Fellowships

EBCOG fellowships

This page refers to the standard EBCOG Fellowships – for the additional Ukrainian fellowships please see this page: Additional Fellowship opportunities for Ukrainian colleagues

Introduction

In order to stimulate the mobility of trainees across Europe, EBCOG (the European Board and College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) annually awards three fellowships to Obstetrics and Gynaecology trainees currently training in Europe. This exciting project, set up by EBCOG and ENTOG (the European Network for Trainees in Obstetrics and Gynaecology) and successfully piloted in 2012 and 2013, was thought to contribute to the harmonisation of training standards throughout Europe. The positive feedback from these fellowships has resulted in EBCOG awarding further fellowships in the following years.
EBCOG awards three individual fellowships per year, each worth 3000 euros, to spend a three-month period in a foreign training centre which has been recognised by EBCOG.
The fellowship is usually announced in autumn of the previous year and the fellowships awarded during early spring of the following year. The fellowship has to be completed during the same year it has been awarded. Specific guidelines and/or deadlines will be made available via the EBCOG and ENTOG websites and their respective newsletters each year.
The fellowship project is being managed by an interim working group constituted by members of the EBCOG Executive and the ENTOG Executive.

Criteria

  1. Applicants must be current Obstetrics and Gynaecology trainees from an EBCOG member country (for a list of member countries go to www.ebcog.eu/council). They should have not yet completed their basic training prior to the completion of the fellowship.
  2. The fellowship is intended to expose the trainees to basic (“Core”) training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology or to training in one of eight elective modules
    (“Elective”) according to the EBCOG PACT (European Training Requirement) training recommendations (available here: www.ebcog.eu/pact and here www.entog.eu/fellowships).
  3. The fellowship must be hosted in either an EBCOG accredited or nationally accredited training centre. The latter is only applicable for countries with an
    EBCOG recognised national visitation system. A list of accredited centres can be found on the EBCOG website (www.ebcog.eu/visitation).
  4. The fellowship should be completed in the same year in that it has been awarded.

Obligations

EBCOG should assist trainees in obtaining a fellowship in their accredited centre of choice but cannot guarantee the availability of a hosting centre for the fellowship program. The hosting centre will be required to appoint the trainee a tutor throughout their fellowship, in addition to providing a rota and a list of departmental and national requirements for arranging the fellowship. The trainees learning objectives should be decided on an individual basis and defined at the beginning of the fellowship.
Before application the following arrangements have to be made:

  • Candidates are expected to personally contact the hospital where they wish to complete the fellowship to ensure the feasibility of the fellowship PRIOR to applying for the EBCOG fellowship.
  • The head of department from the hospital that the trainee will be leaving to complete their fellowship has to endorse the arrangement.
  • The head of department of the hospital the trainee wishes to complete their fellowship in has to endorse the arrangement.

After completing the fellowship, each trainee is expected to send a final report to EBCOG summarising his or her activities and financial expenditures (mandatory). They are also requested to share their experiences on the ENTOG/EBCOG websites within two months after the completion of the fellowship.

Application process

Application materials can be found and submitted on the ENTOG website: https://entog.eu/fellowships/

Applicants are requested to send the following documents before the application deadline announced each year:

  1. Application form
  2. Curriculum vitae (maximum two pages)
  3. Motivation letter for the fellowship (maximum one page)
  4. Letter of endorsement written by the head of department from the hospital that the trainee will be leaving to complete their fellowship.
  5. Letter of endorsement (or letter of intention) written by the head of department of the hospital the trainee wishes to complete their fellowship in.

Note: Candidates are expected to personally contact the hospital to ensure the feasibility of the fellowship PRIOR to applying for the EBCOG fellowship.

Additional information

  • You are personally responsible for planning your fellowship, including travel arrangements and accommodation.
  • Additional expenses beyond the 3000EUR grant will not be covered by EBCOG.
  • Some, but not all, hospitals may be able to negotiate a salary. Please enquire prior to application.
  • Check in your own department/country whether the fellowship will be recognised (i.e. whether the three months spent abroad will be included as part of your national training).
  • Enquire about possible language barriers (English may not be enough) and enquire about the national requirements to be more than an observer. Recognition of your medical degree/title may be required (e.g. GMC recognition is essential for working in the UK). Please appreciate that these administrative procedures may take a great deal of time to complete.
  • Confirm the need for liability insurance, and whether the hosting hospital will cover you.
  • Check occupational health requirements such as MRSA swabs, hepatitis and BCG vaccinations.

Contact

In case of further questions please contact executive@entog.eu.

Prior recipients of EBCOG fellowships

YearNamePlace
2024Athina SamaraMilan, Italy
2024Dilruba TureliFlorence, Italy
2024Kubra OzpinarFlorence, Italy
2023Elžbieta Bumbul-MazurekVilnius, Lithuania
2023Andreea Elena DumitruBrussels, BelgiumReport
2023Fabiana InterlandiThessaloniki, GreeceReport
Ukraine 3-month FellowshipIryna StelmakhBologna, ItalyReport
Ukraine 6-month FellowshipNathalia YesypPrague, Czech Republic
2022Sofia TsiapakidouRome, Italy
2022Maria Petra AgiusLeuven, BelgiumReport
2022Ecem ErenFlorence, ItalyReport
2020Hüseyin Güray Biçer Tübingen, Germany
2020Cihangir YirmibeşEssen, Germany
2020Yuliia Mudra Prague, Czech Republic
2017Murat YassaDublin, IrelandReport
2015Agnieszka LemanskaEnschede, NetherlandsReport
2013Galyna TolstanovaViseu, PortugalReport
2013Orgeta MaciIstanbul, TurkeyReport
2013Nadia M WilsonLondon, UKReport
2012Burak TatarTurin, ItalyReport
2012Elisabeth VockHeidelberg, GermanyReport