Major contributions received during 1999 are described in the Annual Report for the year. As an academic institution of the United Nations, the UNU has no student body in the traditional sense. Its students are postgraduate or young postdoctoral researchers, mainly from developing countries, who receive advanced training as UNU Fellows or participate in UNU training courses, seminars and workshops. A prospective UNU Fellow cannot apply directly to the UNU for postgraduate training. Fellows are chosen after recommendations from their home institutions, which must be working in an area of concern to the UNU, and candidates must be committed to returning to work at their home institutions.
Most fellows are from developing countries.
The UNU also awards fellowships to selected applicants, mainly from developing countries, for some of its training courses and seminars. Detailed information on the UNU fellowships is available here . Vacancies for professional staff are advertised in specialized magazines, newspapers, the UN Vacancy Announcement Bulletin, and the UNU website . The support staff are usually recruited locally. The University's academic network personnel generally hold positions at major universities worldwide and remain in their posts while working with UNU programmes.