Dear CARTA Graduate,

To secure the future and foster the career growth of its high-achieving graduates, CARTA is opening a call for Postdoctoral Fellowships. The fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis in line with specific evaluation parameters. The purpose of the fellowship is for the Post-Doc fellow to gain specific skills, expand their networks and work in a research-active environment where they will engage with role models, receive strong mentorship and learn the demands of community and public engagement.

The fellowships will be awarded for a maximum of 12 months, in line with the “ CARTA Post Graduate Award Guidelines ”. Two modes of post-doctoral fellowships will be considered as follows:
1.     Full-time fellowships for 12 months, whereby the fellow will be resident at the host institution for the entire fellowship period;
2.     Split fellowships, whereby the fellow will be expected to make at most three visits of not less than three months to only one host institution over the 12-month period.

CARTA is hereby inviting applications from eligible CARTA graduates.

Eligibility

Applicants must be PhD graduates of the CARTA program. They must demonstrate strong commitment to research capacity building at their institution as well as potential for research leadership Eligible CARTA graduates must have completed their PhD within 60 months of their CARTA PhD fellowship, will not be holding another post-doctoral award in January 2020, and have a clear accountability record with the CARTA Secretariat. Eligible candidates must be ready to take up the grant in January 2020.
 
What the grant will cover

The post-doctoral fellowship award will be up to a maximum of US$ 48,000 and will include travel costs, a monthly stipend of US$3,000 and funds for formation of new research collaborations and partnerships, development of pilot projects, training opportunities on specific research skills and attendance of an international conference. Due to the short-term nature of the postdoctoral research fellowship program, the fellowships will not cover accompanying dependents.

 
How to apply
The application form will be circulated with the call and will also be available with the focal person at each partner institution.
Applicants must submit the following documents to [email protected] and copy the same to their focal person(s):
1.     A completed application form.
  1. Updated CV, showing publications and awards.
  2. A statement from the current employer indicating willingness to release and readmit the applicant at the end of the postdoctoral training period
  3. Letters of support, from:
a)      a senior academician, from your home institution, who understands your research and potential;
b)     your Head of Department or Dean;
c)     the prospective host institution indicating:
                                                       i.           its willingness to host the applicant; and
                                                     ii.           the name of the proposed mentor.
d)    your proposed mentor (including his/her CV) from the host institution(s).
  1. E-copies of your most significant publications over the last three years
 
Application timelines
  1. The deadline for submissions is September 15, 2019. An extended period of two weeks is granted ONLY for accompanying letters of support and CVs of mentors. Applicants submitting their proposal by September 15 MUST submit all supporting documents by October 1, 2020.
  2. The CARTA Secretariat will carry out the preliminary review of applications for completeness of applications and submit them for external review by October 8, 2019.
  3. External reviewers will review shortlisted applications between October 15, 2019 and November 15, 2019 and make recommendations for funding.
  4. The applications recommended for funding shall be tabled and approved for funding by the Board of Management by December 1, 2019.
  5. The CARTA Secretariat will communicate the funding decision to the applicants by December 10, 2019.
  6. Successful applicants will be expected to take up their fellowships by January 1, 2020.
 
Expected deliverables and Outcomes
By the end of the post-doc fellowship, the fellow must have:
  1. Prepared comprehensive quarterly and end of fellowship progress reports, including financial reports, outputs, acquired skills and achievements.
  2. Published at least two articles, of which one may be a systematic review, in a reputable journal.
  3. Made a poster/oral presentation of his/her work at an international conference.
  4. Built new networks and partnerships in his/her specialty.
  5. Developed a grant proposal for funding. 


Download the guidelines here and the application form here .