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 seven years and who hold an academic position at a university or research institution anywhere in Africa. Candidates should have established a research programme and have completed a post-doctoral fellowship or equivalent post-PhD programme. All disciplines are considered.
Iso Lomso fellowships provide a three-year attachment to STIAS to enable fellows to develop and conduct a long-term research programme of their preference. The aim is to facilitate and support them towards becoming established scholars in their 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 main means of support is STIAS residencies. Residential periods will be agreed mutually between the fellow, his or her home institution and STIAS, and may vary between six weeks and five months per residency. A first period of residency will typically be of longer duration to be taken up during 2024, followed 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 required about their proposed projects. A final selection will be made by the end of May 2023 and successful candidates will be contacted during June 2023. These dates may 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)
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage
Application Deadline: 15 February 2023
