ISSBD Developing Country Fellowships

About the Fellowship

The aim of Developing Countries Fellowships (DCFs) to encourage sustainable development of activities congruent with the aims of ISSBD in developing countries and assist the professional development of early career scholars. Each DCF provides free conference attendance at ISSBD (including economy airfare and a subsistence allowance), a support grant of $1,500 per annum for the duration of the Fellowship, starting in September immediately following the ISSBD conference and support from one or two Mentors.  Fellows should be early career researchers (that is, normally within 10 years of their first or higher degree), and must be a member of ISSBD (at least once selected as a Fellow). They should have a post in a host country that is a developing country as defined by ISSBD membership criteria (so entitled to a reduced membership fee), and normally they should be a citizen of this host country.

How do I apply?

If approved, the next, 9th, tranche of applications would open in October 2025. The Chair ( p.smith@gold.ac.uk ) or other members of the selection panel, who can be approached for further information or advice.

History of the DCF Scheme

• In 2009, we had 20 applications and selected three Fellows (who completed in 2012).
• In 2011, we had 15 applications and selected four Fellows (who completed in 2014).
• In 2013, we had 22 valid applications from Cameroon, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lithuania, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Zambia and Zimbabwe – and selected three (who completed in 2016).
• In 2015, we had 22 valid applications from Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Panama, Romania, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, and selected three Fellows (who completed in 2018).
• In 2017, we had 15 valid applications from Albania, Cameroon, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Romania, South Africa and Zimbabwe. We selected three Fellows, but only two (who completed in 2020) could accept the offer.
• In 2019, we had 17 valid applications from Brazil, Cameroon, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, and Zambia. We funded four Fellows (who have completed their first year and will present final Posters in Rhodes in 2022).
• In 2021, we had 15 valid applications from Brazil, China, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Turkey. We could fund four Fellows, three of whom could take up their awards. Two have completed their first year and will present final Posters in Lisbon in 2024; one was delayed by the earthquakes in Turkey and will be presented later.
• In 2023, we had 28 applications, a record. We were able to select 4 Fellows for 2024, subject to a satisfactory Poster presentation at the Lisbon conference.

ISSBD DCF Fellows

Current Fellows: 2024

• Wakil Ajibola Asekun, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria – ‘I couldn’t control myself’: Impacts of an emotional intelligence program on adolescent impulsivity and its associated factors in Juvenile Homes in Lagos, Nigeria.
  Mentor: TBC
• Bijayalaxmi Biswal, Sangath, Goa, India – Understanding the socio-political determinants of mental distress and help-seeking behaviours among marginalized caste students in Indian universities: a qualitative study.
  Mentor: TBC
• Ijang Bih Ngyah Etchutambe, University of Buea, Cameroon – Giving hope in hopeless times through nurturing employability skills among Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)Youth in Buea, South West Region of Cameroon.
  Mentor: TBC
• Lydiah Wanjiru Maingi, Kenyatta University, Kenya – Factors Associated with Resilience among Adolescents Facing Maternal Cancer in Kenya.
  Mentor: TBC

Past ISSBD DCF Fellows

Elected 2022

• John Chukwuorji, Department of Psychology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Enugu state, Nigeria – Predictors and perceptions of school bullying among Nigerian adolescents.
  Mentor: Peter Smith
• Lylian Ayiro, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Po Box 1207 50205, Webuye, Kenya – Perspectives, lived experiences, and needs of fathers in child caregiving in Kenya.
  Mentor: Suman Verma
• Secil Gonultas, Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences (FEASS), Bilkent University, 06800 Bilkent, Ankara, Turkey – Cooperation as a tool to promote Turkish Children’s inclusivity towards Syrian refugee children.
  Mentor: Silvia Koller

Elected 2020

• Su Wan Gan, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia – Positive grandparenting and ageing program for Malaysian grandparents.
  Mentors: Peter Smith, Charissa Cheah, Jo-Pei Tan
• Ayé Clarisse Hager-M’Boua, Université Alassane Ouattara, Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire – Bilingual Education: Abidji and French learning from preschool into primary school.
  Mentors: Anne Petersen, Caroline Floccia
• Leunita Makutsa Makila, Kibabii University, Kenya – Personal factors influencing resilience in school adaptation among children in post-war context, Mt. Elgon subcounty, Bungoma county, Kenya: Implication for intervention in schools.
  Mentors: Silvia Koller, Anne Petersen
• Mitiku Abdisa Hamdisa, School of Psychology, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The status of adolescents’ family environments: Addis Ababa City secondary school students in focus.
  Mentors: Silvia Koller, Peter Smith

Elected 2018

• Lavinia Cheie, Developmental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, “Babe-Bolyai” University, Republicii Str. 37, 40005, Cluj-Napoca, Romania – Left behind or thriving? Different outcomes of parental migration in ‘left behind’ school-children: the role of cognitive vulnerability.
  Mentor: Silvia Koller
• Joachim Nyoni, University of Cape Town, South Africa – Participatory action research project on family needs: Experiences of formal and informal support services available among Zambian parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
  Mentor: Cleonice Bosa

Elected 2016

• Anilena Mejia, Violence Prevention Lab, Institute for Scientific Research and High Technology Services (INDICASAT – AIP), Panama – Exploring risk and protective factors for youth violence and crime in Panama.
  Mentor: Peter Smith
• Laura Alexandra Visu-Petra, Developmental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, “Babe-Bolyai” University, Republicii Str. 37, 40005, Cluj-Napoca, Romania – A cross-cultural perspective on lie acceptability across development. A proxy for actual deceptive behaviour?
  Mentor: Silvia Koller
• Stephen Asatsa, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Kenya – Relationship between death preparedness and end of life planning during middle and late adulthood, Nairobi County, Kenya.
  Mentors: Suman Verma, Anne Petersen

Elected 2014

• Yuri Arsenio Sanz Martinez, University of Holguín “Oscar Lucero Moya”, Holguín, Cuba – Emotion and emotion regulation in late adolescents with suicide behaviour.
  Mentor: Silvia Koller
• Irina Crumpei, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iasi, Romania – The School Dropout Epidemic – in search of a treatment.
  Mentors: Silvia Koller, Suman Verma
• Lazarous Ndhlovu, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia – Effects of HIV status and linguistic medium on the test performance of rural low-literacy adults: implications for Neuropsychological test development in Zambia.
  Mentors: Robert Serpell, Julie Robinson

Elected 2012

• Maureen Mweru, Kenyatta University, Kenya – Bullying in Kenyan schools: Causes, impact and possible intervention strategies.
  Mentor: Peter Smith
• Guilherme Wendt, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Brazil – Do parental practices predict cyberbullying outcomes on adolescent behaviour? An analysis of mediator and moderator effects related to peer victimization on the internet.
  Mentor: Peter Smith
• Guangheng Wang, Shanghai Changning District Institute of Education, China – The active ingredient of effective classroom for children from kindergarten to elementary school in urban area in China.
  Mentor: Suman Verma
• Joseph Lo-Oh, University of Buea, Cameroon – Generation X in Cameroon: “No Where to Go … But Everywhere to Go …” in the twenty somethings … A study of emerging adults in Cameroon.
  Mentor: Catherine Cooper

Elected 2010

• Noel Malanda, Maseno University, Kenya – Intervention promotion strategies for HIV/AIDS prevention among the youth in secondary schools in Emuhaya district, Kenya.
  Mentors: Suman Verma, Anne Petersen.
• Bestern Kaani, University of Zambia, Zambia – Reading in transparent and opaque orthographies: Effects of English and Chitonga languages on reading outcomes in Zambia.
  Mentor: Malt Joshi
• Lauren Gail Wild, University of Cape Town, South Africa – Grandparental involvement and adolescent adjustment in South Africa.
  Mentor: Peter Smith