Iso Lomso means ‘the eye of tomorrow’ in isiXhosa: seeing towards the future, laying the foundations for tomorrow. The programme is aimed at African scholars who have obtained a doctoral degree within the preceding seven years and who hold an academic position at a university or research institution anywhere in Africa.
Iso Lomso fellowships provide a three-year attachment to STIAS to enable fellows to develop and conduct a long-term research programme of their preference. The aim is to facilitate and support them towards becoming established scholars in their fields.
The main means of support is STIAS residencies. Residential periods will be agreed mutually between the fellow, his or her home institution and STIAS, and may vary between six weeks and five months per residency. A first period of residency will typically be of longer duration to be taken up during 2025, followed by two further residencies through 2027.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the 2024 call, applicants must:
- Be a national of any African country;
- Be born after the 1st of January 1981;
- Have an affiliation at a research or higher education institution in an African country, and continue to do so for the foreseeable future;
- Have obtained a doctoral degree from any recognised higher education institution (worldwide) after the 1st of January 2016;
- Have completed a post-doctoral fellowship or equivalent post-PhD research programme;
- Be in a position to commence a first period of residency at STIAS during 2025.
Offered Benefits
While in residence fellows receive regular STIAS fellow support which includes:
- An economy return flight;
- Comfortable accommodation within walking distance from the institute;
- Individual offices equipped with a PC, telephone and printer;
- A monthly stipend for daily living costs;
- Access to the Stellenbosch University library (including electronic resources) and a high-speed internet connection;
- Participation in the regular STIAS fellows programme, including daily lunch, weekly fellows’ seminars, STIAS public lectures and social events;
- A child care subsidy for fellows accompanied by young children while in residence.
