Iso Lomso Fellowships 2026 for Early Career African Researchers (Fully Funded) – Opportunities For Africans

Application Deadline: 15 February 2026

Applications at the moment are open for the 2026 Iso Lomso Fellowships. Iso Lomso means ‘the eye of tomorrow’ in isiXhosa: seeing in the direction of the long run, laying the foundations for tomorrow. The programme is geared toward African students who’ve obtained a doctoral diploma throughout the previous seven years and who maintain an educational place at a college or analysis establishment anyplace in Africa. Candidates ought to have established a analysis programme and have accomplished a post-doctoral fellowship or equal post-PhD programme. All disciplines are thought of.

Iso Lomso fellowships present a three-year attachment to STIAS to allow fellows to develop and conduct a long-term analysis programme of their choice. The goal is to facilitate and help them in the direction of changing into established students of their fields.

The essential technique of help is STIAS residencies. Residential durations will probably be agreed mutually between the guy, his or her home establishment and STIAS, and will fluctuate between six weeks and 5 months per residency. A primary interval of residency will usually be of longer period to be taken up throughout 2027, adopted by two additional residencies via 2029. 

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the 2026 name, candidates should:

• be a nationwide of any African nation;
• be born after the first of January 1984;
• have an affiliation at a analysis or larger training establishment in an African nation, and proceed to take action for the foreseeable future;
• have obtained a doctoral diploma from any recognised larger training establishment (worldwide) after the first of January 2018;
• have accomplished a post-doctoral fellowship or equal post-PhD analysis programme;
• be ready to begin a primary interval of residency at STIAS throughout 2027.

All disciplines will probably be thought of. Applicants from non-Anglophone African nations could conduct their analysis within the language of choice; nevertheless, the application paperwork should be accomplished in English. Applications will probably be evaluated and chosen on the idea of the next standards:

• Level: the applicant’s tutorial excellence and the originality and scholarly energy of the proposed analysis mission;
• Innovation: the mission’s promise of recent insights and the potential to supply new data;
• Interdisciplinarity: whether or not the mission methodology permits for drawing from completely different disciplines and its potential to facilitate an interdisciplinary discourse;
• Relevance: the mission’s relevance for scholarship and data manufacturing in Africa;
• Feasibility: whether or not the analysis design and the analysis plan are convincing and practical.

Benefits

While in residence fellows obtain common STIAS fellow help which incorporates:

• an financial system return flight;
• snug lodging inside strolling distance from the institute;
• particular person places of work geared up with a PC, phone and printer;
• a month-to-month stipend for day by day dwelling prices;
• entry to the Stellenbosch University library (together with digital sources) and a high-speed web connection;
• participation within the common STIAS fellows programme, together with day by day lunch, weekly fellows’ seminars, STIAS public lectures and social occasions;
• a child care subsidy for fellows accompanied by younger youngsters whereas in residence.

Application Timeline:

• Application deadline: 15 February 2026
• Shortlist choice: 30 April 2026
• Final choice: 31 May 2026

Shortlisted candidates could also be contacted throughout May 2025 for any further data that could be required about their proposed tasks. A remaining choice will probably be made by the tip of May 2026 and profitable candidates will probably be contacted throughout June 2025. These dates could change and will probably be up to date on this web page.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Iso Lomso Fellowships