The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is a body of the International Council for Science (ICSU) and is the leading independent organisation for facilitating and coordinating Antarctic research, and for identifying issues emerging from greater scientific understanding of the region that should be brought to the attention of policy makers. Its major objective is to initiate, develop, and co-ordinate high quality international scientific research in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean region, and on the role of the Antarctic region in the Earth system. It works closely with other organisations with a polar interest. This year, SCAR is pleased to announce that it is working with the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) to promote an additional research fellowship opportunity.
Details of the two fellowship schemes are provided in this announcement of opportunity.
The SCAR Fellowship Scheme:
The SCAR Fellowship Programme is designed to encourage the active involvement of early career scientists and engineers in Antarctic scientific research, and to strengthen international capacity and cooperation in Antarctic research.
The SCAR Fellowships are intended to allow researchers to undertake short-term visits to major international laboratories, field facilities, and/or home institutions in or operated by SCAR Member countries, so as to become acquainted with recent advances in research and/or to develop long-term scientific links and partnerships. The work must be carried out in a research group of a SCAR nation different from that of the (i) applicant's origin and (ii) current position.
Topics for support should make a contribution to the objectives of one or more of the Scientific Research Programmes endorsed by SCAR.
Awards will be up to US$15,000, providing, as needed, economy-class round trip travel and a modest subsistence allowance for the fellowship period. The Fellow's home institute will bear all expenses incurred in his or her own nation (domestic travel, visa costs, etc.), and the host institute will waive any bench fees that they might normally charge trainees. Three to four awards will be made in total depending on the quality of the applications and the budget available.
Eligibility:
The SCAR Fellowship programme is for PhD students or those within 5 years of having completed a PhD on the day of the deadline for applications, to undertake research at an institute in one of the 36 SCAR Member countries (for a full list of countries, please visit the SCAR Members and Officers page). In special cases (e.g. Maternity/Paternity leave), this 5 year period may be extended. Please contact the SCAR Secretariat (email info@scar.org) if you believe this to be the case.
Fellowships are awarded purely on the selection criteria for competitive selection, which are clearly stated in the Evaluation section.
The COMNAP Antarctic Research Fellowship:
The COMNAP Antarctic Research Fellowship will run in parallel with the SCAR Fellowship Programme. COMNAP is the international independent organisation of National Antarctic Programs. Formed in 1988, COMNAP has as its goal to develop and promote best practice in managing the support of scientific research in Antarctica. This year COMNAP is pleased to be working in partnership with SCAR in order to offer this inaugural COMNAP Antarctic Research Fellowship.
The COMNAP Fellowship is similar to the SCAR Fellowship Programme in that, it is designed to encourage the active involvement of early career Antarctic researchers and to strengthen international capacity and cooperation in the spirit of the Antarctic Treaty. Both Fellowship Programmes allow the selected Fellow to become acquainted with recent advances in research and/or to develop long-term research linkages and international partnerships.
However, there are two primary differences between the SCAR and COMNAP Fellowship Programmes. First, the COMNAP Fellowship Programme is intended to allow researchers from a COMNAP Member National Antarctic Program country to undertake short-term visits to major international laboratories, field facilities, and/or home institutions in or operated by other COMNAP Member National Antarctic Programs (for a list of members, please visit the Members page of the COMNAP website).
Secondly, the proposed research proposal should contribute to the objectives of the home or host National Antarctic Program's research objectives. This therefore, may be broader than the Scientific Research Programmes endorsed by SCAR for 2011 (Postgraduates/PhDs in, for example, Engineering, Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, Communication and Outreach, and Medicine, etc would be welcome to apply.)
The award will be up to US$15,000, providing, as needed, economy-class round trip travel and a modest subsistence allowance for the fellowship period. The Fellow's home institute will bear all expenses incurred in his or her own nation (domestic travel, visa costs, etc.), and the host institute will waive any bench fees that they might normally charge. One or two COMNAP Fellowships will be awarded in total, depending on the quality of the applications and the budget available.
Application for both schemes:
The last date for submitting all components of the application package is by 15th May 2011. All proposals must be made on the appropriate forms, and submitted electronically to:
- for the SCAR Fellowship Scheme, the SCAR Secretariat (email info@scar.org)
- for the COMNAP Fellowship Scheme, the COMNAP Secretariat (email sec@comnap.aq)
The proposal texts should make it absolutely clear what activities will be carried out, what will be achieved, what deliverables will ensue (e.g. papers, technologies), at what cost, and in what time frame. Guidelines for preparing the proposal are given in Section 8 of the Application form.
In order to apply, candidates will be required to first contact and liaise with appropriate host Antarctic projects or programmes in order to secure the support and mentorship of an active research team capable of including them in their own research programme.
Elements of the Application form:
- Application Form – Applicant to fill in, sign and date;
- Research Proposal – Prepared following guidelines given in Section 8 of the Application form
Applicant to send by email Application form and Research Proposal (with relevant appendices) together to reach by 15th May 2011 at the latest (for SCAR Fellowships, to info@scar.org, and for COMNAP Fellowships, to sec@comnap.aq);
- Applicant to send Cover note 1 to Home Institute Referee, and the Referee to send it back to reach by 15th May 2011 at the latest, preferably by email (for SCAR Fellowships, to info@scar.org, and for COMNAP Fellowships, to sec@comnap.aq);
- Applicant to send Cover note 2 to Host Institute Referee, and the Host should send it back to reach by 15th May 2011 at the latest, preferably by email (for SCAR Fellowships, to info@scar.org, and for COMNAP Fellowships, to sec@comnap.aq).
It is the Applicant's responsibility to make sure that all parts of the application (Application Form, Research Proposal, Home and Host References) reach before the deadline of 15th May 2011. Only those applicants with a complete application package (Application Form, Research Proposal, Home Institute reference, and Host Institute note) reaching before 15th of May, will be considered.
Evaluation for both schemes:
A scientific review panel chaired by a representative of the SCAR Capacity Building, Education and Training Committee and in addition comprising a member of the SCAR Executive Committee, a member of the COMNAP Executive Committee, the Chief Officers of the three Standing Scientific Groups or their Alternates; and the Executive Officer will evaluate all proposals on the basis of the scientific excellence of the proposed research. This evaluation will also take into consideration factors such as:
- its importance and timeliness;
- its achievability within the time frame allotted;
- the extent to which links have already been established with the proposed host institution;
- the extent to which it will strengthen the scientific research capacity of nations with smaller or less well-developed Antarctic research programmes;
- its 'fit' with SCAR's place in science and with SCAR's scientific directions; and for COMNAP, its fit with COMNAP's goals and objectives.
Completion of Fellowship:
At the end of each Fellowship, each candidate must provide a report to be published on the SCAR and/or COMNAP websites. Reports should cover the scientific accomplishments and a budgetary report and should be completed following a similar structure to those already on the website (accessible via the main Fellowships page). The SCAR and/or COMNAP Fellowship scheme should be acknowledged in any resulting publications.
