Call for Proposals: AAS-JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships to Japan

The Australian Academy of Science (AAS) has released a call for applications from Australian-based early career researchers to attend the JSPS postdoctoral fellowships to Japan. For further information including eligibility requirements and how to apply please visit the AAS Website. 

Key dates:

Optional: If you wish to receive feedback on your application, please submit it to MRO by 9am, 24 October 2016

Final proposals due to MRO - 9am, 28 October 2016

Full proposals due to AAS - 9am, 31 October 2016

Please note that since the 31st of October is a Monday, we will appreciate an earlier submission of the proposals to MRO to ensure we can meet the deadline.

The proposals must be submitted through the Monash Research Office.

All proposals must be submitted via Pure.

Scheme information: 

Applicants must:

·        Candidates must hold a doctorate degree when the fellowship goes into effeect, which must have been received within six years prior to April 2017 (i.e. awarded on or after 2 April 2011)

·        Be Australian citizens or permanent residents and living in Australia at the time of application

·        Applicants must not be of Japanese nationality, nor of dual nationality if one of the two is Japanese.

·        MD (medical doctor) holders without a PhD are not eligible

·        Candidates who have previously been awarded a fellowship under the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Foreign Researchers or a STA Fellowship Program are not eligible.

Duration and commencement of fellowships:

• Fellowships are awardedfor a period of 12 to 24 months (i.e. 365 to 730 days)
• Successful candidates must start the fellowship in Japan between 1 April and 30 November 2017

Funding available:

Fellowships will fund the following expenses:

• A round-trip air ticket (based on JSPS regulations)
• A monthly maintenance allowance of ¥362.000
• A settling-in allowance of ¥200.0000
• Overseas travel accident and sickness insurance coverage
• An additional "Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research" of up to ¥1.500.000 per year (total of ¥3.000.000 for two years) is available to cover cooperative research related expenses.

The successful fellows will need to provide an interim report at the 12-month point of the fellow's tenure (for fellowships longer than 12 months) and a final report within one month of completion of the fellowship's tenure. A copy of each report will be submitted to the Australian Academy of Science.

Instructions for preparing the application record in Pure:\

All applications must be submitted through to the Monash Research Office via Pure.

Step 1.

Create a Pure Application Record

Pure log-in: myResearch/Pure. Guide to: Creating an Application Record

Funding opportunity: AAS-JSPS postdoctoral fellowship

Funding Organisation: Australian Academy of Science

Step 2.

Attach the documents listed below to the Pure application record by 9am on the 24th of October.

This deadline is to allow for the necessary compliance checking to occur. There will be a further opportunity to revise the applications before the submission deadline to the AAS.

Key Documents:

1. An applicant summary information form

2. Application form

3. Supporting documents:

• Copy of document confirming Australian citizenship or permanent resident status
• Copy of candidates doctoral degree certificate. If the degree has not yet been awarded, a letter is required from the candidate's institution stating the date they will officially receive the degree (Note the PhD thesis needs to have been submitted at the time of application)
• Copy of signed letter of acceptance/invitation from the candidate's prospective host researcher in Japan, stating they accept the candidate at their institution
• Copy of the signed referee report form or signed letter of reference/recommendation from the candidate's current or previous supervisor. Only one referee is required.
• The names, address and contact details of two additional Australian referees who may be contacted by the selection committee if further information is required. These can be submitted on a separate page or in an email. Additional referees should not be from the applicant's department or division or from the host institution.

For any enquiries, please contact mro-arc@monash.edu