Central Asia Research and Training Initiative Junior Fellowships

We are no longer accepting applications for CARTI Fellowships starting in 2010. A new call for applications will be announced next year in Summer 2010.

The Central Asia Research and Training Initiative (CARTI) is a regional HESP program that promotes the development of indigenous capacities for original scholarly and academic work and internationalization of scholarship in the region of Central Asia including, but not limited to, the post-Soviet states of Central Asia and Mongolia. In working to enhance independent research of university-based academics, CARTI is committed to innovation in, and enrichment of, university teaching in the humanities and social sciences, and emphasizes the role of research in the development of academics as scholars in the classroom.

CARTI provides advanced training and networking opportunities, and supports innovative scholarly work of motivated young academics in their home environment. With CARTI support, fellows engage state-of-the-art resources, theories, methodologies, and approaches to research and teaching in the subjects and areas of importance to the scholarly and social development in the region, and develop positions of academic leadership in the region.

Junior Fellowships support young 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 their first independent large-scale research efforts.

The program provides fellows opportunities for the following:

• enhancing familiarity with the state of the art in their disciplines and understanding of the current thinking in their fields, improving access to seminal scholarship, relevant international expertise and contemporary debates within the international scholarly community;
• advanced training in and practice of contemporary methodologies and tools for scholarly research and approaches to teaching and curriculum development;
• conducting individual and collaborative original, innovative and high-quality research with critical discussion and peer feedback on the research process and outcomes;
• applying research experience and outcomes to development of teaching and curriculum at the region's universities and promoting research work as integral part of students' learning;
• peer collaboration and mobility on regional and international level;
• development of skills and venues for publicizing scholarly work.

CARTI fellowships are typically awarded for up to 24 months, with ongoing review and evaluation procedures in place. A fellowship usually offers:

• funding for research activities, communication, access to necessary equipment and resources;
• funds for exchange visits between the fellows and the International Scholars (all CARTI fellows are encouraged and eligible to receive funding to spend up to one academic semester at the home institution of the International Scholar during the term of the fellowship);
• fellowship stipend.

CARTI organizes a series of project review and trainings for the selected candidates prior to the formal start of the fellowship and offers an academic program consisting of a summer school and other seminar, discussion and training activities during the period of the fellowship.

Eligibility

Candidates for the Junior Fellowships must hold a diploma of higher education (at least a specialist or master's level or the equivalent) and be formally registered* at a doctoral studies program (PhD or equivalent program, such as aspirantura, leading towards a first doctoral, such as a candidate of science degree) in social sciences or humanities in the region, or anticipate to obtain such formal registration within the first six months of the fellowship.

* The PhD enrollment requirement may be waived for applicants from Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Interested individuals should inquire with the program administration prior to submitting the application.

The program is open to citizens who are also residents of one of the following countries: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Contact Information

Open Society Institute / International Higher Education Support Program
Central Asia Research and Training Initiative
Október 6. u.12.
Budapest 1051 Hungary
Tel: +36 1 327 3854
Fax: +36 1 411 4401
Email: carti@osi.hu

Oleksandr Shtokvych
Senior Program Manager
Email: oshtokvych@osi.hu

Korlan Smagulova
Program Coordinator
Email: ksmagulova@osi.hu