The International Fellowship for Outstanding Researchers Programme Call Has Been Launched

-A +A

 

Aims of the Fellowship

The International Fellowship for Outstanding Researchers provides support to encourage qualified researchers with leading scientific and/or technological achievements and international working experience to come to Turkey to conduct their research in leading academic, industrial or public institutions towards contributing to projects in research areas that are of strategic value to our country.

 

The Scope of the Program

The program is designed to include the following aspects of financial support:

  1. Scholarship for the researcher
  2. Allowance for family living expenses (if applicable)
  3. Initial research grant
  4. Research grant
  5. Scholarship for establishing a research team*
  6. Project incentive bonus
  7. Overhead for the host institution
  8. Health insurance for the project leader and his/her family
  9. Travel allowance for the project leader and his/her family

 

* Based on scholarships for 5 doctoral students who will take place in the research team that will be conducted in Turkey.

The duration of the fellowship is to be between 24 to 36 months.

The research fellow is allowed to spend up to 3 months per year abroad as a means of facilitating the transfer of knowledge from their previous institution of research activities. It is expected that the timeframe in which the research fellow will be abroad is notified to TÜBİTAK at least one week beforehand. The financial support of the fellowship will continue during this time. The progress reports of the project should elaborate on this timeframe of international mobility.

 

Conditions of Application

The project application is to be made by the candidate research fellow who has or will come from abroad to Turkey in order to conduct his/her research.

As of the last day of application:

  • The researcher must not have resided in Turkey for more than 12 months in the last 3 years. Short-term visits and compulsory military service not exceeding fifteen days in total within one year are excluded from this period.
  • The applicant must have a Ph.D. degree or a full-time overseas research experience in the field of study of at least 4 full-time years after his/her bachelor's degree.

In addition, according to the status of a young or experienced researcher, the researcher must have satisfied the following expectations or qualifications.

Young researchers:

Young researchers who have obtained a doctoral degree in the last 4 years and are at the beginning of their research career are expected to provide 4 years of full-time research experience after the undergraduate degree. Graduate studies that have been completed abroad with a thesis are evaluated in this context for a maximum of 2 years.

Experienced Researchers:

Senior researchers or principle investigators who have research experience of 5 years or more after obtaining their doctoral degree and are at least a faculty member or a “research team leader” in the country of origin.

Young and experienced researchers are expected to provide any one of the following qualifications:

  • Take place in the list of “Highly Cited Researchers” published by Clarivate Analytics[1] in the year prior to the date of application date;
  • Have conducted his/her research in one of the top 100 universities according to the QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University Ranking[2] or
  • Have conducted research in one of  the top 2500 companies with the highest R&D expenditures according to the “Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard” as published by the European Commission Joint Research Center.[3]

The application is to be made based on the most recent academic degree. The application will be returned without evaluation if it is determined that the most recent academic degree is not declared. If a similar condition is determined during the support phase, the provisions regarding the cancellation of the fellowship will be applied.

Application Documents

  • Research project proposal form
  • Documents of residence abroad for researchers who live abroad during the application (e.g. tax certificate, rental agreement or monthly electricity bill)
  • Original or certified copy of the diploma or graduation certificate for the most recent academic degree (certified English translation of a diploma in a language other than Turkish or English must be sent).
  • A document showing that researchers without a Ph.D. degree have full-time research experience abroad (e.g. a working certificate taken from the human resources unit indicating the position, hours per week and the duration of work)
  • A statement of commitment to comply with ethical rules and to obtain legal permits, if necessary.
  • An invitation letter signed by the rector or vice-rector if the host institution is a university, director if the host institution is a research infrastructure that has been qualified within the scope of the Law on Support of Research Infrastructures (Law No. 6550) and officially authorized representative if the host institution is a private sector or other public institution.
  • Curriculum Vitae (the applicant must update his / her resume from ARBIS as the resume will be taken over ARBIS)[4]
  • Entry and Exit Registration Document for Turkey received from the "e-government"[5] portal for 3 years from the date of application for national researchers

 

The evaluation is performed only based on the application documents that are uploaded to the application system.[6] For this reason, the document for each condition must be uploaded to the system with explicit and specified content.

Required Documents to Initiate the Fellowship

The research fellow must submit the following documents to TÜBITAK within 6 months after the notification of the support decision.

  • Letter of commitment stating the opportunities to be provided during the fellowship, including course/courses to be given by the research fellow in case the host institution is a university,
  • Project contract that is signed between TÜBITAK, the research fellow and the relevant authority according to the host institution as provided below:
    • The highest level authority/representative (rector, general manager, president, etc.) of the institution where the research is to be conducted;
    • The head of unit who is responsible for the relevant research activities (Dean, Director of the Institute, etc.) and unit manager (chair, head of department, etc.) if the host institution is a university;
    • The director of the research center if the host institution is a research institution that is qualified within the scope of Law No. 6550;
    • Official who is authorized to represent the institution in a binding manner if the host institution is a private sector institution.
  • Original or certified copies of the documents that were uploaded to the system during the application
  • Research Ethics Committee Document if necessary

The research fellow may request a postponement of the project start date for a maximum period of 6 months for reasons of force majeure.

Maximum Financial Support Scheme for International Fellowship for Outstanding Researchers

Category Lump sum
(in Turkish Lira)
  Category Amount per month (in Turkish Lira)
İnitial Research Grant for Early Stage Researchers Up to 500.000   Scholarship for Early Stage Researchers 20.000 ₺
İnitial Research Grant for Experienced Researchers Up to 1.000.000   Scholarship for Experienced Researchers 24.000 ₺
Research Grant (does not include project incentive bonus, overhead for host institution 720.000 ₺   Family Allowance (if applicaple) 2.250 ₺
Travel Allowance for Project Leader, Spouse and Children Cost of flight tickets for arrivals   Scholarship for Establishing Research Team (for expenses related to 5 PhD student scholarship) 4.500 ₺
      Health Insurance Contribution for Project Leader, Spouse and Children 100 ₺
      Overhead for Host Institution 3.750 ₺
27.11.2018