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POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP TERMS AND CONDITIONS 13.11.2018
1. The Claude Leon Foundation (“the Foundation”) is offering Postdoctoral Fellowships for research in the faculties of Science, Engineering and Medical Sciences to be conducted at universities and some institutes in South Africa. The Fellowship will be awarded for two years and is worth R275 000 per annum in 2019.
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It is understood that, subject to formal application by the host university/institution to the South African Revenue Services, the Fellowship should be exempt from South African tax although the Foundation can give no guarantee. It is the responsibility of the recipient of the Fellowship to ensure that their tax liability (if any) has been assessed.
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The Fellowships are open to South African
and foreign nationals.
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Entirely within the
discretion of the Foundation, one economy
class return flight may be awarded to those
coming from outside
South Africa.
The Foundation must be informed immediately
of any supplementary travel grants and the
conditions pertaining thereto which the
Fellows may receive. The Foundation reserves
the right to adjust or cancel its
translocation allowance without prior notice.
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5. |
Fellowships are
awarded on a competitive basis, taking the
applicants’ academic achievements and
potential as researchers into account. No
discussion will be entered into after the
award of the Fellowships.
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6. |
Candidates should have received their PhDs
within the last five years.
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Preference will be given to candidates who are currently under-represented in South African Science, Engineering and Medical Sciences.
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It is preferable, but
not obligatory, that a candidate will
undertake his/her postdoctoral research
project in a department other than the one
where his/her doctoral degree was obtained.
Applicants who wish to remain in the same
department where they completed their PhD
should explain this choice. An
accompanying motivation from the prospective
supervisor is also required.
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9. |
The Fellowship will lapse if it is not taken
up within 12 months of the offer.
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An applicant who has
not completed his/her PhD at the time the
Fellowship is offered (usually October) must
have at least submitted the PhD thesis by
the end of the calendar year in which the
offer is made. In those circumstances, the
Foundation will require written assurance
from the applicant’s PhD supervisor that the
PhD thesis has been submitted and there is a
reasonable expectation that the doctoral
degree will be awarded.
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In the case where the
award of a PhD is imminent and the thesis
has been submitted and the Foundation has
received written assurance from the PhD
supervisor that the doctoral degree will be
awarded, the Foundation may allow the
postdoctoral studies to begin and some
initial payment to be made in terms of the
Fellowship but will need to be assured of
the success of the PhD. On application half
of the award may be given before the PhD has
been awarded. This grant would be subject to
the rules of the host institution.
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12. |
The Fellow shall not
undertake any paid or unpaid employment or
consultancy during the period of the
Fellowship without the prior written consent
of the Foundation.
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13. |
The Fellowship cannot
be held concurrently with any supplementary
funding without the prior written consent of
the Foundation. This written consent should
be requested annually. The Foundation
does not give part grants and would need to
be informed of any conditions that the other
grantor has placed on its award. Where the
grantee receives substantial supplementary
funding from another source, it is
recognized that both the Foundation and the
other grantor may be regarded as co-funders.
In those circumstances both the Foundation
and the other grantor should be acknowledged
as stipulated in paragraph 20 below, and on
the basis that neither funder be regarded as
the Principal funder.
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The Fellowship must be
undertaken in
South Africa.
If a Fellow wishes to conduct some research
outside of South Africa the Trustees will
consider allowing this up to a maximum of
two months over a two-year period and
subject to written motivation by the Fellow
and his/her Supervisor. The Foundation
reserves the right to refuse such a request.
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Should a Fellow wish to change his/her research project, supervisor or host institution for which the Fellowship was awarded, details must be submitted in writing to the Foundation’s administrator for consideration and approval in writing by the Foundation prior to such a change.
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Maternity Leave: On application, a maximum of four months paid maternity leave will be granted to Fellows. The completion date of the Fellowship will be extended by the number of months maternity leave taken. This extended period will also be funded. The agreement of the supervisor and a doctor’s certificate will be required. However, if requested this leave can be taken from
a month before your expected due date and for three months after your baby is born. If for any medical reasons your doctor suggests this you can do so.
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Fellows, after having completed their first
year of Fellowship, may apply to the
Trustees for one travel grant per Fellowship
up to a maximum of R45,000 to attend (before
completion of the Fellowship) an
international conference for the purpose of
presenting a paper or poster. The Foundation
reserves the right to adjust or cancel its
conference travel grant without prior
notice. All other sources of conference
funding should be disclosed.
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As the primary purpose of the Fellowship is
to enable the Fellow to undertake a
significant piece of publishable research,
teaching should average no more than three
hours per teaching week in term time. The
Foundation expects that the subject taught
would relate to the main thrust of the
Fellow’s research interests and not simply
to the department’s needs. The Fellow must
obtain the prior written consent of the
Foundation to teach.
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19. |
To continue into the 2nd year of the
Fellowship, Fellows should submit a written
progress report at least two months before
the start of the second year. This would
normally be by the end of October. This
should be endorsed by their supervisor and
approved by the Foundation before
commencement of the second year.
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20. |
As a recipient of the Claude Leon
Postdoctoral Fellowship, all Fellows are
expected to acknowledge the support of the
Foundation when interviewed, in publications
and on any documents (abstracts included)
for which the Foundation has given funding
e.g. conference funding.
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21. |
Should the successful candidate have also
requested funding from the NRF, the
Foundation will require a letter of
withdrawal of the application for such funds
before acceptance of a Fellowship grant
offer from the Foundation as we understand
the NRF do not allow concurrent funding.
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22. |
If a Fellow completes his/her research
before the end of the period for which the
Fellowship has been awarded, the award will
be decreased on a pro rata basis depending
on the month in which the Fellow completes
the research. The Fellow should refund the
university/host institution any money paid
him/her covering a period after the Fellow
has completed his/her Fellowship or his/her
Fellowship has terminated. This should be
refunded to the Foundation by the host
institution within 30 days of completion or
termination of the Fellowship.
One calendar months’ notice must be given
should the Fellow wish to withdraw from the
Fellowship. It is the responsibility of
the Fellow, Supervisor and the
University to advise the Foundation
of any withdrawal.
The grants are made to the
university/institution for the specific
purpose of funding Postdoctoral Fellowships
and the university/institution is
administratively and financially
responsible, both as an institution and
through the Postdoctoral supervisors as
specified on the application form.
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Fellows must submit, no later than three
months after the end of tenure or on
withdrawal from the Fellowship, a
comprehensive report on the research funded
by the Foundation; this should include a
report from the supervisor.
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24. |
Applications will be considered at one
closing date (usually the 31st May) to be
announced each year.
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25. |
The Selection Committee will comprise senior
academics and will include representatives
of the Royal Society of South Africa and
will make recommendations to the Trustees of
the Foundation who will make the final
decision. The Fellowships will normally be
taken up in January each year.
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26. |
Completed Postdoctoral Application Forms
must be submitted to the host institution at
which the applicant hopes to undertake the
Fellowship. Sections J, K, L and M of the
application form must be dealt with by the
university/host institution of choice. These
universities/host institutions will ensure
that applications forms are signed by the
appropriate host institution authorities,
and that all copy documents are
attached.
These forms should be scanned and emailed to
postdocadmin@leonfoundation.co.za.
PLEASE NOTE THAT WHEN APPLYING FOR A
FELLOWSHIP, INCOMPLETE AND UNSIGNED FORMS
WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. |
