Iso Lomso Fully-funded Fellowships 2019 for Early Career African Researchers

Iso Lomso Fellowships provide an exceptional early career opportunity for Africa’s brightest minds in academia. Iso Lomso means ‘the eye of tomorrow’ in isiXhosa: seeing towards the future, laying the foundations for tomorrow.

Application Deadline: 15th October 2019

Eligible Countries: African countries

About the Award: Iso Lomso aims to address the gap that exists between completion of the Ph.D. and becoming an established scholar in Africa. While there is increasing support for doctoral study and for post-doctoral fellowships, it is during the extended post-doctoral period that the greatest loss of talent occurs.

Fellows are expected to be present at STIAS for the duration of their STIAS residency, with no academic obligations other than pursuing the proposed research project. The only other duties are to share in the discussion over lunch which is served daily, and to participate in the Thursday STIAS fellows’ seminar where fellows in turn present their work to other fellows and invited academics from the local community.       

Type: Fellowship

Eligibility: 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.

To be eligible applicants must:

• be a national of any African country;
• be born after the 1st of January 1977;
• 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 2012;
• 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 the second half of 2019 or the first half of 2020.

Selection Criteria: 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.

Number of Awards: 20

Value of Award: Iso Lomso Fellows will enjoy:

• a three-year attachment to STIAS during which time they may spend a total of ten months in residence at STIAS to develop and pursue a long-term research programme;
• the possibility of a residency at a sister institute for advanced study in North America, Europe or elsewhere;
• funding to attend up to three international conferences or training workshops anywhere in the world;
• support to convene a workshop with collaborators at STIAS;
• lecturer replacement subsidy for the fellow’s home institution during residency periods.

Duration of Program: 3 years

How to Apply: Download the applications documents of the 2019 call here:

1. Download the Iso Lomso Call for Applications 2019 (PDF)
2. Download the Iso Lomso Application Form 2019 (MS Word format) or the Iso Lomso Application Form 2019 (Open Document format)

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Providers: Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study  (STIAS)