Asia Fellows Awards 2008 / 2009

Here is a fellowship to apply for.

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FELLOWSHIP: Asia Fellows Awards 2008 / 2009

For contact, see: http://www.asianscholarship.org/

Asia - 2008 / 2009 Asia Fellows Awards from ASF and the Ford Foundation

Funding and Administration

The Asian Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is funded by a grant from the Ford
Foundation. Its office in Bangkok administers the ASIA Fellows Awards in
the region with assistance from partner offices in Beijing, New Delhi,
Manila, Hanoi, and Jakarta.

The ASF Board Management Committee is composed of twelve educational and
public leaders from the People’s Republic of China, South and Southeast
Asia, and Australia. The Board Management Committee selects the fellows,
oversees the program and makes policy decisions.

Goals and Objectives

The principal goal of the ASIA Fellows Awards is to increase the overall
awareness of intellectual resources in the countries of Northeast, South
and Southeast Asia and to contribute to the growth of long-range
capabilities for cross-regional knowledge sharing. The ASIA Fellows Awards
seek to develop regional expertise, establish a multilateral network of
Asian specialists from many disciplines, professional fields and countries,
stimulate interdisciplinary research and inter-societal comparison, and
contribute to new developments within existing area studies communities.
The awards offer opportunities for outstanding young and mid-career Asian
scholars, and professionals to gain knowledge of the countries in the
region and an understanding of the contexts that shape global and regional
issues through research. They enable the awardees to conduct research in a
participating Asian country for six to nine months.

Eligibility

Citizens of and residents in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, the
People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos,
Malaysia, the Republic of Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the
Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and
Vietnam.

Master’s/Doctoral degree or equivalent professional training and
experiences (minimum of 3 years of university teaching experiences for
scholars or 5 years of work experience for professionals.)

Applicants must be 45 years old or younger at the time of the application
deadline. However, those up to 50 years old proposing to do research in the
field of Humanities may be given special consideration.

Proficiency in English or in the language of the host country appropriate
to the proposed research project.

Those who are currently enrolled in a degree program, or have just
completed a degree program for less than one to two years will not be
eligible to apply. Those who were a recipient of a Ford Foundation
fellowship grant within the last two years prior to the application is also
ineligible.

Conditions of the awards

The proposed research projects for the ASIA Fellows Awards can be carried
out in only one participating country (except the applicant’s own) and
under the following conditions:

No applicant can propose to conduct their research in Hong Kong, Japan,
Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.  Applicants from Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines, and Singapore cannot undertake research in each other’s
countries.  Applicants from Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan can
only apply to conduct their research in Thailand, the host country of ASF.

Any part of the proposed project that will be done in the applicant’s own
country will not be funded under the ASIA Fellows Awards.

The proposed grant period must be between 6-9 months. Once awarded, a
fellow is required to conduct research at the proposed host country
throughout the grant period. Splitting of the grant period or conducting
research in the applicant’s own country during the proposed grant period is
not allowed under any circumstances.

While an applicant from South or Southeast Asia may propose a research
project in a country within his/her own region, preference is given to
applicants who propose to conduct research in a region of Asia other than
their own (e.g., an award to an Indian scholar or professional for research
in China).

Applicants should not plan to conduct their research in a country with
which their home country has a difficult diplomatic relationship because of
the uncertainties of securing an affiliation and obtaining a research
clearance and visa for a long-term stay.

Fellowship awards are not for the purpose of completing requirements
towards an academic degree (master’s thesis or doctoral dissertations).

Fellowship Activities

ASIA Fellows awardees are placed at top-ranking research universities and
non-academic institutions such as museums, archives or think tanks. Fellows
should identify preferred placements in host countries. They may engage in
an organized field research in the host country. Fellows are strongly
encouraged to undertake some language training in their host country as
part of facilitating their research. They are also provided the
opportunities to present guest lectures, or to conduct seminars and
workshops at the invitation of the host institutions. After completion of
their fellowship, fellows can apply for post-fellowship awards of three
months to further their research in a country within Asia, or for
short-term travel awards to make presentations at overseas conferences and
meetings.

All fellows are required to attend the Orientation Program in July 2008,
and the ASIA Fellows’ Annual Conference in July 2010 at which they present
their research results to fellow awardees and to scholars from the country
in which the conference is held. They are also required to start the award
by the end of December 2008. At the end of the fellowship, fellows must
submit to the ASF office in Bangkok evidence of the results of their
research project in the form of publications, photos of artistic works,
audio/video productions, etc.

Awards Benefits

*Travel Allowance: round-trip travel between home country and host country

*Maintenance Allowance: In-country living allowance to cover housing and
other expenses. Note that no travel nor living allowance will be provided
for dependents.

*Limited Accident and Health Insurance

*Field Trip/Language Training Allowance: for traveling within a host
country, and a formal course on language training or with a private tutor
in the host country

*Research Allowance: for research-related costs, computer purchase and
internet connectivity to communicate with colleagues, other ASIA Fellows,
and to access the Asian Scholarship Foundation website.

*Excess Baggage/Shipping Allowance

Selection Process

Regional review committees composed of leading scholars from participating
countries and regions conduct an initial review of the applications. In
mid-March, short-listed candidates are interviewed by the review committee
for their region at meetings in Beijing, New Delhi, and Bangkok. (The Asian
Scholarship Foundation covers the travel expenses of short-listed
candidates.) The applications of recommended candidates are then forwarded
to the multi-regional Board Management Committee which will make the final
selection of ASIA Fellows Awards recipients by the end of May 2008.

Application Form

An application form can be downloaded fro

m the website. It can also be
requested via e-mail (see below ASF affiliate offices in the country or
region of your citizenship).

Submitting the Application

Please send completed application materials to the ASF office or affiliate
offices in the country or region of your citizenship: