SRIP MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME SCHOLARSHIP
We are thrilled to announce that in 2026, the Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology is offering a SRIP Mentorship Programme Scholarship again! This scholarship allows mentees in our Mentorship Programme to visit their mentors at their institution and collaborate on a specific project.
Purpose of the Scholarship
The scholarship is designed to facilitate direct collaboration between mentees and their mentors, providing an invaluable opportunity for learning, networking, and career development. Through this scholarship, mentees can gain hands-on experience by engaging in a specific project, such as a publication, workshop, or symposium. Additionally, mentees will have the chance to connect with the mentor's team and develop long-term networks within the field of reproductive and infant psychology.
Who Can Apply
The scholarship is open to active mentees within the Mentorship Programme (mentees from rounds 1, 2, 3, and 4 in 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 are eligible), in collaboration with their mentor. If you are part of the programme and have a project idea that aligns with this scholarship's objectives, we encourage you to apply! The winners will be announced at the 46th Annual SRIP Conference in Chester, UK, and the lab visit should be completed before September 2027.
We strongly encourage applications from mentees from the Global South, as we strive to support diversity and inclusion in our field.
What the Scholarship Covers
The scholarship is intended to (partially) cover the costs associated with visiting the mentor's institution. The minimum stay is one week (5 working days).
More specifically, the mentee will receive a daily allowance to cover the cost of local public transportation, accommodation, and meals. This will be based on the recommendations for daily allowances for the EU’s COST Actions and can range between 185-236€/working day, depending on the country of the mentor’s institution. The scholarship will cover the daily allowance for 5 working days. Additionally, travel expenses up to 200€ will be reimbursed upon receiving a receipt. If your travel costs exceed this amount, full reimbursement may be possible in special cases, but you will need to provide additional justification. To do so, include an extra document with your application explaining the reasons for the higher expenses (i.e., outlining the expected travel costs) and why other funding options are not feasible.
Application Requirements
To apply for the scholarship, please submit the following:
CV of mentee and mentor
Publication list of mentee and mentor (max. 2 pages each, should be limited to most relevant publications with regard to the proposed project if necessary)
Detailed work plan outlining the planned activities during your visit (max. 1.5 pages). The mentee should discuss this with the mentor and both parties should sign the work plan. It must also outline the preparatory steps already completed or planned for the project (such as study preregistration, data collection, etc.). Providing this information helps ensure you can make the most of your time during the visit.
Motivation letter explaining how the scholarship and visit would benefit the mentee’s career development (max. 1 page).
Selection Criteria
Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria, each rated on a scale from 0-10:
Feasibility of the work plan (e.g., steps taken to prepare the project in advance)
Scientific/practical relevance of the planned project
Project’s relevance to SRIP
Benefit of the project to the mentee's career
Quality of the motivation letter
Application Deadline
Submit your application by 30 August 2026 11:59pm CET for consideration. We look forward to receiving your applications and supporting your journey in reproductive and infant psychology!
For more information please contact Lara Seefeld, Chair of the SRIP Mentorship Programme: lara.seefeld[at]dal.ca
To apply, please send your complete application documents to Lara as one pdf document.
Scholarship recipient 2025
PhD student Annie James from Christ University in Bangalore, India has been selected as the recipient of the SRIP Mentorship Programme Scholarship 2025! Annie's visit to her mentor Prof. Alkistis Skalkidou's lab in Uppsala, Sweden focussed on the cross-cultural comparison of qualitative studies on women’s reproductive
health in South India and Sweden, with a special focus on endometriosis.
This is what Annie said about her research stay in Sweden:
"Hello, my name is Annie James, and I’m a PhD candidate in (health) psychology at Christ (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India. Between March 1 and March 31, 2026, I had the opportunity to visit the Department of Women and Children’s Health, at Uppsala University, Sweden, under the mentorship of Prof. Alkistis Skalkidou. This visit was made possible through the SRIP Mentorship Programme Scholarship 2025, which supports short-term stays of SRIP Mentorship Programme mentees at their mentor's lab or university.
When I landed, I immediately went off to work with great excitement, and I met a cheerful and exciting welcome from the team, with a strong spirit of openness, guidance, and interdisciplinary conversations. Throughout the month, I focused on understanding biomedicine’s role and place in interdisciplinary scholarship in women’s reproductive health. My visit to the lab and the WOMHER Center involved speaking with professors from different disciplines, visiting Centers of Excellence for Endometriosis and for Reproduction, and hearing about on-going research in these spaces.
From a more biomedical perspective, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit these Centers of Excellence, learn about patient advocacy, Socialstyrelsen, and the continuum of care in Sweden and the broader EU context from various healthcare professionals and researchers. From my side, I presented a seminar on my work on endometriosis, focusing on both post-qualitative methodology and my concept of ‘ontological friction’. I was also able to attend the lab’s journal club, listening to how biomedical papers were read, discussed, and interpreted, and how methodology was debated. These experiences were especially valuable in strengthening how I engage with biomedical and scientific research papers in my own PhD research. Outside of work, we visited the Gustavianum and had team lunches, which I thought were some of the most welcoming and hearty parts of my visit!
My time with the Skalkidou Lab at Uppsala University, Sweden, was an opportunity to learn more about biomedical research, explore interdisciplinary projects, and present my own work. During this time, I felt my research trajectory become much clearer and left with renewed motivation about doing interdisciplinary research in reproductive psychology. It was also my first time in Europe, which made it this incredible opportunity for sociocultural and personal exchange, including enjoying Sweden’s birds and nature, going birding and hiking with the friends I made!
The SRIP Mentorship Programme Scholarship is a wonderful way to explore how to situate yourself in this field! Like Ana Morais, the 2024 recipient stated, this wonderful opportunity could help you see the different ways research is conducted, learn from excellent researchers, and share what you also have to offer. I hope this report encourages others to take this step towards building their own future!"
Congratulations, Annie, on this successful research stay!
Scholarship recipient 2024
Ana Morais from Lusófona University in Porto, Portugal has been selected as the recipient of the SRIP Mentorship Programme Scholarship 2024! Ana’s visit to her mentor Prof. Livio Provenzi's lab in Pavia, Italy focussed on investigating the impact of perinatal mental health problems on parenting behaviour and neurophysiology.
This is what Ana said about her research stay in Italy:
"Hello, my name is Ana Morais, and I am a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at Universidade Lusófona do Porto, Portugal. Between June 23rd and 27th, 2025, I had the opportunity to carry out a scientific research stay at the Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Pavia, Italy, under the mentorship of Professor Livio Provenzi. This visit was made possible through the SRIP Mentorship Programme Scholarship, an initiative that supports short-term stays of SRIP Mentorship Programme mentees at their mentor's lab.
From the very beginning, I was warmly welcomed with a strong spirit of collaboration and openness. It was an intense and enriching week, marked by a scientific alignment around topics that are central to my research: perinatal mental health, neurophysiological synchrony between mothers and infants, and the factors that influence the quality of early affective relationships. My integration into Professor Livio’s research team went far beyond observation, as I was able to actively participate in several phases of ongoing projects.
From a theoretical perspective, I had the opportunity to explore the literature on the use of video-feedback interventions aimed at supporting parenting in mothers experiencing postpartum mental health issues. On a more practical level, I took part in training in EEG hyperscanning, an innovative methodology that allows researchers to record and analyze brain activity from mothers and infants during dyadic interaction. I also joined a hands-on session on the Global Rating Scales (GRS), a widely used tool for assessing the quality of mother-infant interaction. Both experiences were particularly relevant for strengthening the observational and neurophysiological components of my own doctoral research project. Yet, more than acquiring technical skills, this was a unique opportunity to think together with others, challenge assumptions, and broaden my methodological and scientific perspectives.
It was a week of sharing science, experiences, and challenges, during which I felt truly integrated and left with a strong desire to return. The impact of this experience went far beyond the academic dimension. It was also an opportunity for cultural and personal exchange and, of course, to enjoy Italy’s incredible cuisine.
If you’re considering applying for the SRIP Mentorship Programme Scholarship, don’t hesitate. This is a unique opportunity to step out of your comfort zone, immerse yourself in a new scientific environment, learn from excellent researchers, and share what you also have to offer. I sincerely hope this testimony encourages you to take that step and apply."