United Nations University (JSPS–UNU) Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme 2018 for Young Researchers to Study in Japan (Fully Funded)

Application Deadline: February 28th 2018

UNU-IAS is now accepting applications for the 2018 JSPS–UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship programme. Jointly organized by UNU-IAS and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the JSPS–UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship programme provides promising, highly qualified, young researchers with the opportunity to conduct advanced research relevant to the main thematic focus areas of the institute.

UNU offers Postdoctoral Fellowships to provide young scholars and policymakers, especially from the developing world, with a multidisciplinary context within which to pursue advanced research and training that are of professional interest to the successful applicant and of direct relevance to the research agenda of their selected UNU-IAS or UNU Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR) programme.

The Fellowship Programmes provide the successful applicant with a unique opportunity to develop and advance their research under the supervision of a UNU-IAS or UNU-CPR faculty member and contribute to the overall research agenda of the Institute; widen their research interests and professional networks by working in the international and multi-disciplinary context of UNU-IAS and UNU-CPR, and with their wider network of Japanese universities and research institutes, as well as international collaborators; become exposed to the workings of international and multilateral policy processes and the broader UN system; and link with other UNU-IAS and UNU-CPR Postdoctoral Fellows.

Fellowships are awarded for a period of 24 months.

Requirements:

• Applicants must hold a doctoral degree (received on or after 2 April 2012) when the fellowship begins, or be scheduled to receive a doctoral degree before the fellowship begins.
• Japanese nationals are not eligible, nor are those of dual nationality if one is Japanese.
• Also, those who have permanent residency in Japan are not eligible.
• Those who have been previously awarded a Standard or Pathway Fellowship under the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research in Japan scheme are not eligible.
• Applicants must be citizens of countries that have diplomatic relations with Japan. Japanese nationals are not eligible, nor are those of dual nationality if one is Japanese. Also, those who have permanent residency in Japan are not eligible. Applicants must hold a doctorate received on or after 2 April 2012 (i.e., the degree must have been received within six years prior to 1 April 2018), when the fellowship begins or be scheduled to receive doctorate before the fellowship begins.Applicants with at least 10 months research and/or professional experience are especially encouraged to apply.

  Those who have previously been awarded a Standard or Pathway Fellowship under the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research in Japan scheme are not eligible.

Terms of the Award

1. A round-trip air ticket (based on JSPS regulations)
2. A monthly maintenance allowance of JPY362,000
3. A settling-in allowance of JPY200,000
4. Overseas travel, accident, and sickness insurance coverage, etc.

[Note]

• The amounts of the awards indicated above are subject to change by JSPS.
• In the case that a Fellow is already residing in Japan before his/her fellowship starts or obtains resident status before his/her fellowship is designated to begin, the above-mentioned air ticket to Japan and settling-in allowance will not be provided.
• A research grant, “Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research”, is available to cover cooperative research-related expenses. Application for these grants is made by the host researcher through his/her institution.

Benefits:

The Fellows are resident at UNU-IAS or UNU-CPR in Tokyo for the full term of the Fellowship. This gives the Fellows the opportunity to gain from the broader research programme of lectures, seminars, workshops and conferences arranged by UNU-IAS and UNU-CPR. UNU’s close institutional links with key universities and think tanks in Japan and around the world also allow Fellows to link into the broader academic and research community.

JSPS–UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme 2018
Research proposals for JSPS–UNU Postdoctoral Fellowships should relate clearly to one of the research areas of UNU-IAS listed below, and also aim to be policy-relevant.

The following research projects at UNU-IAS are accepting applications for JSPS–UNU Postdoctoral Fellows:

• Global Change and Resilience
• Governance for Sustainable Development
• Education for Sustainable Development in Africa
• Water for Sustainable Development (new project)

Nomination of candidates

UNU-IAS will act as the nominating authority of the programme; and applications should be submitted to UNU-IAS, which will assist in securing acceptance from host researchers for short-listed candidates. UNU-IAS nominates candidates to JSPS based on the following criteria:

• the research objectives of the applicant and the quality of his/her research proposal,
• the relevance of the research proposal to the ongoing or planned research activities of the applicant’s indicated Research Programme at UNU-IAS, and
• the applicant’s academic merit and his/her potential for successful research while in Japan.

UNU intends to inform successful candidates of the results of the nomination in May 2018. JSPS takes up to 3 months after receiving the nominations to process its award decisions.

Applications

Interested and eligible candidates are invited to complete the online application form. If an applicant does not have access to the Internet, he or she should contact UNU-IAS. The online form and the required documents indicated in the form must be in English. If supporting documents are not in English, English translations must be attached.

Review of applications by the Fellowship Committee will begin immediately after the application deadline. Short-listed candidates will be contacted for a telephone interview and to provide reference letters.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the JSPS–UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship programme.