2023/2024 Iso Lomso Fellowships for Early Career African Researchers

Candidates who already have established a research programme and have concluded a post-doctoral fellowship or equivalent post-PhD programme are called forth to witness the 2023/2024 Iso Lomso Fellowships. Iso Lomso means ‘the eye of tomorrow’ in isiXhosa: foreseeing towards the future, laying the foundations for tomorrow. African scholars who have obtained a doctoral degree within the preceding seven years and who hold an academic position at a university or research institution anywhere in Africa is the aim of the programme. All disciplines are considered. 2023/2024 Iso Lomso Fellowships for Early Career African Researchers

Iso Lomso fellowships prepares a three-year attachment to STIAS in order for fellows to develop and manage a long-term research programme of their preference. Its sole aim is to support and enable them towards becoming established scholars in the fields.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the 2023 call, applicants must:

Be a national of any African country;
Be born after the 1st of January 1980;
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 2015;
Have completed a post-doctoral fellowship or equivalent post-PhD research programme;
Be in a position to commence a first period of residency at STIAS during 2024.

The major means of support is STIAS habitations. Residential periods will be agreed mutually between the fellow, his or her home institution and STIAS, and may differ between six weeks and five months per residency. A first period of residence will mostly be of longer time span to be taken up during 2024, and also by two further residencies through 2026. While in residence fellows receive regular STIAS fellow support which includes:

an economy return flight;
comfortable accommodation within walking distance from the institute;
individual offices equipped with a PC, telephone and printer;
a monthly stipend for daily living costs;
access to the Stellenbosch University library (including electronic resources) and a high-speed internet connection;
participation in the regular STIAS fellows programme, including daily lunch, weekly fellows’ seminars, STIAS public lectures and social events;
a child care subsidy for fellows accompanied by young children while in residence.

Selection Criteria

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.

Timeline:

Application deadline: 15 February 2023
Shortlist selection: 30 April 2023
Final selection: 31 May 2023

Shortlisted candidates may be contacted during May 2023 for any additional information that may be essential about their proposed projects. A final selection will take place by the end of May 2023 and successful candidates will be contacted during June 2023. These dates are likely to change and will be updated on this page.

Application Procedure:

1. DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION FORM
Word document (DOCX)
Open/Download this Call for Applications as a PDF document here

2. SUBMIT THE FORM WITH DOCUMENTATION
Email to: isolomso@sun.ac.za
(for postal entries, please contact the coordinator first)

Application Deadline: 15 February 2023

2023/2024 Iso Lomso Fellowships for Early Career African Researchers

2023/2024 Iso Lomso Fellowships for Early Career African Researchers