Junior and Senior Fellowships of the Central Asia and Caucasus Research and Training Initiative, OSI

CARTI Fellowships 2011, OSI/HESP

Open Society Institute is pleased to present the Call for Applications for the Junior and Senior Fellowships of the Central Asia and Caucasus Research and Training Initiative (CARTI) for 2011. As the updated title of the program suggests, we are extending the geography of this Fellowship to the countries of South Caucasus and from 2011 will be also offering support to PhD students and postdoctoral scholars in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, while remaining committed to the original program region comprising Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Please assist us in disseminating the information about the CARTI Program among potentially interested and qualified young scholars in the above countries, and encourage your colleagues in the region who are currently working on or have recently obtained their first doctoral degrees and who would benefit from such long-term academic support and collaboration to apply. Below is a brief introduction to the program, and attached are a full Call for Applications and a Guide for Applicants. Further details on the eligibility, format and priorities of the program, the nature of the supported projects, description of the awards and application guidelines are available at: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/hesp

The application deadline is 10 November 2010.

Please do not hesitate to contact the program office with any further inquiries and comments:

OSI / HESP Central Asia and Caucasus Research and Training Initiative
Október 6. u.12., Budapest 1051 Hungary

Telephone: +36 1 882 3854 · Fax: +36 1 882 3112 · Email: carti@osi.hu
Oleksandr Shtokvych, Senior Program Manager, E-mail: oshtokvych@osi.hu
Korlan Smagulova, Program Coordinator, E-mail: ksmagulova@osi.hu

The International Higher Education Support Program (HESP) is committed to the advancement of higher education in the humanities and social sciences throughout the region of South-East Europe and Eurasia. As part of HESP's effort to promote the internationalization of scholarship and development of indigenous capacities for independent and critical academic work in the region, the Central Asia and Caucasus Research and Training Initiative (CARTI) provides support and training for original research by young university-based academics in their home academic environment. The program targets the scholars in the early stages of their postgraduate training and recent graduates of doctoral programs in the post-Soviet countries of South Caucasus and Central Asia, Afghanistan and Mongolia.

CARTI seeks to assist the motivated young academics who are in crucial early stages of their careers to gain critical competence with the foundational and current scholarship and active involvement in international intellectual exchange and debate in their subject areas. With the support of CARTI, the Fellows engage state-of-the-art resources, theories, methodologies and approaches to their research and teaching in the subjects and areas of importance to the academic and social development in the region. CARTI is committed to enrichment and innovation in higher education in the humanities and social sciences and emphasizes the significance of original and critical scholarly work in the development of university teaching and curricula.

CARTI Junior Fellowships support the individuals in early stages of their formal Doctoral studies (such as aspirantura) and focus on development of ideas and skills for high-quality research work. Junior Fellowships serve as medium for testing and challenging the theories, methods and assumptions in the core of the individual research projects, while at the same time guiding and assisting the Fellows in
the first independent large-scale research efforts. Senior Fellowships are offered to young scholars who have recently received their Doctoral (e.g. Candidate of Science) degrees. The Fellowships support the advancement or revision of their research agenda and development of international research and teaching partnerships with special emphasis on presentation of scholarly work and translating/incorporating the outcomes and experience of research into teaching.

Through its mentoring scheme, CARTI helps to establish and supports active direct collaboration of Fellows with advanced International Scholars engaged in the studies and teaching in the similar subjects. The program offers training opportunities to help Fellows develop competence with foundational theories and methodologies in the
disciplines and thematic areas of their academic work and venues for peer feedback, discussion and collaboration on the regional and international levels.

The typical term of CARTI Fellowship support is 24 months. The support package covers the purchase of and access to research and teaching materials and resources, equipment, funding for research activities, exchange visits between the Fellow and the International Scholar (including full funding for a Fellow's academic visit to the home university of the International Scholar for the duration of an
academic semester), development of teaching materials and a stipend.

All Applicants for CARTI Fellowships must be citizens and residents of the following countries: Afghanistan*, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan* and Uzbekistan.

The requirement of formal registration with a Doctoral Program may be waived for applicants from Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. For further information on the applicant eligibility for Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, interested individuals are encouraged to inquire directly with the program office at the contact information below.

Interested individuals are invited to complete the on-line Application Form and submit all supporting documents in electronic versions via the OSI On-Line Application System: https://oas.soros.org/oas.

pplications and supporting materials must be submitted to the OSI/HESP office in Budapest no later than 10 November 2010 (5:00 p.m. Budapest time).