UICC awards 31 Technical Fellowships to strengthen global cancer control through short-term international learning visits

UICC is pleased to announce that 31 cancer professionals from 23 countries – including Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Malawi, Ukraine and Yemen – have been awarded a UICC Technical Fellowship, following the recent call for applications. 29% of Fellows work at UICC member organisations.

This year’s call for UICC Technical Fellowships attracted 110 applications from 37 countries, with 55% coming from Asia-Pacific, 20% Africa and 12% Eastern Mediterranean and 8% from Latin America, reflecting the global demand for specialised training in cancer control.

UICC’s Technical Fellowship programme facilitates the international exchange of technical knowledge and skills in cancer control, providing cancer professionals the opportunity to benefit from short-term learning visits, of two weeks to two months’ duration. Awarded Fellows will visit 18 host institutions across 11 countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, and North America, over a third of which are UICC member organisations. Specifically, through partnerships with the National Cancer Korea and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, eight Fellows will benefit from fellowships to visit these comprehensive cancer centres.

Applications are peer reviewed by international experts in the relevant specialty, and final funding recommendations made by the programme’s three Chairs:

• Prof. Anil D’Cruz, Apollo Hospitals, India, and UICC Past President (2020–2022)
• Dr Jamal Khader, King Hussein Cancer Center Jordan
• Dr Benider Abdellatif, Centre Mohammed VI pour le Traitement des Cancers, Morocco.

In terms of the focus of the fellowships awarded in 2025, 25% of the fellowships awarded focus on cancer prevention and early detection in low and middle-income countries, supported in part by the Technical Fellowships partner, Prevent Cancer Foundation,and more than a third of projects focus on breast cancer.

From a regional perspective, in 2024, the online application platform was translated into Spanish to support greater participation from Latin America. This year, UICC is delighted to support five awards for applicants from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, out of nine applications from the region.

UICC also received 22 applications from 12 different countries across Africa, and awarded 10 Fellowships. 40% of awards to Africa went to individuals from the Francophone Africa region through the Bourses pour l’Afrique Francophone sub-programme translated into French.

“My Fellowship experience will equip me with advanced record linkage methodologies and practical insights into integrating screening data with cancer registry systems. These learnings will directly strengthen data quality, early detection efforts, and evidence-based decision-making at the Lilongwe Cancer Registry – ultimately contributing to more effective cancer control strategies across Malawi and the region.”
– Frank Nkhwazi, Kamuzu Central Hospital, National Cancer Center, Malawi

Of note, a total of eight Fellows will visit the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, reinforcing the long-standing partnership between UICC and IARC, with six participants of IARC Summer Schools supported through UICC-IARC Development Technical Fellowships.

"We are delighted that the Technical Fellowships continue to attract interest from such a diverse range of countries on topics including cancer prevention and early detection, diagnosis, treatment, pathology, palliative care, and survivorship. Technical fellowships are more than just short-term training opportunities, they are catalysts for collaboration and knowledge exchange, playing a part in improved cancer outcomes worldwide."
– Sally Donaldson, Senior Fellowships and Grants Manager, UICC

Next year’s call is due to open earlier during the year, with call dates planned from early April to end of May.