Earlier on hearing people with fellowship abroad I use to think it’s not my cup of tea. But gradually I realized why not to make a try. In fact it’s not at all difficult, I just wanted to share my experience starting from the beginning of process and I feel this can help many others. The main concern was the host institute and the guide.

First we need to write a project as per the guideline of UICC. The Performa can be downloaded from website http//:uicc.org. The project needs to be on a topic which is of relevance in our country and on a specific site of interest. Then the important job of searching for a guide and university comes. We can send mails to different professors and investigators who are well known in the particular area of interest and once someone agrees to accept the project then the job is 70% done. Then few paper works are left. The head of home institute in India need to give a no objection certificate and mention that after the training you will continue to do the job and it will help the institute in clinical practice. After submission it takes 60 to 75days for the approval to come. In fact they send the project for review and if found suitable it is approved and one fine day u get a mail about the award statement.

At the outset I want to thank my senior colleagues who introduced me to the era of IMRT and guided me get training in a prestigious institute. For me it was a wonderful experience to come and join one of the top universities of the world and to work under Dr Avi Eisbruch, whose articles I keep in my pocket and review during every H&N contouring and planning. Here I learned in detail about the use of various imaging modalities like PET CT and MRI for target delineation, contouring high and low risk CTV, delineation of neck nodes and classifying them as high and low risk as per the site of tumor. Understanding adequate margins i.e. GTV to CTV and CTV to PTV. Dose volume constraints and understanding the objectives, priorities and penalty of dose prescription at PTV, Issues like PTV extension in build up region and air, PTV- PORV overlap priorities, pseudo OAR etc are the delicate and important issues to be considered in every case. The plan evaluation using DVH, homogeneity of dose distribution, quality assurance, IMRT delivery and treatment verification were also observed in detail. Apart from these the ancillary issues like dental prophylaxis, speech and swallowing exercises and rehabilitation etc are also explored in detail.

Though a very short period but I feel I could learn a lot and be able to use it in my daily practice in fact the exposure and outlook matters a lot. I hope my blog can guide and motivate few people visiting my blog.

Thanx

Suman

General conditions for ICRETT fellowships

1. UICC Fellowships

All Fellowships are conditional on Fellows returning to the home institutes/country at the end of the
fellowship period but are not granted for basic training, courses, lectures, meetings, conferences,
congresses, etc. or for visiting institutes. They are granted subject to adequate funds being available.
Fellowships cannot be granted to candidates who are already physically present at the proposed host
institute whilst their applications are under consideration.
The original Fellowships cannot be prolonged, or run concurrently with other awards, even those
funded by other agencies. They can however, be extended after the original 1 month by a maximum
of 2 months subject to the written approval of home and host supervisors and at no cost to UICC.
Should return of the Fellow to their home country be delayed past these 3 months, 50 per cent of the
travel award must be reimbursed to UICC,
These Fellowships may not be financially supplemented by agencies other than the home or host
institutes, or the Fellows personally.
Fellowships that are terminated prematurely must be notified promptly to UICC and appropriate funds
reimbursed.
The UICC requires an end-of-project report in English within 1 month of the end of the project. The
reports of all members of the Association of UICC Fellows are available on line in the AUF Directory.
2. Applications and all supporting documentation
The completed application along with all documents must be submitted in English, are accepted at
any time and are to be submitted by e-mail to [email protected]. All hand signed documents ie the 3rd
page of the Application form, Letter of Release, Host Attestation and the Letter of Invitation may be
scanned and also sent by email. If scanning is not possible, the hand signed documents may be sent
by fax or mail.
Should sending the completed application form not be possible by email, fax or hardcopies are
accepted.
Applications will be acknowledged promptly and candidates advised if items are missing both through
email and hardcopies by mail.
Applications that have undergone a review and selection process and were not approved for funding
cannot be resubmitted. Candidates are encouraged to submit new applications for new work projects.
3. Candidate eligibility
The candidate must possess the appropriate professional qualifications and experience according to
the specifications of each fellowship described on the website and must currently be engaged in
cancer research, clinical oncology practice, or cancer society work. To permit effective communication
at the host institute, the candidate must have adequate fluency in a common language.
The candidate must also be on the staff payroll of a university, research laboratory or institute,
hospital, oncology unit to where they will return at the end of a fellowship.
PhD applicants must be enrolled in a recognized PhD programme in their home country with
guaranteed funding in place.
Candidates attached to commercial entities or have associations with the tobacco industry are not
eligible.
Only one fellowship scheme can be applied to at a time.
Candidates who have already obtained a UICC fellowship in the past may apply for further UICC
awards only if they are Members of the Association of UICC Fellows.
4. Selection
The competitive selection is made on the basis of scientific and expert evaluation of the application
and the proposed work as set out by the candidate in the project description. Reviewers of the
highest international standing in their respective fields carry out this task. Their assessments are
strictly confidential and cannot be divulged outside of UICC and its fellowship selection committees, or
to the candidates themselves. The reviewers’ decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
5. Awards
The awards are based on candidates’ estimates for travel and living costs, published fares and UICC
scales but are only a contribution towards least expensive international travel and living costs. They
are not intended to completely cover all travel or normal salary or income levels.
They are for the initial travel from home to host countries but do not include internal travel within the
home and/or host countries.
Costs for visa, passports, airport taxes etc. are the responsibility of the Fellows. The awards do not
cover medical care, insurances or taxes; none of which UICC or the Sponsors are liable for. They also
do not provide support for accompanying dependents.
Stipends are limited to 1 month.
6. End of project report
Within one month of the end of the project, a report describing the work undertaken and the results
achieved must be submitted to the UICC. This report must be approved and the performance during
the fellowship evaluated by the host supervisor. Please use the end of project report template for the
report and return by email. This will facilitate possible future publication.
Note that applicants may not apply for another Fellowship until such time that the completed end of
project report has been received by the UICC.
7. Evaluation after 1 year report
Approximately 1 year after completion of the fellowship and the return of the applicant to her/his
home institute/hospital and Evaluation after 1 year report form will be emailed.
Please use the Evaluation after 1 year report template for the report and return by email.
Note that applicants may not apply for another Fellowship until such time that the completed end of
Evaluation after 1 year report template has been received by the UICC. Failure to comply with this
condition may result in the request for the return of UICC funds. Your home and host supervisors will
be notified should this occur.
8. Association of UICC Fellows
Upon successful completion of a UICC fellowship, i.e. submission of the endorsed end-of-project
report to UICC, Fellows are invited to join the Association of UICC Fellows (AUF). Only Association
Members are eligible to submit further applications for any UICC fellowship scheme. New members
who work in developing countries or in Eastern Europe may benefit from a one-year complimentary
subscription to the UICC International Journal of Cancer, a generous offer made by its Publishers,
Wiley & Son Inc., New York. Life-time Membership carries a subscription fee of USD 50.
No distinction will be made among candidates on the basis of gender, ethnic origin, religious or
political beliefs.
Any infringement of these conditions will result in the withdrawal of an application from the selection
process or the cancellation of an award already made.