Application Deadline: May 25th 2016 (Central African Time)
Iso Lomso Fellowships provide an exceptional early career opportunity for Africa’s brightest minds in academia. Iso Lomso means ‘the eye of tomorrow’ in isiXhosa: seeing towards the future, laying the foundations for tomorrow.
The programme is aimed at African scholars who have obtained a doctoral degree within the preceding eight years and who hold an academic position at a university or research institution anywhere in Africa. Preference will be given to candidates who have established a research programme and have completed a post-doctoral fellowship. All disciplines are considered.
Eligibility Requirements:
To be eligible applicants must:
• be a national of any African country;
• have an affiliation at a research or higher education institution in an African country, and continue to do so for the foreseeable future;
• have obtained a doctoral degree from any recognised higher education institution (worldwide) after the 1st of January 2009;
• be in a position to commence a first period of residency at STIAS during 2017
For the 2016 call at least three awards will be made. All disciplines will be considered. Applicants from non-Anglophone African countries may conduct their research in the language of preference; however, the application documents must be completed in English. Applications will be evaluated and selected on the basis of the following criteria:
• Level: the applicant’s academic excellence and the originality and scholarly strength of the proposed research project;
• Innovation: the project’s promise of new insights and the potential to produce new knowledge;
• Interdisciplinarity: whether the project methodology allows for drawing from different disciplines and its potential to facilitate an interdisciplinary discourse;
• Relevance: the project’s relevance for scholarship and knowledge production in Africa;
• Feasibility: whether the research design and the research plan are convincing and realistic.
Iso Lomso Fellows will enjoy:
- a three-year attachment to STIAS during which time they may spend a total of ten months in residence at STIAS to develop and pursue a long-term research programme;
- the possibility of a residency at a sister institute for advanced study in North America, Europe or elsewhere;
- funding to attend up to three international conferences or training workshops anywhere in the world;
- support to convene a workshop with collaborators at STIAS;
- lecturer replacement subsidy for the fellow’s home institution during residency periods.
Application Procedure:
To apply, eligible candidates need to complete the Iso Lomso 2016
- Application Form which can be downloaded at www.stias.ac.za/iso-lomso/
The completed application form should be signed, dated and submitted together with:
• A motivational cover letter of not more than one page in length. The letter should include a description of the applicant’s academic career, detailing the ideas and experiences that have shaped and motivated his or her intellectual work.
• A pre-proposal for a three-year research project. This is a short essay of two to three pages which provides - (i) a summary of the applicant’s current research/work,
- (ii) the main thesis of the proposed research project, including the problem statement and aim of the project,
- (iii) an overview of existing literature and other sources for the project,
- (iv) the project’s theoretical background and methodological approach,
- (v) the significance/relevance of the project for African scholarship, and (vi) a provisional time framework with proposed periods of residency at STIAS, additional activities, and research outputs.
• One or two recent writing examples (articles or book sections) related to the proposed project.
• A copy of the applicant’s doctoral certificate.
• A letter of support from the applicant’s home institution (either from the head of department, dean of faculty, principal of college, or equivalent).
• Two letters of recommendation from scholars who are familiar with the applicant’s work, preferably one from the applicant’s current home institution and one from another institution.
To submit an application:
- Download and read the Iso Lomso Call for Applications 2016
- Download and complete the Iso Lomso Application Form 2016
- Prepare the required additional documents
- Submit the application documents by email before the deadline
Selection:
- Shortlisted candidates will be contacted during July 2016 for any additional information that may be required about their proposed projects.
- A final selection will be made by the end of August 2016.
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the Iso Lomso Fellowships for Early Career African Researchers