TDR’s Implementation Science Leadership Fellowship Programme for Public Health Impact (Universitas Gadjah Mada)

The Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, which supports TDR’s Postgraduate Training Scheme and Regional Training Centres, invites qualified candidates to apply for the Implementation Science (IS) Leadership Fellowship Programme for Public Health Impact for the academic year 2025/2026. This programme is funded by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), cosponsored by co-sponsored by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO). Only applicants from low- and middle income countries (LMICs) in the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions are eligible.

The objectives of the fellowship programme are to:

• develop professional and innovative leadership in IS;
• enhance the capacity of public health institutions to generate new knowledge through dedicated IS and contribute to improved health outcomes; and
• establish a collaborative network of LMIC-based leaders in IS that will contribute to health policy and practice at local, regional and global levels.

The programme focuses on strengthening IS skills to improve health outcomes while addressing four global health challenges affecting diseases of poverty as identified in the TDR Strategy 2024-2026: control and elimination of infectious diseases of poverty, resistance to treatment and control agents, epidemics and outbreaks, and climate change’s impact on health. As part of this programme, fellows will be able to lead the design of large-scale IS interventions, drive knowledge transfer and contribute to policy design. A limited number of fellowships will be offered for the year 2025/2026 at the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, UGM. The programme will be conducted in-person, in English, and will provide a comprehensive leadership training package in IS, knowledge translation, and leadership. The programme will adopt a collaborative approach with the fellows’ home and host institutions to address global health challenges through IS.

The fellowship will be offered to two target groups:

• individuals pursuing careers in academia and in implementation research and
• public health practitioners.

Therefore, there will be two streams of fellows: those who will pursue leadership roles in research and academia and those who will focus on public health programme leadership. The duration of the fellowship for the academic and research stream will be 9-12 months, while the public health practitioners stream will have a duration of 6 months, both starting in March 2025. Both streams will have opportunities to work together in pairs, developing IS leadership skills related to stakeholder engagement, collaboration, and complex IS challenges in real-life settings.

ELIGIBILITY
Mandatory requirements

• Residency and nationality: Applicants must be residents and nationals of a low- or middle-income country in the WHO South-East Asian or Western Pacific Regions.
• Age: Applicants must be under 40 years old at the time of application.
• Career Interest: Be interested in developing an academic or public health leadership career in IS focusing on areas such as the impact of climate change on health, antimicrobial resistance, control and elimination of infectious diseases of poverty, and epidemics and outbreaks, using a One Health approach.
• Employment: Applicants must be employed at a university, research institution, Ministry of Health (MoH), public health institution, or non-governmental organization (NGO) with a registered legal entity in a LMIC. The institution should be conducting research or implementing projects in areas such as the impact of climate change on health, antimicrobial resistance, the control or elimination of infectious diseases of poverty, and epidemics and outbreaks.
• IS proposal:
  For the academics and researchers stream: Applicants must submit a proposal for planning and conducting an IS project at their home institution. A home mentor must be identified to collaborate with the fellow and the host supervisor/mentor during the fellowship.
  For Public Health Practitioners stream: Applicants must submit a proposal on how to integrate IS into the related health programme.
• English proficiency:
  Academics/Researchers Stream
  – Be proficient in English, as demonstrated by achieving a minimum score of 500 on the official TOEFL paper-based test or an equivalent score on the IELTS Academic.
  Public Health Practitioners
  – Stream Be proficient in English, as demonstrated by achieving a minimum score of 450 on the official TOEFL paper-based test or an equivalent score on the IELTS Academic.

Study leave: Applicants must provide evidence of the ability to obtain study leave from their current employment.

Health requirements: Applicants must consent to meet the health requirements set by the host country’s regulations.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: The following table outlines the education and experience requirements for each stream.

Academics/Researchers Stream:
– Alumni of an MPH or M.Sc. in IR/IS, have either: 1) a Ph.D. in public health or 2) an MD, with at least 2-3 years of research experience at a university or research institution, along with relevant publications.
– Have at least one peer-reviewed article on an IS theme, in an open-access journal.

Public Health Practitioners Stream:
– Have an MPH or equivalent, with 2-3 years of work experience in programme management at a MoH, NGO, or similar organizations in their respective countries.
– Have participated in health programme development, implementation, or evaluations, data analysis, and evidence generation or interpretation or policy development.

DESIRED REQUIREMENTS:

• Experience in IS and or scoping/systematic literature review: Familiarity with systematic approaches to searching and evaluating scientific literature, along with experience in IS.
• Publications: First or corresponding author of at least one peer-reviewed article published in an open-access journal.
• Interdisciplinary skills: Experience in interdisciplinary research projects and strong time management skills.
• Managerial position: Currently hold a managerial position at your home institution.
• Independence: Ability to work independently.

EQUITY: TDR is committed to promoting equality, equity, diversity, and inclusivity in science. Researchers are encouraged to apply regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, cultural and social background, or (dis)ability status.

THE FELLOWSHIP PACKAGE: The Fellowship covers:

• Return economy airfare between the fellow’s home country and Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
• Basic medical and accident insurance.
• Support for IS project expenses, including travel and sustenance during data collection in the home country.
• Indonesian language course to facilitate integration into the university environment.
• Monthly stipend to cover living expenses, equivalent to the local cost of living in Indonesia.
• Travel and accommodation for specific training, international exposure, conferences, and networking.

Examples of planned activities include:

• Contributing to the design and leadership of a large-scale IS project, focusing on IS in areas such as the impact of climate change on health, antimicrobial resistance, control or elimination of infectious diseases of poverty, and epidemics and outbreaks. This includes engaging in collaborative fundraising for the project.
• Participating in leadership development opportunities, including workshops and seminars, to build essential leadership skills for advancing IS and influencing public health practice.
• For the academics and researchers stream: Participating in and delivering courses offered by the Master in Public Health (MPH) or PhD program at UGM, engaging in ISrelated activities, publishing a peer-reviewed paper on IS, and preparing a project report.
• For the public health practitioners stream: Drafting policy briefs, participating in policy design, participating in dissemination activities, attending conferences, and advocating for relevant issues.

HOW TO APPLY:
To apply for the TDR IS Leadership Programme, you must:

• submit a concise motivation letter for the IS Leadership Programme (one page).
• For the academics and researchers stream, provide an IS proposal (maximum of 5 pages, including references)
• For the public health practitioners stream, provide a proposal on how to integrate IS into the related health programme (maximum of 3 pages, including references).
• Identify a mentor who will collaborate with you and UGM during the fellowship.
• Include a curriculum vitae (CV) with a list of peer-reviewed publications. 6. Provide two letters of reference.

Please complete the TDR IS Leadership Programme application form https://ugm.id/TDRImplementationScienceLeadershipFellowship and email it to: [email protected] cc: [email protected].

CALENDAR FOR APPLICATION:
The application timeline is outlined below:

• Call for applications: 14 November 2024
• Deadline for applications: 14 January 2025
• Announcement of selection result: 30 January 2025

Please note that:

• Only complete applications will be considered for further processing.
• Selected applicants will receive a letter of offer from the University and must confirm acceptance within 3 calendar days of notification.
• The Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing at UGM reserves the right to refuse or withdraw the scholarship if any provided information is found to be false.

For more information about the scheme at the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing at UGM, please contact: Ms. Yuyun Yohana The Graduate Programme Office, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, UGM Mobile Phone (WhatsApp): +628112544242/Phone : (+62-274) 560300 ext. 205
E-mail : [email protected]; [email protected] Website: http://graduate.fk.ugm.ac.id/

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