TDR Implementation Research Leadership Fellowship Programme for Public Health Impact (Universitas Gadjah Mada)

Benefits & funding

• Return economy airfare between the fellow’s home country and Yogyakarta.
• A monthly stipend for living costs, set at the local cost of living in Indonesia. The call does not publish a figure.
• Basic medical and accident insurance.
• Funding for IR project expenses, including travel and sustenance during data collection in the fellow’s home country.
• Travel and accommodation for specific training, international exposure, conferences and networking.
• An Indonesian language course to help fellows settle into the university.
• A six-month training package in IR, knowledge translation and leadership, with a host supervisor or mentor at UGM. Academics and researchers also take and deliver courses in UGM’s MPH or PhD programmes and publish a peer-reviewed IR paper. Practitioners draft policy briefs and join policy design, dissemination and advocacy work.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be nationals of, and resident in, a low- or middle-income country in the WHO South-East Asia, Western Pacific or Eastern Mediterranean Regions.
• The call sets that bar by WHO region and World Bank income group rather than naming countries. On the current classification it covers: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Egypt, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kiribati, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam and Yemen. High-income countries in the same WHO regions fall outside it, among them Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Nauru and Palau.
• Applicants must be under 40 years old at the time of application.
• Applicants must be employed at a university, research institution, ministry of health or public health institution with a registered legal entity in a low- or middle-income country. That institution should be running research or projects on the impact of climate change on health, antimicrobial resistance, the control or elimination of infectious diseases of poverty, or epidemics and outbreaks.
• Academics and researchers stream: alumni of an MPH or MSc in IR who hold either a PhD in public health, or an MD with at least three years of research experience at a university or research institution and relevant publications. At least one peer-reviewed article on an IR theme in an open-access journal is required.
• Public health practitioners stream: an MPH or equivalent with three years of work experience in programme management at a ministry of health, NGO or similar organization, plus participation in health programme development, implementation or evaluation, data analysis, evidence generation or interpretation, or policy development.
• The two streams set different experience floors, so the structured minimum-experience field is left empty. The PhD route states no year requirement, the MD route asks for three years of research experience, and the practitioner route asks for three years of programme management.
• English proficiency: a minimum of 500 on the paper-based TOEFL for the academics and researchers stream and 450 for the public health practitioners stream, or an equivalent IELTS Academic score.
• Applicants must show they can obtain study leave, proven by a letter from their current employer, and must consent to meet the host country’s health requirements.
• Applicants must submit a proposal: an IR project at the home institution for the academics and researchers stream, or a plan for integrating IR into a health programme for the practitioners stream.
• TDR states that researchers are encouraged to apply regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, cultural and social background or disability status.
• Desired rather than required: experience in IR and in scoping or systematic literature review, first or corresponding authorship of a peer-reviewed open-access article, interdisciplinary research experience and strong time management, a current managerial post at the home institution, and the ability to work independently.

Application process

1. 1
   Download the application form from the UGM link given in the call (ugm.id/TDRImplementationScienceLeadershipFellowship) and complete it.
2. 2
   Write a one-page motivation letter for the IR Leadership Programme.
3. 3
   Prepare the proposal for your stream: up to five pages including references for academics and researchers, up to three pages including references for public health practitioners.
4. 4
   Name a mentor who will work with you and UGM during the fellowship.
5. 5
   Assemble a CV listing peer-reviewed publications, two letters of reference, and the employer’s study-leave letter.
6. 6
   Email the completed form and documents to ir-tdr.fkkmk@ugm.ac.id, copying graduate.fk@ugm.ac.id, before the deadline at 17:00 CET.
7. 7
   Wait for the selection announcement. Selected applicants receive a letter of offer from the university and must confirm acceptance within three calendar days.

Program timeline

1. Call for applications published.

   Dec 17, 2025

2. Application deadline, 17:00 CET.

   Jan 30, 2026

3. Selection results announced.

   Mar 30, 2026

4. On-site participation begins in Yogyakarta.

   May 31, 2026

5. Fellowship ends.

   October 2026