Deadline:
As soon as possible
Location(s)
Austria Belgium United Kingdom Worldwide
Overview
The Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) is the only global program that arranges and funds fellowships for threatened and displaced scholars at partnering higher education institutions worldwide. These year-long fellowships of $25,000USD support temporary academic positions at institutions of higher learning anywhere in the world where IIE-SRF fellows can continue their work in safety. In most cases, IIE-SRF fellows are eligible to apply for a second and final year of fellowship support.
Details
Since 2002, IIE-SRF has received more than 3,000 requests for assistance from scholars in over 100 countries. We have awarded IIE-SRF fellowships to 1,034 scholars from 62 countries, placing them at 486 host partner institutions in 54 countries around the world.
About Us
Around the world, scholars have long suffered harassment, detention, torture, and other forms of persecution as a result of their work. In the worst cases, scholars pay with their lives for their dedication to their academic work and freedom of thought. The Institute of International Education(IIE), an independent not-for-profit organization, has participated in the rescue of persecuted scholars since its founding in 1919. In 2002, IIE launched the Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) to formalize its commitment to protecting the lives, voices, and ideas of scholars around the globe.
IIE-SRF is the only global program that arranges and funds fellowships for threatened and displaced scholars at partnering higher education institutions worldwide.
IIE-SRF selects outstanding professors, researchers, and public intellectuals for fellowship support and arranges visiting academic positions with partnering institutions of higher learning and research. Our fellowshipsenable scholars to pursue their academic work in safety and to continue to share their knowledge with students, colleagues, and the community. If conditions in the scholars’ home countries improve, scholars may return after their fellowships to make meaningful contributions to their national academies and civil society. If safe return is not possible, scholars may use the fellowship period to identify longer-term opportunities.
In addition to assisting individual scholars, IIE-SRF has implemented special initiatives to respond to large-scale crises affecting national academies. For example, in 2007, IIE-SRF launched theIraq Scholar Rescue Project that supported more than 300 of Iraq’s most senior and threatened academics to continue their work, primarily in the Middle East and North Africa. Since the 2011 outbreak of conflict in Syria, the program has awarded fellowships to over 100 Syrian scholars. For our work, the program was awarded the Middle East Studies Association(MESA)’s 2013 Academic Freedom Award.
“With one suitcase and hundreds of questions and concerns, we were supported by the Scholar Rescue Fund to find answers, be settled, develop ideas, start to work, and reach our goals.”
– Dr. Arash Alaei, IIE-SRF alumnus and recipient (along with Dr. Kamiar Alaei) of IIE-SRF’s 2018 Outstanding Scholar Award
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
Eligibility criteria
IIE-SRF accepts applications from professors, researchers, and public intellectuals who face threats and cannot continue their work in their home countries. Scholars from any country and in any academic field or discipline may qualify. Applicants are assessed based on academic qualifications and experience, the quality and/or potential of their work, and the urgency of the threats that they face.
Preference is given to scholars who:
- hold a Ph.D. or highest degree in their field and have significant teaching and/or research experience at a university, college, or other institution of higher learning;
- have an established record of published research;
- demonstrate superior academic accomplishment or promise;
- are facing or have recently fled from immediate, targeted threats to their lives and/or careers in their home countries or countries of residence;
- will benefit their home and/or host academic communities.
We encourage applications from women and members of ethnic, racial, cultural, or religious minority groups, or those otherwise underrepresented in their fields.
Unfortunately, IIE-SRF typically cannot consider applications from individuals who:
- are seeking to continue their studies, including Ph.D. study, or to complete an academic training program;
- have been displaced or have resided outside their home countries for more than two years;
- hold citizenship or permanent residency in a safe second country;
- will have completed two years on a comparable fellowship or other program for threatened scholars.
Because of high demand for assistance, IIE-SRF is not able to grant fellowship support to all applicants who meet the minimum eligibility requirements.
Can scholars from any country apply?
Yes, a scholar from any country may apply.
Dates
Deadline: As soon as possible
Cost/funding for participants
The IIE-SRF fellowship award includes a grant of up to US$25,000, along with individual health insurance and relocation funding, to support a visiting academic appointment of up to one year (renewable for a second year). The final fellowship amount is dependent upon several factors, including the location of the host institution, the cost of living, and the value of any additional contributions from the host institution or other sources.
Un-save Opportunity
Internships, scholarships, student conferences and competitions.
