IDM-Africa Fellowship Programme 2027
Overview
The IDM-Africa Fellowship Programme 2027 is an annual initiative focused on infectious-disease modelling. It is designed to support early- and mid-career scientists from sub-Saharan Africa in creating applied, policy-relevant modelling projects built on their own data. The duration of the Fellowship is 12 months, which includes a one-month in-person placement at a designated host institution followed by 11 months of online mentorship, peer learning, and regular reporting. Partner sites for the programme include The Infectious Diseases Institute at Makerere University, the University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, and the Amsterdam University Medical Center, alongside associated training sites in Uganda and Mali.
Who can apply
Applicants must be affiliated with an institution located in sub-Saharan Africa and within the EDCTP Association, and they must reside in or be willing to relocate to an eligible sub-Saharan African country for the placement. Candidates must hold a master's degree in a quantitative discipline like mathematics, physics, data science, or statistics, or a health-related field, combined with short-term training in infectious-disease modelling. Individuals who hold or are pursuing a PhD in these areas may also apply. Applicants must possess practical experience in infectious-disease modelling, having led a substantial part of a modelling project, and demonstrate proficiency in programming languages or modelling platforms such as R, Python, or MATLAB. Furthermore, candidates must show a commitment to a career in the field, be capable of working in interdisciplinary teams, and be available for both the in-person placement and online mentorship. Individuals affiliated with partner institutions such as IDI at Makerere University or ACE-B at USTTB are not eligible to apply.
What you get
Participants receive structured mentorship from leading infectious-disease experts, policy specialists, and modellers at partner institutions. The 12-month term features an intensive month of mentor-guided project development during an in-person placement at ACE-Uganda or ACE-B, followed by 11 months of remote support that includes bi-weekly mentor-mentee sessions, monthly progress reporting, quarterly review meetings, and peer-learning activities.
Requirements
Fellows are required to complete a documented and validated infectious-disease model with reproducible code in R, Python, or equivalent software, and submit a final project report to the IDI coordinating centre. Additional deliverables include submitting a lead-author manuscript to a peer-reviewed open-access journal and producing a lead-author policy brief for policymakers. Participants must submit bi-weekly progress updates and quarterly performance reports via the IDI iBRIDGE system or Virtual Communities of Learning platform, attend monthly peer-fellow meetings, present progress at quarterly review meetings, and share findings at a workshop, a regional scientific conference, and the annual IDM-Africa policy translation workshop. Completing all mentorship, reporting, and deliverable obligations results in the award of a certificate of completion.
Key dates
The application deadline is October 30, 2026.