Level: PhD Course: PhD programmes in the Faculty of Science and Engineering and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Country: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Cote D’ivoire (Ivory Coast), Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, State of, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen Value: Full tuition fees and £1,030/month towards living costs. No. of awards: Up to 10 per year. Deadline: 20th April 2024
The scholarships, part of the Islamic Development Bank Scholarship Scheme offers up to 10 PhD students per year the opportunity to study fully funded PhDs in the Faculty of Science and Engineering and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Candidates should apply to QMUL online in the normal way. We would recommend applying as early as possible before the IsDB scholarship deadline. We will nominate all Queen Mary offer holders to IsDB and then they will select the best candidate for our joint scholarship.
Please ensure you write on your application form that you wish to apply for the Islamic Development Bank PhD Scholarship.
Candidates should apply for the Islamic Development Bank's website according to their usual processes and deadlines as detailed on their web pages.
The jointly funded scholarships will cover the tuition fees and provide a stipend of £1,030 per month to contribute towards the scholar’s living costs.
Please note that this stipend will not cover your living costs in full and does not meet the level of financial support necessary to secure a UK visa (currently £1,334/month). You will therefore need to secure additional funding in order to be able to take up your studies at Queen Mary. For further details of the requirements set out by UK Visas and Immigration, please see https://www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/guides/student-funds/
Hussein Walugembe, Uganda
Hussein was Queen Mary's very first Islamic Development Bank scholar and has been studying for a PhD in Computer Science since 2016. Before coming to the UK, Hussein worked at various universities in Uganda and studied for a MSc in Hunan University, China.
Hussein is enjoying the collaborative nature of the PhD environment and the opportunities to develop as researcher through the wide variety of free courses run by the Academic Development Team. He's currently preparing to write up his work in academic publications and to present at an international conference.
He is keen to return to Uganda and continue to develop as an independent academic researcher. He has ambitions to be a leading professor in his field.
We asked Hussein how he found the application process and life as a PhD student at Queen Mary:
"I really liked Queen Mary before enrolling for my PhD. This was because in the process of finding a potential supervisor, I was treated pretty well. I searched on the Internet and visited a web page that displayed staff who work at Queen Mary and from here, I filtered 3 potential supervisors. I contacted them and all responded instantly and this made my application move faster.
Furthermore, now with my research, the supervisors are helpful and I often meet my supervisor at least once a week. This helps me to stay on track with my research project.
At QMUL, they take us through training programs/courses that make us better researchers. These courses also highlight us on career options one can undertake after studies. These courses are organised by Academic Development Department."
Parveen Gul, Afghanistan
Parveen joined Queen Mary in the summer of 2017 to begin her PhD in Molecular Biology under the supervision of Dr Viji Draviam in our School of Biological and Chemical Sciences. Before coming to the UK, Parveen studied in Islamabad and then worked as a lecturer in Afghanistan.
Parveen has ambitions to open a cancer research institute in her home country and strong believes educations will play a key role in lifting Afghanistan out of war. She has particular focus on promoting women's education and building confidence amongst female scientists in Afghanistan so they are able to collaborate with non-Afghan researchers.
At Queen Mary, Parveen is enjoying the multi-cultural researcher environment and the opportunities it brings to make friends with people from all sorts of countries and religions. She also appreciates the wide range of free researcher development courses that PhD students can book onto throughout the year.
Isatou Drammeh, The Gambia
Isatou is studying for a PhD in Biological Sciences with Dr Shane Wilkinson. She's investigating the Interstrand Crossline DNA Repair mechanisms and pathways in Trypanosoma brucei which is a parasite that causes African Sickness disease.
Before coming to Queen Mary in 2017, Isatou studied Biology in The Gambia, and took an MSc Biotechnology in Malaysia. She then worked for the Gambian Medical Research Council Unit as a researcher investigating the aetiology of childhood illnesses such as pneumonia and diarrhea. She hopes this experience, combined with the networking and writing skills acquired during her PhD at Queen Mary, will lead to a successful career in health-related research and decison making in sub-Saharan Africa.
Isatou has provided some "top tips" for others trying to win PhD position and/or scholarship funding:
"Prepare your paper work early to give you time to submit on time. Ask for advice from current IDB scholars or alumni. Get contacts of one or two people and keep them updated as you proceed with your application.
Write to possible supervisors to express your interest in proposed research topic(s). Find out whether he/she already has a proposal, has lab space and is willing to take you in. If yes, all you need to do is apply and prepare for an interview.
To increase your success rate, boost confidence and get feedback on your preparation, do a mock interview with experts in your subject area, former or current IDB scholars, your colleagues or friends!"
Contact
Queen MaryFlora Mckay Postgraduate Recruitment, Scholarships and Sponsor Relations Managerf.mckay@qmul.ac.uk
IDBScholarship DivisionIslamic Development Bankscholar@isdb.orgwww.isdb.org