India
PC: University of Zurich, Frank Brüderli

ThinkSwiss Research
Scholarships: Asia-Pacific

All applicants have been notified via email. The list of awardees is published below.

ThinkSwiss Research Scholarships offers students from India, Singapore, Australia and Brunei fully-funded research stints in a Swiss laboratory of their choosing. The duration of the scholarship is for a minimum of two months and up to a maximum of three months at the rate of CHF 60/day to cover living expenses only. This provides scholars with an opportunity to experience the Swiss research ecosystem first-hand.

2025 Awardees

  • Angela Michaelis at the University of Queensland (UQ) will be working on ‘The Impact of Relationship Quality and Companionship on Daily Physical Activity Levels in Romantic Couples: a Longitudinal Pilot Study’ at the Department of Psychology of the University of Zurich (UZH)
  • Despena Vedis at Griffith University will be working on ‘Developing Novel Peptide-Based Vaccines and Immunotherapies for the Prevention of Rheumatic Heart Disease’ at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology of the University of Zurich (UZH)
  • Divya Lakshmi at the National University of Singapore will be working on ‘Computational Pipeline to Analyse Anatomical and Functional Investigation of ipRGCs’ at the Physiology of Light Perception Laboratory of the University of Bern (UNIBE)
  • Gunja Gupta at Atria University will be working on ‘Inference and Functional Annotation of Pharmacogenomic Germline SNPs with Bioinformatic Analysis of Public Multi-Omic Data and CRISPR Screening’ at the Biozentrum: Zavolab of the University of Basel (UNIBA)
  • Isha Suraj Puthenpurakal at O. P. Jindal Global University will be working on ‘AI-Powered Automated Case Law Analysis for Common Law Jurisdictions: A Focus on Indian Choice of Law Jurisprudence’ at the Choice of Law Dataverse of the University of Lucerne (UNILU)
  • Mainak Dutta at Presidency University, Kolkata, will be working on ‘Reconstructing Climate Change, Carbon Sequestration, and Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) from Lipid Biomarkers in Lake Sediments’ at the Organic Geochemistry Research Group of the University of Basel (UNIBA)
  • Nitha Fathima at the National Institute of Science Education and Research will be working on ‘Understanding How Mycorrhizal Type and Root Strategies of Plants Affect Plant-Soil Feedbacks’ at the Community Ecology Group of the University of Bern (UNIBE)
  • Sadhika Singh at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, will be working on ‘Measuring the Cognitive Abilities and Biases of Large Language Models’ at the eXascale Infolab of the University of Fribourg (UNIFR)
  • Sarvada Andhare at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay will be working on ‘Electrodeposition of High Entropy Alloy (HEA) nanoparticles (NPs), Their Characterisation & Electrocatalytic testing’ at the NanoElectroCatalysis Group of the University of Bern (UNIBE)
  • Sherly Anastasia at the National University of Singapore will be working on ‘Pore-Forming Toxins as a Tool for Nanopore Sequencing’ at the Laboratory for Biomolecular Modeling of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne  (EPFL)

Who Can Apply?

  • Applicants enrolled at an accredited Indian, Australian, Singaporean or Bruneian university or research institute.
  • Applicants currently enrolled in a Master’s programme or have completed their second year of undergraduate degree by the time the research stay in Switzerland begins.
  • Applicants with written confirmation from a professor at a Swiss university or research institute that they have accepted you for a research stay in their group/lab.

Please note:

  • Doctoral and postdoctoral candidates are not eligible to apply.
  • We specifically encourage Indian applicants with an interest in Antimicrobial Research (AMR), One Health, biodiversity or climate change and action to apply. (The University of Lausanne is not part of this programme for Indian students.) We are subject-agnostic as far as Australian, Singaporean and Bruneian applicants are concerned.
  • Students applying to ETH Zurich must meet the prerequisites to become a “Project Mobility” student as stipulated by the university. Read more in the FAQs.

Checklist before submitting application

  • Acceptance Letter from a professor at a Swiss host university/institute
  • Cover Letter (not exceeding 2 pages) – read more in the FAQs
  • Curriculum Vitae (not exceeding 2 pages)
  • Recommendation letter from a professor at the university you are enrolled in
  • Transcripts

Not Sure Where To Begin? Let Us Help You.

  • Think about the field in which you wish to deepen your research and look for prospective supervising professors who work in that field.
  • Write to them and enquire if they’d be interested in taking you on in their cohort. It can take several weeks to find your host professor, so we recommend starting as early as possible and writing to as many relevant professors as possible.
  • Ideally, your email to them should include:
    • Details about why you would like to work with a particular professor and what about their work interests you.
    • Details about your skills and competencies that are relevant to the work in the chosen field.
    • Details about your past experiences and how they are relevant to your current research interest.
    • Details about how you plan to contribute to and elevate their research.
    • Details about why you would make a good fit.
    • Your CV and a proposal/short summary of the research you would like to undertake under their supervision
  • Applicants are responsible for finding a host professor at a Swiss university as well as for clarifying the scope of a research project before submitting their applications for the ThinkSwiss Scholarships.
  • If you are struggling to identify appropriate professors, reach out to faculty at the university you are currently enrolled in and enquire if they know of suitable professors you could work with. Where possible, request your faculty members to introduce and recommend you to prospective professors.

You may also refer to this video. Get an overview of Swiss universities and research institutions.

You may refer to our FAQs for clarification and guidance on writing a cover letter.

Source: University of Fribourg

Hear It From Those Who've Done It

    The lab I worked in was filled with senior PhDs, postdocs, and people with PhDs. This composition was honestly very intimidating in the beginning. But as the work progressed, I realised that I was fortunate to have so many field experts, just one question away. All my questions were answered almost instantly, and help was always available in the lab. I was encouraged to attend talks, interact with visiting researchers and express my ideas. I got a taste of exactly what it is to be a researcher in plant ecology.

    Vishwathiga Jayasankar (2023) IISER (Thiruvananthapuram) / University of Bern

    Switzerland has shown itself to be a very welcoming place to young adults such as me. I have now made friends from all over Europe and they will always hold a very special place in my heart. For all of these memories and beautiful moments, I want to say thank you SUPSI, thank you ThinkSwiss, and thank you Switzerland!

    Suryam Gupta (2023) Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology / University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI)

    As I reflect on my three months at EPFL, I realise that this internship was a pivotal moment in my academic journey. It not only solidified my passion for research but also clarified my long-term objectives. I am certainly eager to visit Switzerland again as a student/researcher, all thanks to Swissnex in India for broadening my horizons to the wonderful Swiss research landscape.

    Parth Singh (2023) Delhi Technological University / EPFL

    The risk group at UNIL specializes in the study of natural hazards and risks induced by surface and atmospheric phenomena, and their perception and impact on society. The ThinkSwiss scholarship gave me the opportunity to be on the ground and experience the very wide range of remote sensing techniques to study instabilities, at different scales, from satellite data to geological fieldwork acquisitions, and try to improve the processing and the analysis.

    Mansi Singh (2022) IIT Roorkee / University of Lausanne

    ThinkSwiss helped me fund my research internship in Switzerland. Although my research was in geomatics and the environment, I worked on completely interdisciplinary approaches in the Remote Sensing Laboratory, as a part of the research project exploring ways of closing the yield gap in African smallholder agriculture and requiring adaptation of feasible cultivation practices. Understanding loopholes and exchanging ideas to improve my design and configuration made it a great learning environment, broadening my perspective on my next steps.

    Adyasha Mohapatra (2022) IIT BHU / University of Zurich

    Geneva has a great natural environment conducive to research in the social sciences as it hosts several international organisations including blocks from the United Nations Office at Geneva, International Labour Organization, World Trade Organization, World Health Organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross, World Intellectual Property Organization, etc. Thanks to ThinkSwiss, this was my first venture abroad and I am really motivated to pursue research in Human Rights after this for further studies.

    Avantika Singh (2019) IIT Madras / The Graduate Institute of Geneva

2024 Awardees

  • Anamika Revathy Nair at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras will be working on ‘Switzerland at the United Nations Security Council: Academic Insights’ at the The Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID)
  • Anamika Gangadharan at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras will be working on ‘Sustainable Integrated Districts for High Density, High Liveability Cities: A Cross-country Study of the Role of Governance, Planning and Urban Design in Building Future-Ready Cities’ at ETH Zurich
  • Anirudh Chouhan at the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi will be working on ‘Parametric Analysis of Embodied Carbon of Irregular High-Rise Buildings’ at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
  • Anjana Madhav at the Central University of Rajasthan will be working on ‘Consequences of Land Restoration on Wildlife and its Population’ at ETH Zurich
  • Deepjoy Rudra Sarma at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur will be working on ‘In-Silico Study of the Binding of Quinolone Moieties to DNA Gyrase’ at the University of Geneva
  • Dhanush Sudhakar at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Tiruchirappalli will be working on ‘Design and Control of Miniature Continuum Robots for Neurosurgery’ at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
  • Disha Jain at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur will be working on ‘Decoupling of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Economic Growth by Sector and Substance’ at the University of Basel
  • Ishita Khatri at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras will be working on ‘AI-Driven Documentation of Domain Specialist Knowledge in Build Heritage‘ at ETH Zurich
  • Kavya Pramod at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Thiruvananthapuram will be working on ‘Synthesis of Novel Fluorine-Free Amphiphobic Polymers for Coating Applications’ at the University of Applied Sciences and Art Northwestern Switzerland
  • Kingshuk Pal at Presidency University Kolkata will be working on ‘Anorthite as Feedstock for Carbon Mineralisation: Investigating Carbon Capture and Storage Capacity with Silicon Isotope Tracing’ at the University of Bern
  • Lakshini Kannan at Bharathidasan University will be working on ‘Spatial and Functional Characterisation of Neuronal Lipids’ at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
  • Ridha Shemil at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras will be working on ‘The Future of Humanitarian Design’ at the The Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID)
  • Roshin Nazeer at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Thiruvananthapuram will be working on ‘Growth Competition Between Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria and Bacterial Members of a Mixed Bacterial Community: Generation and Use of Fluorescent Bacterial Clones’ at the University of Zurich
  • Sairaj Loke at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore will be working on ‘Visual Estimation of Tree Canopy Rigidity‘ at ETH Zurich
  • Sakthi Jaya Sundar Rajasekar at the Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University will be working on ‘Analysing Single-Bacterium Nanomotion Dynamics to Investigate Antimicrobial Susceptibility with Artificial Intelligence Technology’ at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
  • Souvik Mandal at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) will be working on ‘Predictive Lifespan Assessment of C. Elegans Individuals by Live Imaging and Machine Learning’ at the University of Bern
  • Suhani Jain at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati will be working on ‘Outbreak Analysis of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus’ at the ZHAW Institute for Computational Life Sciences
  • Tosmi Goel at the Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women will be working on ‘Fabrication and Testing of Graphene Oxide Hydrogels for Intervertebral Disc Regeneration’ at the University of Bern
  • Vishal Soni at the Indian Institute of Information Technology Bhagalpur will be working on ‘From Text to Touch: Empowering Robots with Interpretable LLMs for Enhancing Robotic Manipulation Tasks’ at the Swiss AI Lab IDSIA (Istituto Dalle Molle di studi sull’intelligenza artificiale)
  • Muhammed Roshan Mangattuparambil at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal will be working on ‘Deconvolution for Novel Image Reconstruction Techniques for Radio Astronomy’ at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
  • Bhavya Arya at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore will be working on ‘Socioemotional Brain Development’ at Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development at the University of Zurich (UZH)
  • Pham Duc Nam Phuong at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore will be working on ‘Synthesis of Hydrazinylproline’ at the Laboratory for Organic Chemistry at ETH Zurich
  • Swathi Kumar at the National University of Singapore  (NUS) will be working on ‘Neuron or Neurite Behaviour’ at the Laboratory of Biosensors and Bioelectronics at ETH Zurich
  • David Uy at the Deakin University will be working on ‘Novel Hybrid Timber Structures using Multiple Species to Ensure Sustainability’ at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA)
  • Zhuyuan Yang at the University of Melbourne will be working on ‘Cell Intrinsic and Extrinsic Signals Governing Immune Central Tolerance’ at the University of Zurich
  • Madeleine Orr from the University of Queensland will be working on ‘Analysing Patterns of Code-Switching in a Chintang-Nepali Corpus’ at the University of Zurich

Contact

    Prajwala Ravikrishna, Academic Engagement Coordinator, Swissnex in India

    Students from India, for more information about the ThinkSwiss Research Scholarships kindly write to Prajwala. Selected candidates will be notified by email only. Kindly note that telephonic queries will not be encouraged.

    Joël Henri Brunner, Science Counselor - Embassy of Switzerland in Singapore and Brunei Darussalam

    Students from Singapore and Brunei, for more information about the ThinkSwiss Research Scholarships kindly write to Joël. Selected candidates will be notified by email only.

    Tristan Piguet, Science Counselor - Embassy of Switzerland in Australia

    Students from Australia, for more information about the ThinkSwiss Research Scholarships, kindly write to the Embassy of Switzerland in Australia. Selected candidates will be notified by email only.
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