Introduction & Purpose:

The ISCO Clinical Observership Placement (ISCOlarship) is a participant-tailored medical/clinical oncology observership program provided by the International School of Clinical Oncology (ISCO) and Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR) in which the selected applicant/winner, also referred to as “placed-applicant”,  will undergo a 1-month observership at IGR and attends with the IGR medical staff their daily clinical and academic routines, sharing experiences with doctors, residents, research staff under the supervision of a medical advisor. The Clinical Observership Placement, also referred to as “ISCOlarship Placement” offers a unique opportunity to develop the experience of the placed-applicants in cancer research and clinical practice. This Placement is not for academic credit.

1. Agreement

  1. This Agreement, together with the Application Form, sets out the terms and conditions under which the applicant agrees to sit for the ISCO Scholarship exam, and participate in the placement (also referred to as The ISCO clinical observership placement (ISCOlarship)).
  2. Each applicant agrees to be bound by this Agreement provided that they are granted a placement.
  3. Participation in the placement is subject to this Agreement.

2. Application

  • Upon making such application, each applicant declares to the ISCO that he/she:
    1. is between 25 and 42 years of age at time of submitting the application form.
    2. makes the application on his/her own behalf and in his/her own name (and not on behalf of and/or in the name of a third person).
    3. did not participate in previous ISCOlarship placements.
    4. is an oncologist or oncologist-in-training with at least 6 months of clinical experience in internal medicine, medical oncology, clinical/radiation oncology, or surgical oncology.
    5. has attended at least 75% of the ISCO 2025 congress lectures delivered by the ISCO 2025 speakers as per the official congress agenda available on the official ISCO website and social media accounts.
    6. speaks English fluently according to CEFR (level C2) and it is considered an addition if the participant speaks French DELF Level A1, but it is not mandatory.
    7. is a citizen of a lower-middle-income or low-income country as classified by the World Bank this year.
    8. shall act in good faith and in accordance with this Agreement in connection to his/her participation in the Placement.

3. ISCOlarship Exam

  1. The ISCOlarship Exam shall take place in the main hall at the end of the second day of the ISCO congress.
  2. The ISCOlarship Exam questions are set by the international speakers to test and assess the Applicants on the scientific material presented in the ISCO Annual Congress.
  3. The sitting for the ISCOlarship Exam is completely anonymous and under the supervision of the ISCOlarship executive director.
  4. The ISCOlarship executive director will monitor, correct and announce the exam results and the winners on the same day of the exam.
  5. A Placement will be offered to ISCOlarship Applicants according to:
    1. His/her eligibility according to –section 2- to sit for the exam.
    2. His/her REGISTRATION (i.e., fully filled application form) with an acceptance notification from the ISCO to sit for the exam.
    3. His/her attendance of at least 75% of the ISCO Annual Congress lectures.
    4. His/her scoring among the Applicants who sat for the ISCOlarship Exam.
  6. The ISCOlarship Exam scores will be announced during the Gala Dinner of the ISCO.
  7. The winners of the ISCOlarship are subsequently offered a Placement.
  8. The International School of Clinical Oncology (ISCO) and Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR) are not obliged to offer a Placement to the winners nor the Applicants who sat for the ISCOlarship Exam i.e., the school can refrain from offering the Placement within a period of 15 business days from announcing the ISCOlarship Exam scores.
  9. In case a winner is announced by mistake, i.e., not eligible for the Placement according to section 2 criteria, the Placement offer will be considered void and the observership will be canceled.
  10. In case of (section 3.I) incidence, the Placement can be offered to another Applicant who sat for the ISCOlarship Exam.

4. Placement

    1. The ISCO may, at its discretion, offer a Placement to the Applicant after the announcement of the ISCOlarship Exam scores.
    2. The Applicant must confirm to the ISCO by either accepting or rejecting the Placement offer within 10 business days from the announcement day.
    3. If the Applicant rejects the offer, the ISCO shall be under no obligation to make any further Placement offers to that applicant (but may do so at its own discretion).
    4. The placed-applicant will be required to submit their passports, IDs, qualifications and any further required documents to the ISCO for the facilitation of travel logistics.
    5. ISCO is responsible to provide the resources and facilitate all logistics pertaining the ISCOlarship for the placed-applicants. i.e, flights, accommodation, living allowance, ISCOlarship Placement structure and communication with IGR medical advisor
    6. The Placement shall be for a term of 1 month in accordance with the placement notified to the applicant by the ISCO.
    7. IGR will provide the placed-applicant (clinical observer) with an academic/clinical advisor whom shall be contacted and referred to in case of any queries.
    8. The academic/clinical advisor’s name will be announced to the placed-applicants (clinical observers) as soon as they arrive to IGR.
    During the course of the placement, the placed-applicant (clinical observer) must:
    (a) use his/her best endeavors to satisfactorily attend most of the training days:
    (i) attend all multidisciplinary team (MDT) and scientific meetings as required by the academic/clinical advisor at IGR
    (ii) attend all training sessions and scientific seminars provided in connection with the ISCOlarship by ISCO/IGR, or any third party as notified to the participant (clinical observer) from time to time;
    (b) maintain a professional standard of conduct reasonably expected from him/her as a respectable clinical observer and physician, including adherence to all duties and obligations applicable to clinical observers.

5. Post-Placement

  1. A written one-page report by each clinical observer summarizing the experience and gained knowledge is required at the end of the ISCOlarship.
  2. A photographed proof of attendance is required by the applicant.
  3. The above-mentioned sections (5-A and 5-B) are subject for publication on the ISCO website, annual meeting reports, social media, and the ISCO handbook.
  4. A testimonial video might be required from the clinical observer and can be required to be filmed by him/herself or the ISCO professional photography team.