The STIAS Iso Lomso Fellowship Programme 2023 is now accepting applications. The Iso Lomso scholarships provide recipients a three-year connection to STIAS so they can design and carry out their ideal long-term research program. The objective is to assist and support them as they work to become renowned experts in their professions.
Residences at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) are the primary source of funding. Residential durations can range from six weeks to five months every residency and will be mutually agreed upon by the fellow, his or her home institution, and STIAS. Typically, a lengthier initial resident time will begin in 2024, followed by two more residencies until 2026.
Benefits:
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 highspeed 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.
Eligibility:
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.
Evaluation 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.
During final selection, additional consideration will be given to:
- gender representation;
- diversity of nationalities;
- diversity of disciplines;
- participation in previous or current research projects;
- previous international experience.
Application:
- The following documents, all in PDF format, must accompany your application:
- A motivational cover letter of not more than one page in length.
- A pre-proposal for a three-year research project.
- One or two recent writing examples authored by the applicant (articles or book sections)
related to the proposed project. - A copy of the applicant’s doctoral certificate.
- An up-to-date Curriculum Vitae
- A letter of support from your home institution (either from the head of department, dean of
faculty, principal of college, or equivalent) which contains a confirmation of the applicant’s
academic position and an assurance from the institution that the applicant will be released
for residential research periods. - 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.
Download the application form, fill it and email to: isolomso@sun.ac.za
(for postal entries, contact the coordinator first)
