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ECMWF and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have developed a scheme under which ECMWF regularly hosts forecasters or researchers from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) of developing countries for up to one year. The scheme is part of the WMO Fellowship Programme, which was set up after the WMO identified a need for specialised training placements to develop capacity in least developed and developing countries. The aim is to expand the international network of cooperation opportunities between experts in weather forecasting. The scheme is part of long-standing efforts by the WMO and ECMWF to raise the level of scientific knowledge in weather forecasting across the globe.
Fellowship holders will work with ECMWF experts on a project (see below for more details), there will also be opportunities to participate in training courses and get involved with other ECMWF activities. The aim is for the knowledge and understanding gained during the Fellowship to be used to help build the capabilities of their respective National Meteorological and Hydrological Service (NMHS) so that those services can make a bigger contribution to the social and economic development of their countries.
ECMWF has, in recent years, hosted Ahmed Shabin, a meteorologist from the Maldives Meteorological Service and who worked on Evaluating ECMWF weather forecasts for the Maldives region and Kaah Menang, a meteorologist and researcher from the National Department of Meteorology, Cameroon who worked on Developing a Climate Data Store application for Africa.
Prospective fellowship holders are asked to submit a project idea (or project ideas) which will form part of the application evaluation. Project ideas should aim to make an essential contribution to developing forecasting capabilities in the prospective fellowship's own country and an estimation for how long the project/s will take should be included. Projects can be in any relevant area or topic however ECMWF is particularly interested in:
- Early Warnings 4 All - use of data and products to support this WMO initiative
- Thematic applications - e.g. Flood, energy, health
- Products combining NWP and AI forecasts
- Observations and their impact on forecast quality
During the Fellowship, the successful applicant will also be asked to work with the communications team on a news article/s about their work and also present internally to ECMWF staff on their background, work and aims.
To apply for the ECMWF WMO Fellowship please complete the form below. Once all applications have been reviewed a shortlist will be established and those candidates will be invited for a short interview about their project and the Fellowship.
Applications for the 2024 scheme closed on 30 April 2024, we will inform applicants of the outcome as soon as possible. Applications for the 2025 scheme will open in early 2025.