthritis on employment in India with Dr.Kanta Kumar at Institute of Clinical Sciences, UoB. Fellowship involved a training period where I got trained in qualitative methods and data analysis for qualitative design. This was followed by the recruitment of patients in India and eventually ended with data analysis and understanding aspects of behavioral medicine.
What did you gain (4 points)?
Was the funding enough/ did you get alternative sources? Yes, it was. No, you don’t need alternative resources for the study period. Rest it depends on the non-academic activities taken up by you
How to apply:
The application should be submitted by the visiting fellow, with an endorsement from the relevant academic line managers in both institutions, including confirmation from the host institution that they will host the visiting fellow for the duration of their stay.
Applications are open all year round and will be considered on receipt.
Completed applications should be sent to UoBIndia@contacts.bham.ac.uk.
For further details - https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/International/global-engagement/india-institute/fellowship-scheme.aspx
What is the age limit? None
Do you have to submit a brief report towards the end? Yes
How did you manage accommodation and food? Options for Accommodation are given by the India Institute but you can choose on your own. Easiest and best are - Asbury Overseas House and Wesley International House. - http://www.bish.org.uk/wesley-house/. It takes 20-25 minutes’ walk depending on how lazy or active you are. In the UK, with such pleasant weather, surprisingly you will find yourself active even if you weren’t!! It is the best place to stay as there is a common kitchen to cook with almost all the utensils, microwave, oven, etc, etc and unbeatable WiFi for Youtube (cooking videos). There is an entertainment room, common dining room, library, Lawn tennis court, pool table. You get to meet students from various countries and background.
Do you suggest anything/ anyplace that should not be missed? Enjoy the weekends. There are multiple places to visit and tours being organized by UoB for students. Use this tour as these are cheaper. Also, remember to buy two-way tickets as they are cheaper. There are options of getting relatively reasonable entries through 2 for 1 offer. Check out the website before you book your train tickets in case you are not using the organized tours from the university
VISA information: I got a copy of recommendation for the type of VISA by UoB which was helpful. Visa can be applied from VFS which have multiple branches all over India.
https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/in/en#latest-updates_o=Article%20Date,Descending
Phone and Communication
Best is to buy a local sim. Don't buy at the airport as the cost is 2 to 3 times higher unless you have no other way to communicate. Multiple options are available but I had used Lebara which gives you unlimited international and national calling for 30 days with 5 to 10 GB internet at 15 pounds. (I wish Lebara people read this and give me some commission for advertising them here) There are a lot of free WiFi options availablein most places.
Others
Name of the programme:
Indo UK travelling forum fellowship 2017
Duration of the programme:
4 weeks
Dates when programme/fellowship was availed:
Sept 2017
Your name and email address(optional):
Latika Gupta, drlatikagupta@gmail.com
Funding organisation and funds provided:
Indo UK travelling forum
When do you get the funds? (Before/ During/ After)After
Are the funds directly paid to your account?Yes
Place/ hospital of the fellowship/programme:
NDORMS, and Botnar Research Centre, Oxford , UK
What does the programme offer:
What did you gain (4 points)
What could you have done better (4 points)
Was the funding enough/ did you get alternative sources?Not entirely enough, not availed
How to apply:Link provided on advertising website- fist two through email
What is the age limit?No idea
Do you have to submit a brief report towards end?Yes
How did you manage accommodation and food?By self
Do you suggest anything/ anyplace that should not be missed?
That’s a matter of personal prerogative
What are the collaboration options you got from this visit?
Numerous
VISA information: (Provide weblinks and/or specific information that helped you during the VISA process including type of visa) - VFS India
Online courses in Rheumatology and Immunology
Name of the course: EULAR Online Course on Rheumatic Diseases
Organization conducting the course: EULAR School of Rheumatology
How does it span out:
The course is entirely an online programme. It is designed for approx. 2 years of training covering 50 modules (8 of which are optional).The participants completing the 42 modules will be eligible for the online final exam which will be held on a scheduled date.Participants passing the exam will get a certificate from EULAR. If the course is not completed within two years, it will automatically extend forone more year without charge
Module structure and final exam
Each online module deals with one particular topic and contains:
The final examination will assess a sample of the learning outcomes from the whole course (90 questions, the chosen optional modules are NOT tested) which will last for 90 minutes. The examination is conducted annually at a given date and time period for which participants are notified well in advance.
Knowledge and skills are targeted to suit a level of knowledge appropriate for the final years of training as a rheumatologist.
Course Fee: 125 Euros
Registration time:The course starts in September each year. However, the registration is usually open till November end.
Website Link:https://esor.eular.org/
Highlights of the Course: (3-5 points)
Drawbacks of the course:
Suggestions to make the best use:
For more details - https://esor.eular.org/
Above course was availed by Dr.SajalAjmani, sajalajmani@gmail.com
Online courses in Rheumatology and Immunology
Name of the course: MSK Expert in USG (PG Diploma)
Organisation conducting the course: UCAM (Catholic University of Murcia, Spain) and MUS (Musculoskeletal ultrasound society, India)
How did I come across this course?
Was informed about this course while attending MSK-USG workshop
How does it span out?
The course consists of both the onsite training and online interaction with the faculty. It is designed for approximately 12 months of training.
Course Fee:Approximately 2.8 lakh INR (80k for university registration + fees) in 2016
Registration time: For registration, MUS should be contacted. The course is usually held once in 2 years (1st - 2016, 2nd 2018 and 3rd –scheduled in 2020)
Website Link: https://www.mus-ucam.com/about_ucam.html
Highlights of the Course:
Drawbacks of the course:
Suggestions to make the best use:
For more details - https://www.mus-ucam.com/about_ucam.html
Above course was availed by Dr.Abhishek Patil, batty1987@gmail.com
Online courses in Rheumatology and Immunology
Name of the course: EULAR Online Course in Paediatric Rheumatology
Organization conducting the course: EULAR School of Rheumatology
How does it span out:
The course is entirely an online programme. It is designed for approx. 1 year of training covering 10 modules.The participants completing all the 10 modules will be eligible for the online final exam which will be fixed on a scheduled date.Participants passing the exam will get a certificate from EULAR. If the course is not completed within the first year, it will automatically extend for one more year without charge
Each online module deals with one particular topic and contains:
Course Fee: 125 Euros
Registration time:The course usually starts in September each year, but the registration can be done till November end.
Website Link:https://esor.eular.org/
Highlights of the Course: (3-5 points)
Drawbacks of the course:
Suggestions to make the best use:
For more details - https://esor.eular.org/
Above course was availed by Dr. Sajal Ajmani, sajalajmani@gmail.com