Free Education from JSPS-UNU Fellowship Programme - 2008 at Japan

Introduction

The JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme was launched in 2002 and is jointly organised by UNU and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

It is designed to provide promising, highly qualified, young researchers the opportunity to conduct advanced research relevant to the main thematic focus of UNU-IAS (Institute of Advanced Studies), located in Yokohama, or UNU Centre, located in Tokyo, and in co-operation with their host researchers at Japanese universities and research institutions. This fellowship is aimed at candidates who have completed their PhD in the past six years and also have professional and/or research experience.

UNU acts as the nominating authority for the JSPS-UNU Programme, and UNU-IAS administers the programme on behalf of UNU in the nominating process. Candidates apply to UNU-IAS. In addition to the prescribed application form, an essential part of the application is a detailed research proposal outlining the intended work in Japan.

Applicants also need to indicate a prospective host researcher at the time of submitting the application. (It is not necessary to obtain confirmation of acceptance from the prospective host researcher at this stage.) UNU will assist in securing acceptance from the host researchers for short-listed candidates. After the host researcher is secured for each short-listed candidate, UNU will make formal nominations to JSPS, which funds this programme. The final award decision will be made by JSPS and Awards Letters will be issued by JSPS to the fellowship awardees. An advisor for each fellowship awardee will be selected for the period of research in Japan from among the UNU (UNU-IAS or UNU Centre) faculty members.

Fields of Research

UNU conducts research on all fields of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. Yet, research proposals for JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellowships should relate clearly to one of the current research areas of UNU-IAS and UNU Centre (see UNU-IAS, UNU Centre/Peace and Governance and UNU Centre/Environment and Sustainable Development websites), as well as aim to be policy relevant.

The following Research Programmes and Projects at UNU-IAS in Yokohama are accepting applications in April 2008 for JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellows:

Biodiplomacy Initiative
Sustainable Development Governance
Science Policy for Sustainable Development
Sustainable Urban Futures
Education for Sustainable Development
Sustainable Management of Rural and Coastal Landscapes (Satoyama/Satoumi)
The following Research Programmes at UNU in Tokyo are accepting applications in April 2008 for JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellows:

Peace and Governance
Environment and Sustainable Development

Eligibility

Citizens of UN member countries that have diplomatic relations with Japan. (Japanese nationals that do not have citizenship or permanent residency of other countries are not eligible.)

Holders of a doctoral degree when the Fellowship goes into effect, which must have been received within six years prior to 2 April 2008 (i.e., awarded on or after 2 April 2002).

Applicants with at least 10 months research and/or professional experience are especially encouraged to apply.

JSPS and UNU cannot accept nominations for persons who in the past have been awarded either a “JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship” or “STA (Japan Science and Technology Corporation) Fellowship (Long-term)” for a term of 12 months or more.

Duration of the Fellowship

Fellowships are awarded for a period of 12 to 24 months.

Terms of Award

A round-trip air ticket (based on JSPS regulations)
A monthly maintenance allowance of 364,000 yen
A settling-in allowance of 200,000 yen (based on JSPS regulations)
An annual domestic research travel allowance of 58,500 yen
Overseas travel accident and sickness insurance coverage
Note:

The amounts of the Awards indicated above are subject to change by JSPS.
If the Fellow resides in Japan on the date his/her award letter is issued, the above-mentioned air ticket to Japan and settling-in allowance will not be provided.
A research grant, “Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research”, of up to JPY1,500,000 per year (total of JPY3,000,000 for two years. The amount varies depending on the areas/disciplines of research.) is available to cover cooperative research-related expenses. Application for these grants is made by the host researcher through his/her institution.

This award is provided by JSPS, and follows JSPS program guidelines.

Starting Date and Deadline for Applications

The JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme begins on 1 November 2008 and the selected fellows are required to be in Japan by this date. The closing date for applications is 25 April 2008 (17h00 Tokyo time) for fellowships beginning on 1 November 2008.

Application forms are available for download as Microsoft Word (.doc) and Portable Document Format (.pdf) files. (please visit the Adobe website to download the software needed for viewing PDF files.) The application form can also be obtained through email fellowships@ias.unu.edu.

http://www.ias.unu.edu/sub_page.aspx?catID=121&ddlID=143