Open Call for STIAS Fellowships Program (2nd Semester) 2024

Deadline: 30-Apr-23

The Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) is pleased to announce an open call for its Fellowships Program.

STIAS provides and maintains an independent ‘creative space for the mind’ to advance the cause of science and scholarship across all disciplines. It is global in its reach and local in its African roots, and values original thinking and innovation in this context. No restriction is placed on the country of origin, discipline, or academic affiliation when STIAS considers a fellowship invitation. It encourages the cross-pollination of ideas across cultures, academic or otherwise, and hence gives preference to projects that will tap into, and benefit from, a multi-disciplinary discourse while also contributing unique perspectives to such a discourse. This interaction is fostered by inviting individual fellows or project teams where each team member is evaluated individually.

The STIAS programme comprises projects which are entirely self-generated and proposed by applicants, as well as projects and programmes initiated and led by STIAS, typically with select partner organisations. STIAS fellows are expected to be resident at STIAS for the duration of a fellowship, with no academic obligations other than pursuing the proposed research project. The only other obligations are to share in the discussion over lunch which is served daily at the STIAS Wallenberg Research Centre, and to participate in the Tuesday and Thursday STIAS fellows’ seminar where fellows in turn present their work to other fellows and invited academics from the local community.

To facilitate the heterogeneity STIAS strives for, its programme specifically includes artists-in-residence and short-term fellows drawn from the sphere of public commentary and opinion making.  A limited number of applications from young scholars who have completed at least one postdoctoral fellowship (preferably more than one) will also be considered annually.

STIAS fellows who have been in residence previously are welcome to submit new applications, bearing in mind that during a five-year cycle preference is given to first-time applicants.

Categories

• Individual Fellowship
• Team Fellowships

STIAS accepts and welcomes proposals for team projects (typically three to five participants). Team members are usually accommodated in a large office with five workspaces and adjoining seminar room and lounge.

Criteria

STIAS fellows are selected on the basis of academic excellence and the originality of their proposed research project. The following criteria serve as important guidelines:

• Level
  • Does the proposal entail research at the highest level?
• Innovation
  • Does the project break new ground? Does it hold the promise of new insights and the potential to produce new knowledge?
• Interdisciplinarity
  • To what extent does the project draw on different disciplines and what methodology is envisaged for doing so? Will the project facilitate an interdisciplinary discourse?
• Relevance
  • Does the project have relevance for South Africa and Africa? Is the project appropriate for the programme of an institute for advanced study?
• Feasibility
  • How convincing is the proposed methodology and research design, and how realistic is the research plan? Is the applicant equipped to deliver on the proposed project?

Selection Criteria

• Selection is carried out on an individual basis.
• The STIAS terms run from mid-January to mid-June (first semester), and from mid-July to mid-December (second semester).
• Selection is generally concluded 12 months in advance of the proposed period of residence.
• STIAS accepts and welcomes proposals for team projects.
• In general, team project members are expected to spend concurrent residencies of approximately two-and-a-half months, limited to a single period of residence. In rare instances a full-semester team project (five months) will be considered. Where some members are unable to join the team for the full duration of the proposed residency, this needs to be indicated in the application.
• Support for a workshop/colloquium hosted by the members of a team project may be offered during the residency dates and will be limited to financing the local costs (airport transfers, accommodation, meeting venue and catering) for up to 12 participants (not counting the team fellows in residence). Proposals for a workshop/colloquium, including its goals, provisional dates, target participants and anticipated outcomes must be included in the project proposal.

For more information, visit STIAS.