As part of the Tuberculosis Reduction through Expanded Anti-Retroviral Treatment and Screening (TREATS) project conducted by Health Systems Trust (HST) in South Africa and Zambart in Zambia, a two-year training fellowship in medical statistics, in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), is being offered.

Refer to attached call for details on eligibility and application process.

Early Career Conference Grants support early career academics – without previous international experience – to participate in an international conference held in any country other than their country of employment.

30 grants are available in 2019.

• Apply online here – applications close on Sunday 31 March.

Eligibility

Applicants must be employed in an academic (research and/or teaching) role by an ACU member institution.

Applications are open to university staff who are less than 10 years from the start of their employment in an academic role. Academic staff who have recently returned to work after a career break can also be considered: applicants should make this clear in their application.

Applicants must not have previously worked at or attended an academic conference outside their home region.

Conference participation

The conference to be attended must be a recognised academic conference in a field relevant to the applicant's area of expertise in a country other than the applicant's country of employment. Applicants must give full details of their chosen conference at the time of application.

Proof of a paper submission/acceptance must be attached to the application form.

Travel dates

The grant must be used to participate in a conference between 1 June 2019 and 31 December 2019.

Applications to attend conferences outside these dates will not be successful.

Amount of grant

The maximum amount of each grant is GBP £2,000. Grants can be used to cover travel and visa costs, conference fees, accommodation and subsistence.

Other terms and conditions

• Applicants must provide a letter of support from their head of department.
• Successful applicants will be responsible for arranging any required visa as well as making their own travel arrangements.
• Grants will be paid in a single instalment to a nominated individual at the grant holder’s home institution.
• Grant holders must provide an account of expenditure and a brief report on how their grant has been spent.

How to apply

• Apply online here

Applications close on Sunday 31 March 2019 at 23:59 BST.

Please direct all enquiries to: earlycareergrants@acu.ac.uk

REVISIONS - The NRF has made the following revisions to the application requirements for the PhD track:

1. The eligibility criterion “applicants must be registered for a Doctoral degree” has been removed.
2. “Proof of registration for doctoral degree” has been removed from the list of required attachments.

NRF Call for Applications: Thuthuka Programme Funding in 2020

UCT’s internal closing date: Tuesday, 9 April 2019 at 09h00

Please direct all queries to Robyn Udemans (robyn.udemans@uct.ac.za)

1. EMERGING RESEARCH PROGRAMME GRANT WRITING WORKSHOP

It is highly recommended that applicants who intend submitting a Thuthuka application attend the Emerging Researcher Programme (ERP) Grant Writing Workshop being hosted by the Research Office. The Thuthuka application process can be lengthy and complex, particularly for first time applicants. If you are unable to attend the full two-day workshop it is advisable to try and attend at least a part thereof (please see the attached programme).

The details of the workshop are as follows:

Dates:                  Monday and Tuesday, 25-26 February 2019,

Venue:                 Hlanganani Junction, Chancellor Oppenheimer Library from

Time                     25 February from 09h30-15h00

                              26 February from 9h30 – 15h30

RSVP deadline: Please RSVP to Judith.Rix@uct.ac.za by no later than Wednesday, 20 February 2019. Lunch will be served.

2. PURPOSE OF THUTHUKA FUNDING PROGRAMME

The primary aim of the Thuthuka funding instrument is to support the professional development of emerging researchers from designated groups (black [African, Indian and Coloured], female or disabled) to redress historical imbalances. Grants are awarded for well-structured research projects in all scientific fields that have clear aims and objectives, sound methodologies that support the study objectives and demonstrate the prudent use of funds. (The NRF does not fund any clinical trials projects.)

Whilst the primary aim of the Thuthuka funding instrument is to promote professional development of researchers from designated groups, participation of individuals from non-designated groups are not excluded. The NRF has, however, set the following targets for allocation of grants to designated groups to bring about transformation:

• PhD Track: 80% of all funded grantholders to be Black; up to 60% of all funded grantholders to be female.
• Post-PhD Track: 80% of all funded grantholders to be Black; 55% of all funded grantholders to be female.
• NRF Rating Track: 80% of all funded grantholders to be Black; 55% of all funded grantholders to be female.

It is of utmost importance that applicants consult the attached Thuthuka Framework and Online Application Guide for more detailed information about the programme, its funding model, and the assessment scorecard.

3. GENERAL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

• Applicants must be employed full-time permanent, or on a full-time contractual basis that extends for the full period of the Thuthuka grant (end of 2022). If the applicant’s contract is not valid for the required period, a letter from the Head of Department confirming that the contract is likely to be extended, should the funding be awarded, must be attached to the application.
• Female applicants that are appointed on a fixed-term half-day appointment in order to accommodate family responsibilities can apply. This is limited to women raising children of four years of age and below. A copy of the child’s ID / birth certificate should be attached to the online application.
• Applicants must generally be under the age of 45 years at the time of first application.
• Applicants in the PhD and Post PhD Tracks over the age of 45 are required to submit a motivation as to why they were not able to achieve their doctoral qualification or research capabilities by the stipulated age. The motivation must demonstrate that they are late entrants to research or that they are returning to research after a period of absence due to family responsibilities. Applications without motivations will be immediately rejected.
• The Institutional Support Form (ISP) is a mandatory requirement and must include the funding track. Applicants are required to complete the form, available here, and to submit it to Robyn.Udemans@uct.ac.za by 18 March. The Research Office will arrange for the form to be signed and attached to the application before submission to the NRF. It is recommended that each applicant notifies his/her Head of Department that an application for Thuthuka funding is being submitted.

4. SPECIFIC ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA PER FUNDING TRACK

Applications for funding can be submitted in one of the following three tracks:

• hD Track: for applicants wanting to obtain a Doctoral degree within the funding period.

• Only South African citizens may apply for this track.
• Should have obtained a minimum of a Master’s degree.
• Must be registered for a Doctoral degree. Proof of registration for a doctoral degree only needs to be provided by successful applicants to take up the award.
• Electronic endorsement by a nominated supervisor supporting the proposed Doctoral work to be undertaken. The applicant must complete the supervisor’s details in the Reference section of the application. This will generate an email to the supervisor requesting the him/her to complete the online form to be submitted electronically by the internal deadline.

• ost-PhD Track: for applicants wanting to become established researchers, by strengthening their research capabilities.

• Only South African citizens may apply for this track.
• Applicants should have obtained a Doctoral degree no more than five years prior to the date of first application (latest 2014).
• Institutional commitment from the employing institution, pledging to allow the applicant time off for research and relief of teaching duties to conduct fieldwork/research, must be submitted with the application (institutional support form to be submitted with the application).
• Applicants that have not finalised their doctoral degree at the time of application are eligible to apply under this track. However, proof of having passed the doctoral degree has to be submitted to the NRF before the funding will be granted.

• F Rating Track: for applicants wanting to apply for a NRF rating within the six-year funding period.

• Only South African citizens and South African permanent residents with a valid South African Identity Number may apply. Applicants in the process of applying for permanent residence will not be considered.

• Should have obtained a Doctoral degree. The Doctoral degree should have been obtained no more than 8 years prior to the date of first application (latest 2011).
• Applicants may not be NRF rated at time of the application.
• Applicants must demonstrate that they have been unable to establish themselves as researchers due to limited research opportunities. If such limitations are not clearly confirmed in the applicant’s career profile, the application will be rejected and not considered for funding.
• A research focus has been identified in an area in which the applicant plans to establish a research track record.

5. UCT INTERNAL REVIEW PROCESS FOR THUTHUKA APPLICATIONS

Applications will be reviewed by the Research Office as well as by chosen discipline-specific reviewers prior to submission to the NRF. Applicants must identify and provide (to Robyn.Udemans@uct.ac.za by 18  March 2019) the contact details of at least two internal or external academics who are experts in the applicant’s field of research to provide feedback on the scientific merit of the application in order to help to strengthen the final application. We recommend that in the case of the PhD track, that the applicant’s supervisor serves as one of the reviewers. It is expected that the applicant will take responsibility for approaching the reviewers to confirm their availability to review the draft application and provide feedback by Friday, 29 March 2019 for the latest.

6. IMPORTANT DEADLINES TO NOTE

Please be advised that the Research Office will not review applications submitted after UCT’s internal closing date – Tuesday, 9 April 2019 at 09h00.

Framework

Application Guide

Grant Writing workshop programme